Here’s another popular Internet activity: you can send electronic mail (email, which is pronounced “ee mail” and was formerly written as “e-mail”). An email message imitates a regular letter or postcard but is transmitted electronically so you don’t have to lick a stamp, don’t have to walk to the mailbox to send it, and don’t have to wait for the letter to be processed by your country’s postal system.
Email zips through the Internet at lightning speed, so a letter sent from Japan to the United States takes just minutes (sometimes even seconds) to reach its destination. Unlike regular mail, which the Post Office usually delivers just once a day, email can arrive anytime, day or night. If your friends try to send you email messages while your computer is turned off, your Internet service provider will hold their messages for you until you turn your computer back on and reconnect to the Internet.
Since sending email is so much faster than using the Post Office (which is about as slow as a snail), the Post Office’s mail is nicknamed snail mail. Yes, email travels fast, takes just a few minutes to reach its destination, and is free; snail mail travels slowly, typically takes several days to reach its destination, and costs over 50¢ (for a stamp, an envelope, and paper to write on). So if your friend promises to send you a letter “soon”, ask “Are you going to send it by email or snail mail?”
An “email message” is sometimes called just “an email”. Instead of saying “I sent 3 email messages”, an expert says “I sent 3 emails”.
To use email, you need an email program.
The email program is called an email client if it’s on your computer’s hard disk. Here are the most popular email clients:
Windows Mail is part of Windows 10&11
Windows Live Mail is a free add-on to Windows XP&Vista&7
Outlook is by Microsoft and part of Microsoft Office
Safari is by Apple and part of Mac OS X
Thunderbird is by Mozilla.org, for use with Firefox
The email program is called webmail service if it’s on a website instead of your computer’s hard disk. Here are the most popular webmail services for the general public:
Gmail is at gmail.com, which is owned by Google
Yahoo Mail is at mail.yahoo.com, which is owned by Yahoo
Some ISPs (such as AOL and Comcast) have invented special webmail services for use by just their own customers.
Which is better to use: an email client or a webmail service? An email client has 3 advantages over a webmail service:
An email client runs faster than webmail.
An email client understands more commands than webmail.
A webmail service puts ads on your screen and in your outgoing messages; an email client doesn’t force you to look at ads.
But an email client has 2 disadvantages:
Before you use an email client the first time, you must install it.
If you’ve switch to a different computer (because you bought a new computer, or your building has several computers, or you’re visiting a friend), you can’t easily read your old messages: your messages and email privileges are restricted to one computer (unless you fiddle a lot).
This chapter explains how to use these popular email programs:
Windows Mail (an email tile, for Windows 10&11)
Gmail (a webmail service)
Simple email
Email can be simple!
Start
Here’s how to start using email.
Gmail To use Gmail (which is a webmail service), use your Web browser (such as Microsoft Edge or Chrome) to go to gmail.com. The computer will say “Gmail”.
If you have a Gmail username already and the computer says “Sign in”, do this:
Type your Gmail address (such as TrickyLiving@gmail.com) then press the Enter key. Type your Gmail password then press Enter.
If the computer says “Protect your account”, tap “CONFIRM”.
If the computer says “Google Meet, now in Gmail”, tap “Got it”.
If the computer says “Enable desktop notifications for Gmail”, tap “OK”.
If you don’t have a Gmail username yet, do this instead:
Tap “Create an account”. Tap in the “First” box. Type your first name, press the Tab key, type your last name, and press the Tab key.
Invent your Gmail username. It must have at least 6 characters, which can include letters, digits, periods, no spaces, no special characters. (For example, I invented TrickyLiving.) Type what you invented. Press the Tab key. (If the computer says “Someone already has that username, Tap the username you typed, edit it, and try again to press the Tab key.)
Invent a Gmail password that’s at least 8 characters long. Type it, press Tab, then type it again.
Finish filling the form. Tap “Next step” (which you see when you scroll down).
The computer says “Your profile”. Tap “Next step”.
The computer says “Welcome”. Tap “Continue to Gmail”.
The computer says “Welcome!” For now, just Tap the X to the right of “Welcome”.
Near the screen’s left edge, make sure you see this menu:
Compose
Inbox
Starred
Snoozed
Important
Sent
Drafts
If you don’t see that menu yet, make it appear by tapping “º” (which is near the screen’s top-left corner).
Windows Mail Make sure you’ve created an email account, using Gmail or Yahoo Mail or another popular webmail service. I recommend Gmail, so I’ll assume you’ve created a Gmail account (by following my “Gmail” instructions).
Once you’ve created a Gmail account, do the following.
On the taskbar (the gray bar that goes across the screen’s bottom), tap the Windows Mail icon (the blue envelope).
If the computer says “Add an account”, do this:
Tap “Google”. Type your email address (such as TrickyLiving@gmail.com) then press the Enter key. Type your Gmail password then press the Enter key.
Put your finger on “Windows wants to” and swipe up, so you see the blue Allow button. Tap that button.
Your name will appear atop every email message you send. What name do you want to call yourself? Type your legal name (such as “Susan B. Smith”) or, if you prefer, a cuter name (such as “Suzy Smith” or “Suzy the Magnificent” or “Suzy Smith the Jones Company’s President” or just “Jones Company”) then press the Enter key. Tap “Done”.
You see the Mail window. Maximize it (by tapping its maximize button if not maximized yet).
Incoming mail
At the screen’s left edge, you see “Inbox”. To handle incoming mail, tap the “Inbox” that’s at the screen’s left edge.
You see 2 windowpanes, which I’ll call “left” and “list”.
Windows Mail The left pane is blue. The list pane is white and in the middle. Both of those panes are narrow. (A 3rd pane will appear at the right later, when you pick a message to view.)
Gmail Both panes are white. The left pane is narrow and contains the menu (which begins with “Compose” and “Inbox”). The list pane is wide.
The list pane shows a list of all email messages that other people have sent you. Those are the email messages you’ve received. For each message, the list shows whom the message is from (the sender’s name), the message’s subject (what the message is about), the message’s first few words, and the time when the message was received.
The first time Gmail is used with your Gmail account, the list pane shows you’ve received 3 messages from the Gmail team and 1 message from the Google+ team.
After you’ve used the email program awhile, you’ll probably receive additional messages, from your friends! If there are too many messages to fit in the pane, view the rest of the messages by using one of these methods:
Touchscreen method Put your finger in the middle of the list pane and swipe up.
Mouse method Move the mouse’s pointer to the list’s middle (but don’t click the mouse’s buttons). Then rotate the mouse’s wheel towards you.
Touchpad method Move the pointer to the list’s middle. Then rest 2 fingers in the touchpad’s middle, lightly (without pressing hard), and swipe up.
Looking at a message makes it change:
Windows Mail Each message is initially listed with a blue vertical line before it. The blue line disappears when you’ve finished looking at the message (and switched to looking at a different message).
Gmail Each message is initially listed in bold type on a white background. When you’ve finished looking at a message, that message becomes unbolded, and its background becomes gray instead of white.
The computer puts similar messages together, to form a conversation thread of back-and-forth replies.
Decide which message you want to read. Tap the sender’s name. Then you start seeing the complete message, in a message pane, which is white.
Windows Mail The message pane is at the screen’s right edge, to the right of the list pane.
Gmail The message pane replaces the list pane.
If the message is too long to fit in its pane, you can see the rest of the message by scrolling up.
When you finish looking at that message, do this:
Windows Mail In the list pane, tap a different message instead.
Gmail Tap the “ß” (which is above the message). Then you see the list pane again. In the list pane, tap a different message instead.
Just in Windows Mail:
To make a pane wider, drag its side edge to the left or right. Here’s how to drag. Point at the pane’s edge, so the pointer becomes a double-headed arrow. Then, while holding down the mouse’s left button (or pressing hard on the touchpad or touchscreen), move the pointer toward the left or right, until that pane gets wider (and the nearby pane gets narrower).
How to send mail
To write an email message, perform 5 steps.
Step 1: get the window Do this:
Windows 10 Mail Tap “New Mail” (which is near the screen’s top-left corner). The message pane will say “To”.
Gmail Tap “Compose”. You’ll see the New Message window.
Step 2: choose a recipient To whom do you want to
send the message? To send an email message to a person, you must find out that
person’s email address. For example, if you want to send an email message to
me, you need to know that
my email address is “Russ@SecretFun.com”.
For the Internet, each email address contains the symbol “@”, which is pronounced “at”. For example, my Internet address, “Russ@SecretFun.com”, is pronounced “russ at secret fun dot com”.
To find out the email addresses of your friends and other people, ask them (by chatting with them in person or by phoning them or by sending them snail-mail postcards).
When you type an email address, you don’t have to capitalize. The computer ignores capitalization.
Never put a blank space in the middle of an email address.
Warning: people often change their email addresses, so don’t be surprised if your message comes back, marked undeliverable.
Type the email address of the person to whom you want to send your message. If you’re a shy beginner who’s nervous about bothering people, try sending an email message to a close friend or me or yourself. Sending an email message to yourself is called “doing a Fats Waller”, since he was the first singer to popularize these lyrics:
Gonna sit right down and write myself a letter,
And make believe it came from you!
If you send an email message to me, I’ll read it and try to send a reply, but be patient (since I check my email just a few times per day) and avoid asking for advice (since I give extensive advice just by regular phone calls to 603-666-6644, not email).
At the end of the email address, do this:
Windows Mail Tap “Subject” (or “Subj”).
Gmail Press the Tab key twice, so you’re at the line that was marked “Subject”.
Step 3: choose a subject Type a phrase summarizing the subject (such as “let’s lunch” or “I’m testing”). At the end of that typing, press the Tab key again.
Step 4: type the message Go ahead: type the message, such as “Let’s have lunch together in Antarctica tomorrow!” or “I’m testing my email system, so please tell me whether you received this test message.” Your message can be as long as you wish — many paragraphs! Type the message as if you were using a word processor. For example, press the Enter key just when you reach the end of a paragraph.
When typing, be careful! Double-check what you typed, before you send it!
The Internet tells these tales:
A man tried to send his wife this message: “I PAID THE BABY-SITTER.” But instead of typing “P,” he accidentally typed “L”. His wife was shocked.
A man tried to send his wife this message: “I’M HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME. WISH YOU WERE HERE.” But he forgot to type the last letter. His wife was shocked.
Step 5: send the message When you finish typing the message, Tap the Send button.
Windows Mail The Send button is near the screen’s top-right corner. It shows a flying envelope.
Gmail The Send button is at the screen’s bottom, below your typing.
The computer sends the message. Here’s what happens afterwards:
Windows Mail The message pane closes.
Gmail The New Message window closes. The screen’s bottom-left corner says “Message sent.” Tap the X to the right of “Message sent.”
When do messages transmit?
When you try to send or receive a message, when does the transmission actually occur?
Receiving message When a friend tries to send you a message, the message goes from your friend’s computer to your friend’s email server (such as your friend’s Internet Service Provider or Google), which passes the message on to your email server. The message is stored on your email server’s hard disk but not yet on your computer.
Since your email server is always turned on (day and night, 24 hours), it’s always ready to receive messages your friends try to send you, even while your own computer is turned off.
When you examine your Inbox, your computer ought to contact your email server and tell the email server to transmit any new messages to your computer; but if your computer is lazy, it might not contact your email server immediately to get the newest messages. Instead, your computer might decide to wait awhile before bothering your email server. For example, your computer might contact your email server just once every 10 minutes to check whether there are any new messages for you; or your computer might not contact your email server until the next time you start running the email program — which might be the next day.
Here’s how to make your computer communicate with your email server now, so all the messages you’re trying to receive get transmitted to your Inbox now:
Windows Mail Tap the Sync button. It’s at the list pane’s top. It’s circling arrows.
Gmail Tap the Refresh button. It’s at the list pane’s top. It’s an arrow circling to the right.
Sending message When you tell the computer to send a message to a friend, the computer typically transmits the message immediately to your email server (which passes it on to your friend’s email server).
Printing
To copy a message onto paper, get the message onto the screen then do this:
Windows Mail Tap the “…” (which is at the screen’s top-right corner) then “Print” then the Print button.
Gmail Tap the “Print all” button (which looks like a printer and is far to the right of the message’s subject). Press Enter. After the computer prints, close that window (by tapping the “X” on the “Gmail” tab).
Acronyms
People often use these expressions and abbreviations when writing email messages (and text messages on phones):
Expression Abbreviation
I’m GRINNING! <g>
I have a BIG GRIN! <bg>
I have a VERY BIG GRIN! <vbg>
Laughing out loud! Lots of laughs! LOL
Lots of laughing out loud! LOLOL
Lots of, lots of, laughing out loud! LOLOLOL
Laughing my ass off! LMAO
Laughing my fucking ass off! LMFAO
Laughing my ass off, on the floor! LMAOOTF
Rolling on floor, laughing! ROFL
Laughing at your mamma! L@YM
Photo of the day! POTD
Just kidding! JK
Ha ha, only joking! HHOJ
Tongue in cheek! TIC
Shaking my head SMH
Shaking my damn head SMDH
Shaking my fucking head SMFH
Shaking my head in despair SMHID
Too much info TMI
No problem! NP
Way to go! WTG
Too good to be true! 2GTBT
Greatest of all time! GOAT
Good game! GG
Great minds think alike. GMTA
Miss you! MU
I love you. ILY
Love you, miss you! LYMY
Wish you were here! WYWH
Hugs and kisses! XOXO
Best friends forever! BFF
You forever! U4E
Happy birthday! HBD
Thinking about you! TAU
Long time, no see! LTNS
Oh my God! OMG
before B4
later L8R
real soon now RSN
See you later! CUL8R
Talk to you later! TTYL
Talk to you soon! TTYS
Ta-ta for now! TTFN
Expression Abbreviation
Parent over shoulder! POS
People are watching! PRW
Be back later! BBL
Be right back! BRB
Be back in a flash! BBIAF
Just a minute! JAM
Back at keyboard! BAK
Welcome back! WB
Thank you. TY
Thanks. THX
Thanks in advance. TIA
Down to fuck. DTF
Hit me up. HMU
Hit me back. HMB
Let me know. LMK
No reply necessary. NRN
in my opinion IMO
in my humble opinion IMHO
in my not-so-humble opinion IMNSHO
to be honest TBH
off the top of my head OTTOMH
as far as I know AFAIK
I don’t know. IDK
I am not a lawyer. IANAL
Trust me on this. TMOT
Don’t quote me on this. DQMOT
Ask me anything. AMA
for your information FYI
in case you missed it ICYMI
frequently asked question FAQ
Do it yourself. DIY
Read the manual. RTM
Read the f***ing manual. RTFM
I see. IC
Oh, I see. OIC
Still in the dark! SITD
Fear of missing out! FOMO
Are you OK? RUOK
Okay! K
Okay, okay! KK
in real life IRL
Been there, done that! BTDT
Good luck! GL
Good luck, have fun! GL/HF
Shit out of luck! SOL
Fuck my life! FML
by the way BTW
as a matter of fact AAMOF
to be honest TBH
for what it’s worth FWIW
before I forget BIF
in any event IAE
in other words IOW
on the other hand OTOH
Don’t hold your breath. DHYB
what the hell WTH
what the fuck WTF
Are you serious? AYS
Oh, really? O RLY
Yeah, really! YARLY
No way! NOWAI
You only live once. YOLO
Thank God, it’s Friday! TGIF
What do you think? WDYT
I don’t care. IDC
Too much information! TMI
Too long, didn’t read? Summary: TL;DR:
Got to see you! GTSY
On my way! OMW
Those abbreviations are called acronyms.
Acronyms can be ambiguous. For example, “LOL” can mean “laughing out loud” or “lots of love”. If you receive an email saying “LOL”, you must guess whether the sender is laughing at you or laughing with you or loves you. Don’t write an acronym unless you’re sure the recipient will understand it.
The Internet tells this tale:
Mom texted me, “What do IDK, LY, TTYL mean?”
I replied: “I don’t know, love you, talk to you later.”
She replied: “OK then, I’ll ask your sister!”
Smiley’s pals
Here’s a picture of a smiling face:
 |
It’s called a smiley. If you rotate that face 90°, it looks like this:
:-)
People writing email messages often type that symbol to mean “I’m smiling; I’m just kidding”.
For example, suppose you want to tell the President that you disagree with his speech. If you communicate the old-fashioned way, with pencil and paper, you’ll probably begin like this:
Dear Mr. President,
I’m somewhat distressed at your recent policy announcement.
But people who communicate by email tend to be more blunt:
Hey, Prez!
You really blew that speech. Jeez! Your policy stinks. You should be boiled in oil, or at least paddled with a floppy disk. :-)
The symbol “:-)” means “I’m just kidding”. That symbol’s important. Forgot to include it? Then the poor Prez, worried about getting boiled in oil, might have the Secret Service arrest you for plotting an assassination.
The smiley, “:-)”, has many variations:
Symbol Meaning
:-) I’m smiling.
:-( I’m frowning.
:-< I’m real sad.
:-c I’m bummed out.
:-C I’m really bummed out!
:-I I’m grim.
:-/ I’m skeptical.
:-7 I’m smirking at my own wry comment.
:-> I have a devilish grin.
:-D I’m laughing.
:-o I’m shouting.
:-O I’m shouting really loud.
:-@ I’m screaming.
:-8 I talk from both sides of my mouth.
:-p I’m sticking my tongue out at you.
:-P I’m being tongue-in-cheek.
:-& I’m tongue-tied.
:-9 I’m licking my lips.
:-* My lips pucker — for a kiss or pickle.
:-x My lips are sealed.
Symbol Meaning
:-# I wear braces.
:-? I smoke a pipe.
:-} I have a beard.
:-[ I’m a vampire.
:-{} I wear lipstick.
:-{) I have a mustache.
:-~) My nose runs.
:-)~ I’m drooling.
:-)-8 I have big breasts.
:'-( I’m crying.
:'-) I’m so happy, I’m crying.
;-) I’m winking.
%-) Dizzy from staring at screen too long!
8-) I wear glasses.
B-) I wear cool shades, man.
|-O I’m yawning.
X-( I just died.
O:-) I’m an angel.
+:-) I’m a priest.
[:-) I’m wearing a Walkman.
&:-) I have curly hair.
@:-) I have wavy hair.
8:-) I have a bow in my hair.
B:-) My sunglasses are on my forehead.
[:] I’m a robot.
3:] I’m your pet,
3:[ but I growl.
}:-> I’m being devilish,
>;-> and lewdly winking.
C=:-) I’m a chef.
The symbol for “love” is —
<3
because if you rotate it 90° in the opposite direction, it looks like a heart. So to say “I love you” just write:
I <3 U
To say “Lots of love!” just write:
<333
Since those symbolic pictures (icons) help you emote, they’re called emoticons (pronounced “ee MOTE ee cons”). Technically, just the first one in that list is called a smiley, but some folks call all emoticons “smileys.”
To understand those American smileys easily, you must turn your head 90°.
Japanese versions The Japanese have invented these straight-on smileys, which don’t require you to turn your head — you can look at them straight-on:
Symbol Meaning
(^_^) I’m smiling.
(@_@) I’m dizzy and giddy.
(*^_^*) I’m smiling and blushing.
(^.^) Smiling with my cute little-girl mouth!
(-_-) I’m angry but trying to force a smile.
(T_T) I’m crying. Tears run down my cheeks.
QQ I have tears in my eyes. I’m upset.
(>_<) Ouch! That was a painful failure!
(>_<)(>_<) I deny it strongly, shake my head!
(-_-)zzz I’m going to sleep. Good-night!
The Japanese call their straight-on smileys “facemarks”, since they’re marks that represent faces simply, without rotation.
Leet
Youngsters sometimes write emails in a secret slang code called Leet (which stands for “élite”), so their parents won’t understand — and neither will out-of-touch school administrators, employers, censors, and email filters.
To translate English to Leet, change the letters to similar-looking digits (or other symbols):
English Leet
the letter O the digit 0
the letter I the digit 1 (or the symbol !)
the letter Z the digit 2
the letter E the digit 3
the letter A the digit 4 (or the symbol @)
the letter S the digit 5 (or the symbol $)
the letter G the digit 6
the letter T the digit 7 (or the symbol +)
the letter B the digit 8
the letter H the symbol #
the letter X the symbol % (or ><)
the letter V the symbols \/
the letter W the symbols \/\/
the letter Y the letter j (because it looks like y)
the letter L the digit 1 (or 7)
Examples:
English Leet
BOOBS 80085
LEET 1337
SHIT $#!+
ASS @$$
Change to things that sound similar:
English Leet
the sound “ate” the digit 8
the sound “are” the letter R
the sound “you” the letter U
the sound “and” or “ant” the symbol &
the letter F the letters PH
To avoid too much confusion, make just some of those changes — just enough to confuse your parents without confusing your friends. For example, keep the b and t:
English Leet
banned b&
newbie (beginner) n00b
Hooray! We won! w00t (we own other team)
To further confuse parents and be cool, some kids purposely type letters in the wrong order —
English Cool Leet
the word “crap” carp
laughing out loud OLO (instead of LOL)
the word “porn” pr0n or n0rp
the word “the” t3h (instead of th3)
newbie (beginner) b00n (instead of n00b)
or type a nearby letter on the keyboard:
English Cool Leet
the letter “o” p (which is next to o)
the word “own” pwn
capital “O” ZP (since Z is near Shift)
Oh, my God! ZPMG
What did you send?
To check which messages you sent, do this:
Windows Mail In the left pane, tap “Sent Mail”.
Gmail In the left pane, tap “Sent”.
You’ll see a list of messages you sent. For each message, the list shows the address you sent it to, the message’s subject and first few words, and when you sent it.
When you finish admiring that list, make the screen become normal again by tapping “Inbox” (which is in the left pane).
Reply
To reply to a message somebody’s sent you, tap “Reply”.
Windows Mail “Reply” is at the screen’s top.
Gmail “Reply” is below the message.
Then type your reply.
While you type, the computer shows a copy of the message you’re replying to. If you want to abridge that copy (so it doesn’t clutter your screen and reply), use the pointer to drag across the part you want to delete, then press the Delete key.
When you finish typing your reply, tap the Send button. The computer will send your reply, along with your abridged copy of the message you’re replying to.
Delete old messages
The list of received messages — and the list of sent messages — can become long and hard to manage. To reduce the clutter, delete any messages that no longer interest you.
To delete a message you received (or a copy of a message you sent), make the message’s name appear in the list pane, then do this:
Windows Mail Tap the name (so it turns blue) then “Delete” (at the screen’s top-right corner).
Gmail Tap the square that’s left of the name, so you see a check mark. Then tap the trash can.
That tells the computer you want to delete the message. The computer moves the message into the Trash folder. It resembles the Windows Recycle Bin.
To find out what’s in the Trash folder, do this:
Windows Mail Tap “More” (which is in the left pane) then “Trash”.
Gmail Tap “Trash”, which is in the left pane but usually hidden. Here’s how to unhide “Trash”. Put the mouse pointer at “Drafts” (without tapping), then swipe up, so you see “Trash” or “More” hiding below “Drafts”. If you see “Trash”, tap it. If you see “More” instead, tap “More” then swipe up again then tap “Trash”.
You’ll see what’s in that folder: a list of the messages you said to delete.
Are you sure you want to delete all those messages?
If you change your mind, here’s how to keep one of those messages:
Windows Mail In the list pane, right-click the message’s name. Tap “Move”. Tap where you want the message moved (“Inbox” or “Sent Mail”).
Gmail In the list pane, right-click the message’s name then “Move to inbox”.
When you’re sure you want to eliminate all messages in the Trash folder, do this:
Windows Mail While you’re looking at the list of messages in the Trash, tap the first message’s name. Hold down the keyboard’s Delete key, until all the Trash messages disappear.
Gmail While you’re looking at the list of messages in the Trash, tap “Empty Trash now” (which is above the list). Tap “OK”.
Handle the Spam folder the same way as the Trash folder.
Signature
While you’re writing an email message, you can add a few lines at the bottom, to identify who you are. Those lines are called your signature (or sig).
For example, your sig can include your full name, address, and phone number. You can mention your office’s address & phone number, but be cautious about revealing your home address & phone number, since email messages are often viewed by strangers.
If you’re employed, you might also wish to give your company’s name, your title, and a disclaimer, such as “The opinions I expressed aren’t necessarily my employer’s.” You might also wish to reveal your personality, by including your favorite saying (such as “Be creative” or “May the Lord bless you” or “Turned on by Twinkies”). But keep your sig short: any sig containing more than 7 lines of text is considered an impolite waste of your reader’s time.
Don’t bother putting your email address in your sig, since your email address appears automatically at the top of your message.
Here’s how to put the same sig on all your email messages easily. For Windows Mail, do this:
Tap the gear (bumpy circle), which should be at the left pane’s bottom. (If it’s not at the left pane’s bottom yet, widen the left pane by dragging that pane’s right edge farther to the right.)
Tap “Signature” (which is at the screen’s right edge).
Below “Use an email signature” you see “On” or “Off”. If you want a signature, make sure that says “On”. (If it says “Off”, tap the “Off” to make it become “On”.)
Windows 10 Mail normally makes the signature be “Sent from Mail for Windows 10”. That signature is in the big white box below that “On”. To change that signature, tap it then edit it.
Tap “Save”.
In the future, whenever you type an email, the computer will automatically type the sig underneath. While you edit your typing, edit its siga
For Gmail, do this:
At the screen’s left edge, find the word “Gmail”. To the far right of “Gmail”, at the screen’s right edge, find Gmail’s Settings button, which is a gear (bumpy circle). Tap it, then tap “See all settings”.
Scroll down until you see “Signature”. To the right of “Signature”, if you see “No signatures”, do this: tap “Create new”; type “Usual” (and press Enter); click in the white box that’s to the right of “Usual”; type whatever words and numbers you want to be in your sig. But if you invented a signature previously (so you don’t see “No signatures”), do this instead: edit the words in the signature.
Immediately below “Signature defaults”, you see 2 boxes. If a box says “No signature,” tap it then tap “Usual,” so the box says “Usual” instead (or any other name you invented).
Tap the “Save Changes” button (which you’ll see when you scroll down).
While you edit a message, edit its sig! Customize its sig to match the rest of the message.
Finish
When you finish using email, close the window (by tapping the X at the screen’s top-right corner).
Attachments
An email message can have a file attached to it.
Send a file attachment
While you’re writing a message, here’s how to insert a file (such as a picture you drew in Paint, or a document composed in WordPad or Microsoft Word).
Do this:
Windows Mail Tap “Insert” (which is at the message pane’s top) then “Files”.
Gmail Tap the button that looks like a paper clip. (That button is called the “Attach files” button. It’s below your typing.)
Which file do you want to insert? Make its icon appear on the screen. If its icon is not on the screen because the computer is showing a different folder, do this:
You see a window called “Open”. In that window, tap (or double-tap) the folder that the file is in.
When the file’s icon is finally on the screen, double-tap the file’s icon.
Near the message you were writing, you can see your file’s name.
Windows Mail The file’s name is below the word “Attachments” (which is below the Subject box).
Gmail The file’s name is below the message.
Make sure the message and the file’s name are correct.
Then tap the Send button. That makes the computer send the message and attached file.
Receive a file attachment
If a friend sends you a message that includes an attached file, here’s what happens.
While you’re reading the message (in the message pane), tap the attachment’s name (in a gray box) or picture.
The computer will try to show you the pictures and words that are in the attached file, by running the program that created the file. For example, if the file is a picture created by Paint, the computer will try to run Paint; if the file is a document created by Microsoft Word, the computer will try to run Microsoft Word. (If the file was created by software that your computer doesn’t own and your computer doesn’t know how to handle the file, your computer will gripe by saying “Open With”.)
When you finish looking at the pictures and words that are in the attached file, close whatever program showed it (such as Paint or Windows Photo Gallery or Microsoft Word), such as by tapping that program’s X button. You’ll return to seeing your email program’s screen.
Multiple people
An email message can be sent to many people. Here’s how.…
Multiple addresses
If you want to send a message to 2 people (or more), do this:
Windows Mail Put a semicolon between their addresses, like this:
President@WhiteHouse.gov; Russ@SecretFun.com
When you type the semicolon, the computer automatically puts a space afterwards. If you’re too lazy to type the semicolon, press the Enter key instead (which makes the computer type the semicolon for you and also put a space afterwards).
Gmail Put a space between their addresses. For example, if you want to send a message to the President of the United States (whose address is President@WhiteHouse.gov) and also to me (Russ@SecretFun.com), address the mail to:
President@WhiteHouse.gov Russ@SecretFun.com
The computer will automatically put an X after each address. Tap the X just if you change your mind and want to delete that address.
That little list of addresses is called the mailing list.
Carbon copies
Here’s how to send a message mainly to the President of the United States but also send me a copy:
In the main address box (called “To”), type the address of the main person you want to send the letter to (which is President@WhiteHouse.gov).
In a box marked “Cc” (which stands for “Carbon copy”), type the address of the person you want to send a secret copy to (which is Russ@SecretFun.com). Here’s how to make that box appear:
Windows Mail Tap “Cc & Bcc”.
Gmail Tap “Cc”.
Here’s how to send a message mainly to the President of the United States but also send me a copy, and make the copy be secret, so the President of the United States doesn’t know the copy was sent to me:
In the main address box (called “To”), type the address of the main person you want to send the letter to (which is President@WhiteHouse.gov).
Make sure you see a Bcc box. (“Bcc” stands for “Blind carbon copy”.) If you don’t see a Bcc box yet, create it by doing this
Windows Mail Tap “Cc & Bcc”.
Gmail Tap “Bcc”.
In the Bcc box, write the address of the person you want to send a secret copy to (which is Russ@SecretFun.com).
Replies
While you’re reading a message you received, here’s how to send a reply: tap either “Reply” or “Reply All”.
Windows Mail Those words are at the screen’s top.
Gmail Those words are below the message.
If you tap “Reply”, your reply will be sent to just the person who sent you the message. If instead you tap “Reply All”, your reply will be sent to the person who sent you the message and everybody else on the message’s mailing list. For example, if Bob sends a message addressed to a list of 3 people (you, Sue, and Jill) and you want to reply, tap either “Reply” (which will send your reply just to Bob) or “Reply All” (which will send your reply to Bob and also to the other people on the message’s mailing list: Sue and Jill).
Then type your reply (such as “Thanks for your email; you made me laugh” or “I love what you wrote and want to marry you” or “I think you’re nuts and should be locked up”).
While you type, the computer shows a copy of the message you’re replying to. If you want to abridge that copy (so it doesn’t clutter your screen and reply), use the pointer to drag across the part you want to delete, then press the Delete key.
When you finish typing your reply, tap the Send button. The computer will send what you typed, along with your abridged copy of the message you’re replying to.
Forward
While you’re reading a message you received, here’s how to send a copy of it to a friend.
Tap “Forward”.
Windows Mail “Forward” is at the screen’s top.
Gmail “Forward” is below the message.
Type your friend’s email address. At the end of your typing, do this:
Windows Mail Tap the blank area below “FW:”
Gmail Tap the blank area below the email address you typed.
Type a comment to your friend, such as “Here’s a joke Mary sent me.” Below your typing, the computer automatically shows a copy of the message you’re forwarding.
Tap the Send button.
Windows Mail The Send button is near the screen’s top-right corner. It shows a flying envelope.
Gmail The Send button is at the screen’s bottom, below your typing.