Reading Email

It is usually most convenient to sort your email by the date received. You might also configure your client to automatically check for new email.

When you check your mail, your email program connects to your email provider’s email server over the Internet, often with the POP3 protocol, and downloads incoming mail and stores it in your email application’s Inbox. If your Inbox is not currently open, then you can open it so you can see any new mail.

Guidelines for reading email are summarized below:

  • Sorting. If the email in your Inbox aren’t listed by Date Received, then sort it on that column (usually by clicking on the column title), so that the most recent email is shown at the bottom of the list. Clicking on the column title again will usually reverse the sort so that the most recent items will be shown at the top.

    You can also sort the email by sender, to collect all of the email from each person together. However, you should always sort it back by Date Received, or you won’t be able to find any new mail that arrives, because it won’t necessarily be at the top or bottom of the mailbox where it is easily noticed.

  • Checking. It is generally convenient to set your check mail option to automatically connect to your email server every 15 minutes or so to check if you have new mail. You can also check your mail manually at any time by selecting the Check Mail button or menu item.