Receiving

Nobody can use their e-mail unless they know how to receive messages.

Getting e-mail means going online, downloading your messages and then reading them. That's all there is to it!

At home, your regular post waits for you on your doormat. But in the virtual world, e-mails wait for you on your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) computer until you go and get them.

Going online

If you want to go and get your e-mails you have to start at your computer and go online.

Once you are online, you can then use the e-mail program on your computer to go and get your e-mail messages.

When someone sends you an e-mail message it is stored on your internet service provider's (ISPs) computer until you want to collect them.

Your e-mail program

Most computers will already have an e-mail program set-up on them. It is the e-mail program's job to send, receive and organise your e-mail messages.

It is your e-mail program that asks the ISP's computer to send your e-mails to your computer.

After the e-mail messages come into your e-mail program you can then read it.

Opening your e-mails

When you open up your e-mail program you will see a list of messages in the main window. This list will have some messages you have read and some new e-mails you haven't read.

To read an e-mail you must click on the message in the list.

The text is often displayed below in the 'preview pane'. The preview pane is good for having a quick look at
new e-mails.

You can also open an e-mail in its own window. To do this you double click on the e-mail in the list.

The e-mail window

Opening an e-mail in its own window gives you more buttons and options to use.

Every e-mail has information on it including the sender's name, the date, the e-mail's subject, and the message itself.

The sender's name tells you who the message is from.

The date tells you exactly when the message was sent.

The e-mail's subject is filled in by the sender and gives a brief description of what's in the e-mail.

All of these elements should appear at the top of your e-mail, above the message itself.

The 'message body' and closing windows

The most important part of an e-mail is the actual message itself. It's often called the e-mail 'body'.

Once you have finished reading an open e-mail you can close it using the little 'X' button in the top right-hand corner of the window. Much like closing other program windows on a computer.

And that's all there is to it. Receiving your e-mail messages is very straight-forward. Now let's go on to see what to do if you want to send a message.