Replying to and Creating New Email Messages

To reply to an email, first select the email in the center pane. The email will load in the right pane, along with the reply link and menu in the upper right.

To reply to only the sender of the email, select Reply.

To reply to everyone else who also received a copy of the email, select the down arrow next to Reply, and then select Reply all in the menu. If you are only responding to the sender, do not use Reply all. As a general rule, if you are not sure whether you should use Reply or Reply all, just use Reply.

To send the email to someone who did not send the email to you or who did not receive a copy, select Forward.

After selecting one of the above options, the Compose message window will load. At the top of this window are the recipient options.

Anyone who will receive your reply or forwarded email is listed in the To field.

If someone appears in this list that you do not wish to receive a copy of your email, use the X icon next to their name to remove them. If someone who you want to receive a copy of this email is not listed here, you can add them as a recipient by typing their email addresses in this field.

The next field, CC stands for carbon copy. Addresses listed in this field will also receive a copy of this email, just like the To field. You should use this field to send emails to people who are not the primary recipient, but may also need a record of the email being sent.

The last field, BCC (blind carbon copy), functions similarly to the CC. The difference is that anyone you add to the BCC field will not be listed as a recipient of the email to other recipients.

If this sounds confusing now, don’t worry. It will be covered in depth in the Netiquette section. The main thing you need to know about the To, CC, and BCC fields is that anyone listed in those fields will receive a copy of the email.

After adding all of your recipients to these fields, you are ready to type your message. A space for this is provided just beneath the recipients option.

You can begin typing your message in the blank area above the contents of the email you are replying to. Your message contents should be clear, and you should always use complete sentences and proper grammar. This will help avoid confusion and ensure you are understood. After you’ve typed your reply, always proofread it to make sure there are no spelling mistakes.

When you are ready to send your email, click the Send button at the top.

This will send your email to everyone you’ve added as a recipient. Once you click send there is no taking the message back, so be sure it is just as you want before doing so.

The steps to create a new email are very similar to the above steps. You will start by selecting the New link in the middle pane.

Add any email addresses to the To, CC, and BCC fields just as in the steps above.

Next, you will need to type a subject for your message in the subject field. The subject you give a quick overview of what your email is about.

From this point, the steps are exactly the same as for replying to an email. Add a subject, add any recipients you wish, type your message, and click send – that’s it!

Next up - Email Attachments