Receiving E-mail

With Eudora

How to ...

• Check for messages

• Read messages

• Delete messages (or see our more detailed Deleting Messages page)

• Mailboxes & Memory: Essential Reading!

• Receive attachments

• Watch out for viruses

Check for Messages

1. Click the Check Mail button on Eudora's main Toolbar.
   Or choose Check Mail from the File menu.
   
   If this is the first time you have checked mail since you launched Eudora, you will see a dialog box asking for your NetID and password. Type that information and click OK.
   
   Note: If you have set up Personalities, you may see a password dialog box for each Personality.
   
   
2. After a few moments, you'll see the "You have new mail" screen if you have any new messages, or the "You have no new mail" screen if you don't. Click OK.
3. If you have new mail, the In mailbox (if you're using POP) or the Inbox on the server (if you're using IMAP) will open. Messages that you haven't read will be marked with a bullet on the left. If you've set up filters, some new messages may have been moved into other mailboxes automatically.

Eudora can automatically check for new messages at regular intervals, if you are connected to the network.

Windows

1. Go to the Tools menu and choose Options.
2. In the left scroll bar, click on Checking Mail.
3. In the box next to "Check for mail every ... " type in a number of minutes. CIT recommends that you check every 30 minutes, or less frequently. Each time you check for messages you use network resources, so we do not recommend checking every 5 or 10 minutes.
4. Put a check mark in the box next to "Don't check without a network connection."
5. Click OK.

Macintosh

1. Go to the Special menu and choose Settings.
2. In the left scroll bar, click on Checking Mail.
3. Put a check mark in the box next to "Check for mail every ... " and type in a number of minutes. CIT recommends that you check every 30 minutes, or less frequently. Each time you check for messages you use network resources, so we do not recommend checking every 5 or 10 minutes.
4. Put a check mark in the box next to "Don't check without a network connection."
5. In the left scroll bar, click on Internet Dialup.
6. Make sure there is no check mark in the first box ("Don't check mail automatically...").
7. Click OK.

 

Read Messages

Look at any e-mail messages that are in your In mailbox (or other mailboxes).

• Note: By default, all new messages are delivered to your In mailbox (if you're using POP) or the Inbox on the server (if you're using IMAP). Filters can put new, unread messages in other mailboxes. You can easily tell whether a mailbox has unread mail by looking at the Mailbox menu or window. Any mailbox that contains unread mail will be bold (Windows) or underlined (Macintosh). After several days, these indicators will no longer be shown.

1. To open a message, double-click on the message summary line. The message will open in a new window.
2. To close a message, close the message window, or go to the File menu and choose Close.

Delete Messages

Note: Eudora provides many options for how messages are deleted, allowing you to choose whether messages are irretrievably gone when you delete them, or whether you can change your mind and get them back. This section covers the basics; for a more detailed explanation, see our Deleting Messages page.

1. Open the mailbox that contains the message you want to delete. Click once on the desired message summary. (If the message is already open, skip this step.)
2. Press the Delete key.
   Or click on the Trash icon in Eudora's main Toolbar.
   Or go to the Transfer menu and choose Trash.
   
   IMAP with Windows: You have two choices for how to handle deleted messages. You set this by selecting Options from the Tools menu, then clicking Incoming Mail.
   
   If you choose Mark it as deleted, the message will still appear in your mailbox, but the Server Status column icon will show a red X, indicating that this message has been marked for deletion. To permanently delete all marked messages, choose Purge Messages from the Message menu.
   
   Your other option is Move it to <<name of trash folder>>. This folder must be on the server.
   
   
3. When you Exit or Quit from Eudora, messages in the Trash mailbox are automatically deleted. To empty the local trash manually, go to the Special menu and choose Empty Trash. (It is possible to turn off the automatic deletion feature in the Miscellaneous settings, but if you do, you must remember to empty the Trash periodically using the manual method.)

Once you empty the Trash (either automatically or manually), you cannot un-delete a message.

To permanently delete messages stored on the server (with IMAP):

With Windows if you chose Mark it as deleted, select Purge Messages from the Message menu. Once purged, messages connot be recovered.

With Windows if you chose Move it to <<name of trash folder>>, open your server trash folder, highlight one or more messages, then press the Delete key. Messages deleted from your server trash cannot be recovered.

On Macintosh, chose Empty Trash from the Special menu.

Note that when you delete a message you do not delete any files attached to it. (You can change this setting in Windows by going to Tools, Options, Attachments, or on a Macintosh by going to Special, Settings, Attachments.)

Un-delete a message:
(you cannot un-delete a message once you've emptied the trash or purged messages)

Receive Attachments

An e-mail message may have a document or file attached to it.

1. When you receive an attachment, you will see the Attachment symbol in the message summary.
2. Open the e-mail message. You'll see the name of the attached file at the bottom of the message. (If you are using a Macintosh, some graphics files may display inside your e-mail message; you can turn this feature on or off by going to the Special menu and choosing Settings, then selecting Fonts & Display in the scroll area at the left.) To open the file, either click on the filename (Macintosh: double-click), or locate the actual file on your computer and open it.

   IMAP users: Attachments are not actually saved to your computer until you open them or download them to your computer. Until then, Eudora puts a small "placeholder" file in your attachment directory. These files have the real file's name, but do not contain any real information. If you try to open the placeholder file (its size will show as 2K), you will get an error message. To download the file to your computer:

   Windows: right-click the filename in the Eudora message and choose Save Attachment as... from the pop-up menu.
   Macintosh: Click on the filename or the arrow next to it. The arrow means the file has not yet been downloaded. If there is no arrow, then you have already downloaded the file.

In Windows, attachments are automatically stored in the Eudora folder, in a folder labeled Attach. On Macintosh, you'll find them in Attachments Folder which is in the Eudora Folder in your System Folder. To choose another location, in Windows go to Tools / Options / Attachments. On Macintosh, go to Special / Settings / Attachments. If you find files that won't open and their size is 2K AND you use IMAP these are "placeholder" files for attachments that you haven't saved yet.

Find out more about attachments, including steps to take if your computer can't read an attachment correctly.

Note that when you delete a message you do not delete any files attached to it. (You can have Eudora delete attachments automatically when you delete messages in Windows by going to Tools, Options, Attachments, or on a Macintosh by going to Special, Settings, Attachments.)

Eudora home page | Receiving | Writing | Deleting | Organizing your e-mail
Working with attachments | Working with filters | Using Kerberos with Eudora
Obtaining Eudora Manuals | Help with Windows Eudora | Help with Macintosh Eudora
Setting up Eudora ... on your own computer ... for multiple users ... for a special mailbox