Webmail — Blue: Getting Started

NOTE: ITS offers two webmail interfaces: Blue and Maize. You can use them interchangeably along with desktop e-mail clients — such as Outlook, Apple Mail, Mulberry, and Thunderbird — that are configured for the ITS IMAP Service.

This document provides instructions for getting started using the Blue web-based e-mail program. Anyone who uses the IMAP E-mail Service provided by Information and Technology Services (ITS) — the e-mail included in the standard computing services — can use Blue for their e-mail.

Getting to Blue

IMPORTANT! Your web browser must have Javascript enabled for full functionality. If Javascript is not enabled, some web mail features may not work. Note that you may notice minor variations in appearance depending on which web browser you use.

1. Use your web browser to connect to http://webmail.umich.edu

2. Click the Log in to Blue button.

   

3. At the login screen, log in with your uniqname and UMICH Kerberos password.

4. Your INBOX will open. If you have more than one page of e-mail messages, your INBOX will open to the last page, where your most recently received messages are listed.

Your INBOX

You can sort your messages by date, who they are from, subject, and size. Click the heading (for example, Date or Subject) by which you wish to sort.

Message flags at the left side of the screen provide information about each message. A key to the message flags is at the bottom of the screen.

Setting Message Flags

1. Select a message by clicking the checkbox to its left.

2. Select the flag you want to use from the Mark as pop-up menu.

   

Checking for New Mail

There are two ways you can check for new mail:

• Click the Refresh Mailbox icon (two green arrows going in a circle).

  

• Click your browser's Reload or Refresh button.

Web mail will check for new messages automatically every five minutes. You can change this setting by clicking the Options button in the icon bar and then selecting New Mail.

Working With Your Messages

Opening a message

To display or open a message, click the subject or sender name. The message will open.

Printing a message

1. Open the message you want to print.

2. Click the Print link at the top of the message.

3. The message will open in a new window so you can print it.

   Depending on the web browser and operating system you use, the Print dialog box may open for you. If it does not open, pull down the File menu and choose Print.

Replying to a message

1. Open the message you want to reply to.

2. Click the Reply or Reply to all link at the top of the message.

   —Reply replies only to the person who sent the original message.

   —Reply to all replies to the sender and to anyone else who was included in the original message.

3. A new message window will open with the recipients and subject already filled in for you. The original message text will be quoted in the body of the message. Enter your message text.

4. Click Send Message.

Forwarding a message

1. Open the message you want to forward.

2. Click the Forward link at the top of the message.

3. A new message window will open with the message you want to forward included in the body of the message. Enter whatever message text you wish to add.

4. Click Send Message.

Deleting a message from within the message

1. Open the message you want to delete

2. Click the Delete link at the top of the message to mark it for deletion.

3. To completely remove the message from your mailbox, return to the INBOX (or whatever folder the message is in), and click Purge Deleted (it is on the right-hand side of the window, both above and below your list of messages).

Deleting one or more messages directly from your INBOX

1. Click the checkbox by each message you want to delete. You can select as many messages as you want, as long as they are all on the same page.

2. Click the Delete link. (There are Delete links at both the top and bottom of the message list.) The messages will be marked for deletion; they will be crossed out, but will remain in your mailbox.

   

3. To completely delete the messages, click the Purge Deleted link. Once you have purged your deleted messages, they cannot be retrieved.

   

HINT: You can use the Select pop-up menu to select (that is, check the checkbox next to) all the messages flagged a particular way. For example, you can select all the seen messages, all the important messages, or all the "not personal" (directed to you as a group member rather than as an individual) messages.

Viewing full message headers

1. Open the message whose full headers you want to see.

2. Click the Show All Headers link.

   

3. To return to the limited view of headers, click the Show Limited Headers link.

   

Composing and Sending Messages

1. Click the Compose icon at the top of the Blue window.

   

2. A new message window will open. Use this window to compose your message. To send the message, click Send Message.

   

HINT: When sending mail to more than one person, type a comma between recipients.

Saving a Message as a Draft

You can use Blue to save a message you are composing as a draft, so you can finish and send the message at another time. The message is saved in your Drafts folder, ready for you to resume at your convenience.

1. Begin composing your message. When you are ready to stop, click the Save Draft button. The message will be saved to your Drafts folder. If you do not have a Drafts folder, one will be created for you automatically.

   

2. When you are ready to write more of the message, open the Drafts folder by selecting its name from the Folders pop-up menu.

   

3. Open the draft message, then click the Resume link to continue working on the message.

   

Creating and Using a Signature File

A signature file contains text that automatically appears at the bottom of each e-mail message you compose.

1. In the icon bar at the top of any page, click Options.

   

2. In the General Options column, click Personal Information.

3. On the Personal Information page, look for the Select the identity you want to change pop-up menu and, from that menu, select Default identity.

   

4. Scroll down to the bottom of the window to the signature information. In the Your signature box, type your signature text, then click the Save Options button.

   

5. Confirmation that the change has been made will appear at the top of your window.

   

Log Out When You Are Finished

Be sure to log out when you are finished using Blue. This is especially important if you are using a shared computer, where, if you do not log out, others could then access your e-mail mailbox. To log out, click the Logout icon at the top of any page.

Dealing with Spam

ITS offers two services to help reduce and manage spam:

• Do Not Spam List
  Rejects e-mail from known sources of spam. This will reduce, but not eliminate spam. Many spammers switch identities frequently and therefore avoid being listed as a known spam source. Using the list is a good first step in reducing spam.

• SpamBox
  Puts suspected spam messages in a SpamBox folder, where you can do a quick check for any messages you might want to keep before deleting the spam. Use SpamBox to keep the spam messages that get past the Do Not Spam List from cluttering your INBOX.

You can sign up for these services on the Tools page of the Spam Busters website.

The Software Behind Blue (IMP)

The e-mail software used for Blue is called IMP, which stands for Internet Messaging Program. IMP is written by the Horde Project. For more information about the Horde Project and IMP, see the Horde Project's web page.

Additional Resources

Visit ITS's Information System to obtain ITS computer documentation and other resources. A list of relevant documents follows:

• Using SpamBox for E-Mail Spam Filtering (S4314)
• Using the Do Not Spam List to Reduce Spam (S4323)
• Using Server-Side Filters to Manage/Organize Your E-Mail (Including Accept and Block Lists) (S4325)
• Webmail — Blue: Address Book (S4330)
• Webmail — Blue: Attachments (S4331)
• Webmail — Blue: Mail Folders (S4332)
• Webmail — Blue: Customizing Preferences with the Options Feature (S4333)
• Webmail — Maize: Getting Started (S4358)

The ITS Service Center provides a variety of computing help resources.

For further help with this or any other topic, call 734-764-HELP [4357] or submit an online service request.