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USING EMAIL OFFLINE - DON'T TIE UP YOUR 'PHONE
LINE
Q. I don't like tying up my 'phone line when writing or reading
email messages. What can I do?
A. Most modern email programs, including Outlook Express,
Thunderbird, Incredimail, etc., allow you to "work offline" while
reading or writing mail.
For email, you hardly need to be online at
all. (If you're a text-only member using PINE, or if you're using
Webmail, you must be online to write mail messages, but there's a
workaround even for that - see below).
Q. How do I work offline?
A.
To read already-downloaded mail, or compose new mail before
connecting, click the [Work Offline] button if the dialup connection
pops up when you start Outlook Express. (Some versions have a [Cancel]
button, and some versions display an error message - just close it.)
Mail you have downloaded previously is already on your
computer, so there's no need to connect to the Internet to read it.
You can compose all the messages you wish while offline, then
connect to the Community Network to send all outbound mail and check for
new mail at the same time. This normally takes only a short time, after
which you can disconnect.
Q. If I'm working offline, how do I send the messages I've
composed, and check for new mail?
A. Click the "Send/Receive" button in the Toolbar. If you're
working offline, Outlook Express will ask if you want to go online.
Click "Yes": the dialup connection appears; proceed as usual.
Outlook Express will automatically send all mail waiting in your
Outbox and then download any new mail that may be waiting for you on our
mailserver.
Q. I've done that, and now I want to free up my 'phone line
while I read my mail. Can I disconnect without closing Outlook Express &
starting over?
A. Yes. After you're connected, you should always see a little
icon in the Taskbar tray beside the clock (usually in the lower right
corner of your screen). It usually looks like two small linked
computers with greenish screens. Right-click or double-click that icon,
then click "Disconnect".
It's also possible to instruct Outlook Express
to disconnect automatically each time you check mail. Make sure you
really want to do this before changing settings, since Outlook Express
will disconnect even if there's no new mail. Outlook Express will
remember this setting thereafter!
If your connection is dropped every time you check mail,
click Tools | Options | Connection tab; remove the checkmark beside
"Disconnect when finished...", click Apply and OK.
Q. I want to read & write mail offline routinely, without the
nuisance of canceling the dialup connection every time. I want to
decide when to go online. Is that possible?
A. Yes. Click "Tools" in the Menu Bar, then "Options". Remove
the checkmark from "Send and receive messages at startup", and from "Check
for new messages every ...". Click [Apply] and [OK].
Remember that the magic button to go online is "Send/Receive".
Q. I have multiple accounts in Outlook Express for other family
members. Can I check mail for just one account without the nuisance of
canceling the popups for other accounts?
A. Yes. Click the little drop-down arrow beside the "Send/Receive"
button & select the operation you want.
Q. I don't really understand what's going on here. Could you
explain?
A. Email and regular postal mail have a lot of similarities.
When someone sends you a regular letter, the postie delivers it
to your mailbox. You go and physically open the mailbox, collect the
mail, and take it home.
In our analogy, the BEC Community Network has a special
computer that serves as a mailbox for you - it stores messages as they
arrive. When you want to check for new email, you connect to the
mailserver via 'phone line instead of physically going to your mailbox.
You must provide a "key" to your mailbox - your password
- either by typing it in manually or by asking your computer to remember
it for you.
If there's new mail waiting for you, it is transferred
automatically (downloaded) to your Inbox in Outlook Express. This is
analogous to bringing your regular mail home - it's no longer in the
mailbox [mailserver], and you can read it any time without having to go
back to the mailbox [no need to connect again to see it].
When you write letters, you probably don't rush out to the
mailbox to post each letter as you finish it - you would complete writing
them all before going to the mailbox.
In fact, if you write your email messages while online, it's like
standing outside at the postal box while you write your letters.
Instead, compose your email messages while you're offline.
Each time you complete a message and click "Send", it goes into the
Outbox. This is like a temporary holding area, which will collect all
the mail you want to send. (It's similar to you writing real letters at
your desk, then putting them in a pile by the door so you remember to
post them when you go out.) Outlook Express might remind you this is
happening each time you send.
When you're ready to really send them out, click the
"Send/Receive" button. When you go online, Outlook Express checks the
Outbox & sends the contents. You can verify that the messages have been
sent: if they appear in your Sent Mail folder, they were successfully
sent.
Note that, just like regular postal mail, the
fact that a message was successfully sent does not necessarily mean that
it will be successfully delivered.
Q. You said there's a workaround for PINE & Webmail users ... ?
A. You can write your message offline in any word processor. Copy
the message, then connect as usual. When you're in your new message
screen, paste the copied text into the message area, type in the
address & subject line, and send as usual. Various mail programs require
different methods for the paste operation - use the method appropriate for
the program you use. (This method works for Outlook Express too, but is
unnecessary.)
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