Wellesley College
Information Services
Computing Documentation

FirstClass 8.3 iconFirstClass 9
Macintosh and Windows
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Index of FirstClass 9 Topics

Install, upgrade, remove FirstClass (select operating system):

Windows
Macintosh

Controller's Guide

FirstClass on the Web

Using FirstClass from off-campus

Frequently Asked Questions

Basics:

New accounts
Starting, logging in and exiting
Password
FirstClass desktop
Toolbars
Aliases and shortcuts
Quotas
Mailbox
Conferences
Printing


Messages and Documents:

Reading messages
New message, replying, forwarding
Addressing messages
Message editing features
Attachments
Unsending messages
Message history
Personal Stationery
Documents


Organizing:
Window view properties
Filtering messages
Deleting and undeleting
Sorting messages
Selecting multiple messages
Creating and using folders
Saving, archiving

Rules:
Spam rule

Features:
Bookmarks
Contacts (Addresses and Mail Lists)
Directory
Instant Message (Chat)
Presentations
Resume
Find/Search

Calendars:

Preferences:

Default mail client
Reply sender or reply all
Automatic reply
Automatic forward
more...


Using a POP client with FirstClass mail

FirstClass Preferences

Preferences buttonThe Preferences dialog box allows you to make changes that apply to your account on any computer that you use. Open preferences by clicking the button on your desktop toolbar. To set your preferences to the system default at any time, open your preferences, then click the Default button followed by Apply and OK.

Register FirstClass as default mail client

 

general tabWindows and Mac OS X (before 10.2)

  1. Click the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the General tab.
  3. If the Register FirstClass as default mail client box is checked, a FirstClass New Message window will open whenever you click an e-mail address link. If this box is not checked, another e-mail program such as Eudora or Netscape Mail may open when you click an e-mail address link. (This may be set up in the control panel of your computer.)
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.

Macintosh operating systems OS 10.2 and later

You will not find this option within the FirstClass preferences. Instead...

OS 10.2: Apple Menu > System Preferences > Internet. Click on the Email tab.

OS 10.3 and 10.4: Go > Applications. Open Mail, an e-mail program that comes with OS 10. (It may ask you to register your email account. If you don't plan to use this software it doesn't matter what you enter. Click OK and Ignore until you get through.) Mail > Preferences. Click General. Default E-mail Reader > Select.... From Applications choose FirstClass. Click Select. Quit Mail.

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Separate inbox from sent mail in Navigation Pane

  1. general tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the General tab.
  3. The Mailbox Style field offers the choice of a Unified Mailbox or Separate Inbox/Outbox. Default is a Unified Mailbox. This option only applies if you are using the Navigation Pane to view your mailbox and it works in a similar way to filters. If you set this option, when using the navigation pane you will no longer see your sent and received messages on the same subject as grouped together.
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK. The preference will take effect after you exit FirstClass and log back in

After setting your preference to Separate Inbox/Outbox, your navigation pane will look like the picture below. If you click on Inbox, received mail will appear in the main pane. Clicking drafts shows messages with white flags that you created but did not send. Junk Mail shows messages marked as Junk by FirstClass, and Sent Items shows messages sent by you.

inbox outbox

 

 

 

 

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Set text style for sent messages

  1. text styles tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Content tab and the Text Styles sub-tab.
  3. In the Normal text section select the font that you would like to use from the pull down menu. The size of the font can be selected via the up and down buttons beside the field or a numerical point size can be typed in. The color can be chosen from the window that appears after you click on the arrow beside the color field. If the color you would like to use is not listed, you can select Other to see more colors.
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.
Note: It is not recommended that you select a specialty font as your text style. Other users may not have specialty fonts installed on their computers and FirstClass will substitute your font for a default font found on the user's computer.

 

 

 

 

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Spell Check

  1. spell check tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Content tab and the Spell Check sub-tab.
  3. Check off boxes to customize your Spell Check options.
  4. If you would like spell check to run automatically when you send an email, check Automatically check on send. Otherwise, to spell check your messages you can click the spell check icon in the toolbar above the message body.
  5. After making changes click Apply and OK.
Note: If you choose to set spell check to automatically check your messages, it is recommended that you leave the box beside Ignore URLs checked to keep from accidentally spell checking and disturbing links within the body of messages.

 

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Magnify message content

  1. options tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Content tab and the Options sub-tab.
  3. In the Zoom field, click the up and down buttons or enter in a percentage to adjust the magnification of your messages.
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.
Note: The magnification that you set will be applied to both sent and received messages.

 

 

 

 

 

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Show only unread items

  1. viewing tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Viewing tab.
  3. Check Show only unread items.
  4. Click Apply and OK.

 

 

 

 

 


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Set Reply Sender or Reply All as default

  1. mail rulesClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Mail Rules sub-tab.
  3. The Reply preference: field displays the current default setting for the way a reply message will be pre-addressed. (You can always edit the names and addresses in the header of an unsent message.) Reply sender is the recommended setting for this field.

    -Automatic -     replies to e-mail messages will be addressed to the original sender with CC:'s to the other addresses receiving the original message. Replies to conference messages will be pre-addressed to the conference

    -Reply All - relies to both e-mail and conference messages will be pre-addressed to all names, addresses and conferences in the To and CC fields of the original message

    -Reply Sender, replies to both e-mail and conference messages will be pre-addressed only to the original sender.

  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.


The reply preference you choose is only used when replying to messages in your main mailbox, not those that are in folders.

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Set automatic reply

  1. mail rules tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Mail Rules sub-tab.
  3. The Automatically reply to: section allows you to send a message that you have written in response to every e-mail message that is received in your Mailbox.

    -    In the Local Mail: and Internet Mail: fields, choose whether or not you would like the automatic reply to go to each of these types of mail. Local mail is sent from one FirstClass account to another using FirstClass names. Internet mail is sent from any other address. In the Reply text field write your short message (250 character limit).

    -To turn off automatic reply, change both Local mail and Internet mail fields to No.


  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.

Note about Automatic Reply: Auto-reply messages are now sent only once per day to any address. If you have an auto-reply set up when someone sends you multiple messages in the same day, that person will receive your auto-reply only to the first message. This helps prevent messages bouncing back-and-forth between a FirstClass user and an Internet address.

If you decide to set up an auto-reply to Internet mail, you should try to avoid having these replies sent to spam originators. (Sending messages to spam originators validates your e-mail address in their listings.) Mailbox rules allow you to be more specific with your auto reply. You can use rules to send an automatic reply only to specified Internet addresses, or you can filter spam messages prior to an auto-reply rule. See Advanced Mailbox Rules.

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Set automatic forward

  1. mail rules tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Mail Rules sub-tab.
  3. The Automatically forward: section allows you to forward a copy of every e-mail message received in your Mailbox to another e-mail address. The forwarded messages will also remain in your mailbox.

    - I    n the Local mail: and Internet mail: fields, choose whether or not you would like to forward copies of each of these types of mail. In the Forward to: field, type the destination e-mail address. The Method field should be set to Forward.

    -To turn off automatic forward, change both Local mail and Internet mail fields to No.


  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.

 

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Cursor placed before or after quote

  1. cursorClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Initial Content sub-tab.
  3. In the Cursor placement in reply field use the pull-down menu and select Before Quote if you would like your cursor to be placed before the selected quote or After Quote if you would like your cursor to be places after the selected quote.
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.

 

 

 

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Quoted reply includes name and time

  1. replyquoteClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Initial Content sub-tab.
  3. From the pull-down menu in the Rely tagging: field select Name and Timestamp to have the name of the person that you are quoting as well as the time that his or her message was sent.
    To have only the name of the quoted person appear with the quoted text in the reply message, select Name only from the pull-down menu.
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.

 


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Signature text

  1. initial content tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Initial Content sub-tab.
  3. In the Signature text: field type the text that you would like to appear at the end of your e-mail messages and conference postings.
    The Automatically add signature to new messages checkbox allows you to choose whether you want the signature text added to every message that you post or whether you would like it added selectively. If you do not check this box you can add the signature text while you are writing a message by Edit > Inset > Insert Signature.
  4. After making changes click Apply and OK.

 

 

 

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Sounds

  1. audio tabClick the Preferences button on your desktop.
  2. Click the Messaging tab and the Audio sub-tab.
  3. The default setting is to have audio files attached to messages play automatically when messages are opened. To keep audio files from playing automatically uncheck Automatically play audio files when messages are unread.
  4. From the pull-down menu beside Volume for built-in sounds select your preferred volume. The volume for audio in FirstClass ranges from Maximum to Off.
  5. After making changes click Apply and OK.

    Note: The volume that you set here affects audio attachments, the new mail alert and instant messaging alerts. If you select Off for the volume you will not be alerted when you receive a new message. To turn off only the instant message alerts, adjust the preferences within the Instant Messaging sub-tab.

 

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