Netscape Communicator Tips #4



*1.   GROUP THERAPY

If you have a group of users to which you want to send e-mail, 
Communicator allows you to create a mailing list. The Address 
Book can represent your list with one nickname, making group 
addressing even easier. To create a mailing list, select Address
Book from the Communicator menu, opening the Address Book 
window. Click the New List button, and the Mailing List dialog 
box opens. You can give the list an official name in the List 
Name field, a nickname in the List Nickname field, then add a 
description. Now just add the entries in the Mailing List field.
The easiest way to do this is to enter the nickname--the rest of
the e-mail address fills in automatically. When you're finished,
click OK to close the Mailing List dialog box. The Address Book 
distinguishes lists from single entries by assigning them a 
two-card icon, rather than one card.


*2.   IMPORTED GOODS

If you already have an address book file--say, from another 
e-mail application such as Eudora--you can import this into 
Communicator as your Address Book. Open the Messenger Address 
Book, then select File, Import, which opens the Import Address 
Book File dialog box. Follow the wizard menus to import your 
existing file, which will convert to the Messenger 
Address Book format.


*3.   DON'T QUOTE ME ON THAT

Normally when you reply to a message, the text of the original 
message gets quoted--that is, an angle bracket symbol (<) 
appears before each line to distinguish it from your reply text.
Messenger actually gives you the option to skip quoting the 
original message every time you reply. To set this, choose Edit,
Preferences, Mail & Groups, Messages, opening the Messages 
window of the Preferences dialog box. Uncheck the option 
"Automatically quote original message when replying," then click
OK to close the Preferences box.


*4.   DRAFT BOARD

We've all started to write messages we can't finish or don't 
want to send right away (like a letter of resignation, perhaps!).
If you have such a message in Communicator's Messenger, just 
click the Save button from the Message Composition menu. This 
immediately places the message in a folder called Drafts (you 
can see this in the drop-down folder list). If you want to get 
back to the message, just select it from the Drafts folder. You 
can edit it or simply click the Send button if and when it's 
ready to go.


*5.   ATTACHMENT CASE

Communicator's Messenger has a quick and easy way to attach 
files to your mail messages. You can actually attach any file 
you want--Web pages, programs, spreadsheets, graphics, sound, or
video files. To attach quickly, click the New Msg button, which 
opens the Composition window. In the address pane to the left, 
click the Attach Files & Documents icon (the paper clip), which 
opens an attachments view. Now you can attach any file by 
dragging its icon from your desktop workspace into the 
attachments view. Continue with the rest of the message as you 
would any other mail message.


*6.   WEB PAGE ATTACHMENTS

You know from the last tip that you can share local files with 
others by attaching them to e-mail messages. But you can also 
use this feature to attach the URLs for Web pages stored 
elsewhere. Just create the new mail message as usual (click the 
New Msg button), then click the Attach button and select Web 
Page. In the dialog box that appears, enter the URL of the page 
you want to attach, then click OK. Continue with the rest of the
message as you would any other mail message. When your recipient
gets the message, the Web page appears within it in all its 
glory (so long as he or she uses an HTML-capable mail client, 
that is).


*7.   SEND IT RIGHT AWAY

The last tip showed you how to attach a Web page to a mail 
message. Here's an even quicker way to attach a Web page to a 
Communicator mail message. Let's say you're surfing the Web and 
get the urge to let someone know about the great site you just 
found. Just right-click the page and select Send Page from the 
Context menu that appears. A new Message Composition window 
opens; you'll see the Web page automatically added to its 
attachments pane. Continue with the message as usual.


*8.   ATTACHMENTS CHECK

Most attachments you make using the Messenger Mailbox arrive at 
their destination without a hitch. Once in a while, however, 
you'll discover that a recipient can't run the attached file, or
that the file has been corrupted in some way. If this happens, 
send the message again, but before clicking the Send button, 
click the Message Sending Options tab in the Composition 
window's address pane (it's the one under the paper clip). 
Select the option Uuencode instead of MIME for attachments. Now 
Messenger uses an alternate (older) encoding method for the 
message attachments.


*9.   ADDRESS LOOKUP            
        
Communicator's Address Book function is not just for your own 
entries. You can also use it to search for e-mail addresses 
stored in Internet directories. This allows you to track down 
those old loves or college buddies. In Communicator, select the 
Communicator drop-down menu and choose Address Book to open the 
Address Book window. Enter the name of the person you're 
looking for in the text box. You don't have to enter the full 
name; for example, you could enter John W. Smith, Johnny Smith, 
J. Smith, or another variation. Now in the left pane click the 
name of the directory you want to search (such as Infospace or 
Netcenter). Click the Search For button. In a few seconds, a 
list of matching names and near matches appears in the address 
window. Your old pal might not be on the list, but hey, at 
least it's a start.


*10.   LOOKING FOR A LONG-LOST LOVE (E-MAIL)

You know you get a lot of e-mail. Only you can decide whether 
that's a good thing, but most people find that all those 
messages clutter up the mailbox fast. Locating a message you 
received two weeks (or even two days) ago can be a real 
challenge. Fortunately, you can use Communicator's search 
function to find specific messages. Open the Messenger Mailbox 
and choose Edit, Search Messages to open the Search Messages 
dialog box. Choose the folder you wish to search in the field 
titled Search For Items In (Inbox, for example). Now use the 
search criteria boxes to refine the search. The first two boxes 
contain predetermined keywords you can select, while the third 
box allows you to enter any keywords you want. You can further 
refine the search by clicking the More button, which adds 
another row of search criteria fields. Click the Search button, 
and any messages containing your search words appear.
