IPFW Netmail

Accessing Netmail

To log into Netmail, you will need to have an active IPFW account. All enrolled students have an IPFW account. If you are a student and have not activated your account, you can activate it on or off campus. Those with an Official Retiree/Emeritus Account also use Netmail to read their mail.

The address to access student webmail, or Netmail, directly is http://webmail.students.ipfw.edu/. Additionally, it can be accessed via myIPFW (http://my.ipfw.edu/.) You can also read your mail using any POP3 compatible mail client. If you have another email address and don't wish to read your IPFW student email, you can also forward it to an off campus email address.

On campus you can read your mail in any open access lab, email quick kiosks located in public areas of most buildings or on your own laptop using the IPFW wireless network.

Composing and Sending Messages in Netmail

To compose and send a message in Netmail:

• Click the Compose button in the upper left hand corner of the screen.
• Fill out the Address, Subject, and if required, the Cc: and Bcc: fields.
• Enter your message.
• When you are finished, click Send at the top right of the window. Your message will be sent and you will be returned to your Mailbox screen.

Sending Attachments in Netmail:

Carefully watch the size and amount of attachments you send. Multiple or large attachments can slow or clog a recipient's e-mail processing and also clog your account by overloading the server.
• Click the Compose button and compose your message as usual.
• When finished with the message, click on the Attach button at the right. A new window will appear.
• Click on the Browse button.
• Find the file you want to send by selecting the drive and filename, then click Add.
• Repeat this process for any additional files you would like to attach.
• Click OK. You are taken back to your message.
• To send the message with the attachment(s), click Send.

Reading and Responding to Messages

To read a message in your message list, click on the Subject. The text and any attachments will be displayed, though the attachment may be displayed as a file name only.

Viewing Attachments
If you receive an attachment, click on the filename and save the file to your disk. Then open the program in which the file was created to access the file. Note: some files will open automatically and you will not need to take the extra step of saving and opening them.

Responding to Messages
If you read a message and want to reply immediately, click on the Reply to Sender button at the top of the page. You can also choose Reply all if you want to send a message to everyone who received that message. In either case, Netmail will automatically address the message and paste the text into the text field so you can refer to the original message in your reply. You can also Forward a message to another recipient, but be sure the author of the message doesn't mind.

Creating a Sent Items Folder

Netmail does not automatically keep a copy of all of your sent items. Fortunately, creating a folder to do this for you is simple and easy to do.

• In the upper left-hand corner of the screen, click Add Folder.
• Enter a name for your folder (such as Sent Items) and click OK.
• Click the Options button.
• Click the Mailbox Management button.
• Make sure your Sent Items folder is listed on the Sent Folder drop down list and click Save.
• You may need to exit Netmail then log back in for your sent mail folder to be activated.

Forwarding Your Email

If you already have e-mail at home or work it is possible to set a forwarding address from your IPFW Netmail e-mail directly to your off campus e-mail address. Mail sent to your campus address would be sent right through to your home or work address. You can set your forwarding in myIPFW. If you are an IPFW Official Retiree or Emeritus, you cannot change your forwarding in myIPFW. You must set it in Netmail.

Using the Address Book

The Address Book in Netmail is a place where you can store addresses of people you email frequently. You can also use it to search for addresses of IPFW faculty and staff who have an account on one of the IPFW email servers. It also contains student email addresses for those students who have chosen to list their address in it.

To add an address:

• Click the Address Book icon on the left side of the screen (looks like a rolodex).
• Under the Personal heading, click the Create button.
• Enter the person's name and email address.
• Click the OK button.

To address a message to someone in your address book:

• Open a new message.
• Click the Address Book button.
• Select the addresses you want to use and click the To button. They will be added to the Current Recipients list.
• Click the Compose button when you are finished addressing. You will be taken back to the email message where the selected email addresses will be in the To field.

To look up an e-mail address using the System Address Book:

• Open a new message.
• Click the Address Book button.
• In the Search For box, you can either enter the person's entire last name or just the first few letters.
• Press Enter or click the Search button.
• The results will be displayed
• Select the addresses you want to use and click the To button. They will be added to the Current Recipients list.
• Click the Compose button when you are finished addressing. You will be taken back to the email message where the selected email addresses will be in the To field.

Changing Address Book Privacy Settings

When students activate their accounts, they are asked if they want to include their address in an online directory. This setting can always be changed inside Netmail.

• Click the Options icon (middle icon in the top row of 3 icons - Help, Options, Exit)
• Look for Address Book Settings at the bottom of the General Settings tab
• Under Privacy, select the option you want
• None - Your address will appear inside Netmail (for other students to look up) and on the web directory (accessible by anyone)
• Limited - Your address will appear only inside Netmail (for other students to look up)
• Unlisted - Your address does not appear insie Netmail or on the web directory

POP Settings

You can use any POP compatible email program to ready your student mail. Because mail program settings differ, you may need to consult the program's help files to find out how to set up a connection.

• Username: Your username
• Password: Your password
• Incoming mail server: holmes.ipfw.edu
• Outgoing mail (SMTP) server: smtp.ipfw.edu or an outgoing mail server provided by your ISP.
• If you are using smtp.ipfw.edu as your outgoing mail server and you are off campus, you may have to fill in the settings stating "my outgoing mail server requires authentication". This is in different locations in different programs. There will be boxes you can enter your username and password. This is for security reasons--we do not want spammers to be able to use IPFW mail servers to send spam.
• If you do not configure your POP mail client to remove messages from the server, your mailbox may fill up causing the eventual bouncing of future e-mail.

Listservs -- How to Subscribe to a Campus Listserv

See IPFW Listserv FAQs.

Creating a Signature

A signature is a short string of text that is added to the end of email messages you send. It will usually contain your full name, title, phone number, e-mail address, etc.

To create your signature file:

• Click the Options icon (middle icon in the top row of 3 icons - Help, Options, Exit)
• Click the Mailbox Management tab
• At the bottom of the window, select Yes under Add signature to outgoing messages
• You may now type the information you would like to include in your signature file.
• When you are done, click the Save button and then click the Close button.

Your signature will automatically appear at the end of the messages you send.

Security Timeout

As a security feature, Netmail will time out after 6 minutes of inactivity. Activity is measured in clicks to different pages inside webmail. So even if you are reading or typing a long email message, because you have not navigated to a new page, the system thinks you are inactive. The next time you click on something, you may be returned to the login screen, possibly losing any messages that have not been saved.

The timeout settings can be altered by opening Options.

If you know you will be composing a lengthy message in webmail, it is best to type the message into Word or WordPerfect. When you have finished typing, you can copy and paste the text into a new message in webmail.

If you have any questions or problems, feel free to call the Help Desk at 481-6030.