Nephronline - Supplement and Diary - internet tips, tricks & shortcuts (5)

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How do I know if the person I've written to has received and read an email I've sent? (click to go back)
	In Netscape 4.x You must first set up your browser to allow this feature.
		Launch Netscape Messenger -- the email part of your Internet browser..
		Select and left click on Edit at the top of the screen.
		Highlight and left click on Preferences at the foot of the drop-down menu.
		From the list of options displayed under Mail & Newsgroups in the left-hand frame, highlight and click on Return Receipts.
		This will launch a Wizard with three Option panels.
		In the top panel, left click the white dot preceding the middle option -- "A read message . ." to select this option. You will see the white change to one with a black bullet in it.
		In the middle panel of the Wizard are two options. Select "Leave in my Inbox". Again left click the white dot preceding this option so the black bullet appears.
		Click OK
	*Putting this into use*
		Launch the new message Composition template by left clicking on the New Msg icon at the top of your email browser's interface (Netscape Messenger).
		When you have written your email, left click on Options.
		Left click the white box to the left of Return Receipt so that a black tick appears.
		Send your message as normal.
	In Outlook Express
		Launch Outlook Express.
		Left click on New Mail.
		This launches the New Message email template.
		Left click on Tools at the top of the template which launches a drop-down menu..
		Highlight and left click Request Read Receipt on this drop-down menu.
		Write and send your email as normal.
One of my colleagues keeps many of his emails for future reference but I don't understand how he can ever find the one he is interested again. How does he do it? (click to go back)
	He is using a useful feature in his email browser which allows him to search for, and find, emails by asking his computer to display those with a specific sender's name, recipient's name, subject, or a key word within the body copy of the email. Here is how you can do this.. In Netscape
		Launch Netscape Messenger
		Select and left click to highlight the folder in the left hand frame in which you want to search for the message. Or go to next step.
		Left click Edit at the top of the screen and select Search Messages.
		This produces a Wizard which offers a number of search criteria
		The first field "Search for items in" allows you to specify, by clicking the arrow on the right, from a drop-down list the folder in which you want to search.
		Highlight and click on the folder you want and it will appear in the first field
		Next, decide the word for which you are searching and type it into the last of the three fields below.
		Then narrow the search criteria by selecting appropriately from the choice given in the drop-down lists generated by clicking on the arrow to the right of the other two fields.
		Click search and a list of the emails containing your specified choice will appear in a pop-down screen below.
		Highlight and click the email you want and it will be opened.
	In Outlook Express
		Launch Outlook Express.
		Select and left click to highlight the folder in the left-hand frame in which you want to search for the message.
		Left click Edit at the top of the screen and move the mouse arrow down to select Find from the drop-down menu
		This launches a side menu.
		Highlight and click on Message.
		This launches a Wizard with four main search options: "From"; "To"; "Subject"; and "Message".
		Type in the appropriate key word, click Find Now, and the emails containing the word will appear in the mini-window which will pop down below the search criteria part of the Wizard.
		You can search for a key word within the body of an email by putting the word you are looking for in the "Message" field.
My sister has sent me an email with a coloured background. How can I give my reply one? (click to go back)
		Launch Outlook Express.
		Click on New Mail at the top to launch the New Message template.
		Click on Format at the top of the screen
		On the drop-down menu move the mouse arrow down to highlight Background.
		A Side Menu will appear.
		Move mouse arrow across to highlight Colour.
		Another Side Menu will appear.
		Move the mouse arrow across to highlight the colour you want from the list.
		Click the highlighted colour and you will see the body-copy portion of the New Message template change from white to the colour you selected.
		Write and send the email as normal.
	Note: When you downloaded your sister's email you may have noticed it took longer than usual. Bear this in mind when sending coloured-background missives. Not everyone will appreciate them!
I find the standard serif Times Roman typeface in Word rather old fashioned. But, although I can change it to a more modern-looking typeface for individual documents, I'd like my computer to do this automatically. Can you help? (click to go back)
		Open a new Word document.
		Click Format at the top of the screen.
		A drop-down menu appears.
		Move the mouse arrow to highlight Font and click on it.
		A Wizard appears. You are interested in the three side-by-side fields at the top.
		Use the scroll bars on the right of the fields to select the combination of typeface, style, and size you want. I suggest you change only typeface and size. Leave style as Regular. Use the function buttons while working on a document to make individual words italics or bold.
		Click on Default at the bottom of Wizard.
		You will be asked if you want to action the change.
		Click Yes.
	Note: All new documents will now be in the typeface, style and size you have selected.
Sending large email files and attachments is expensive and can be irritating for the recipient, who has to wait for them to download. Here's how to avoid upsetting your friends. (click to go back)
	The trick is to compress the files using a special program. You can download a good one called WinZip from www.winzip.com. You use it to compress -- or zip -- the email file before sending it and because it is then much smaller in size it sends and downloads much more quickly. Your recipient simply needs also to have WinZip installed on their system to decompress -- or unzip -- the file after it has downloaded onto their machine.
Most people find the advent of the computer mouse a boon. But if you were brought up on MS-DOS or are natural keyboard user, here are a few handy keyboard shortcuts you can use instead. (click to go back)
	F1 key: This launches the drop-down "Help" menu for the application in which you are working. ALT+F4 key: Closes a programme or application. If you are working on an unsaved document, it asks whether you want to save before closing. Ctrl+X: Deletes any highlighted copy in a document. Ctrl+C: Copies any highlighted copy in a document to the clipboard. Ctrl+V: Pastes the information last saved on the clipboard to where the cursor is in a document. Ctrl+Z: Undoes immediate previous command or work on a document. Shift+Delete Use with caution!: Deletes selected item without placing it in the recycle bin.