Introduction

No matter which email service you choose, you'll need to learn how to interact with an email interface , including the inbox , the Message pane , and the Compose pane . Depending on the email provider, the interfaces may look and feel different, but they all function in essentially the same way.

In this lesson, we'll talk about using an email interface to send and receive messages. We'll also discuss various terms , actions , and features that are commonly used when working with email.

Understanding the email interface

Below are some examples of different email interfaces from Gmail . Review the images below to become familiar with various email interfaces.

Keep in mind that these examples will only provide a general overview. You can visit our Gmail tutorial to learn how to use an email application in detail.

Inbox

The inbox is where you'll view and manage emails you receive. Emails are listed with the name of the sender , the subject of the message, and the date received .

Message pane

When you select an email in the inbox, it will open in the Message pane . From here, you can read the message and choose how to respond with a variety of commands.

Compose pane

You can click the Compose or New button from your inbox to open the Compose pane to create your own email message. From here, you'll need to enter the recipient's email address and a subject . You'll also have the option to upload files (photos, documents, etc.) as attachments and add formatting to the message.

A Compose pane will also appear when you select Reply or Forward . The text from the original message will be copied into the Compose pane.

Common email terms and actions

All email applications use certain terms and commands you will need to understand before using email. The examples below use Gmail's Compose pane and Message pane to introduce basic email terms, but these will still be applicable for Yahoo! and Outlook.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about the Compose pane .

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To: Field and Recipients

Whenever you send an email, you'll add recipients to the To: field . Recipients are the people you are sending the email to. You will need to type the email address for each recipient. Most of the time you'll add recipients to the To: field, but you can also add recipients to the Cc: and Bcc: fields.

Email Address

You must have an email address for any person you want to email. All email addresses have a user name , the @ (at) symbol , and the email provider's domain . Email addresses must be entered correctly or the message won't be delivered.

Cc

Cc stands for carbon copy . This is used when you want to send an email to someone who is not the main recipient. This helps to keep that person in the loop while letting him or her know that there's no need to reply to your message.

Subject

The subject should say what the email is about. Keep the subject brief , but give the recipients a reasonable idea of what's in the message .

Body

The body is the actual text of the email. Generally, you'll write this just like a normal letter, with a greeting, one or more paragraphs, and a closing with your name.

Signature

You can choose to create a signature that will appear at the end of every email you send. Signatures often include a name and contact information , like a phone number, website, or professional title.

Send

When you are satisfied with your message, you will click Send to send it to the recipients.

Formatting Options

Formatting allows you to change the look and feel of your message. For example, you can change the font style , size , and color , as well as include links .

Attachments

An attachment is a file (like an image or document) that is sent along with the email message. Click the Attachment button to include an attachment with the email.

Emoticons or Emoji

Most email providers include graphic emoticons (also known as emoji ) that you can add to your messages. Emoticons can help to express your mood and convey tone in a message.

Bcc

Bcc stands for "blind carbon copy." It works almost the same way as Cc, except all of the email address in the Bcc fields are hidden, making it ideal when emailing a very large number of recipients or when privacy is needed.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about the Message pane .

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Navigation Menu

Most email clients will provide a menu to help navigate to your different services , including your contacts list , calendar , and more.

Compose

You can use the Compose or New button to create a new email.

Inbox

Your inbox is where received messages will appear. Unread messages will usually appear in bold .

Drafts

Drafts are messages you have composed but not sent. When composing a message, you can choose to save your message as a draft and finish it later. Some providers will even save drafts automatically .

Spam

Just like snail mail, you will likely receive junk or spam emails in your inbox. Spam emails often carry viruses or scams , so you won't want to read these messages. Your email provider will usually filter suspicious emails into a Spam folder . If, however, you do receive spam in your inbox, you can always move it to the Spam folder, which will help your email provider filter these messages in the future.

Trash

You can delete any email from your inbox by moving it to the Trash . Just like the Recycle Bin or Trash on your desktop, messages in the Trash can be retrieved for a short time. However, emails will be permanently deleted after a certain amount of time in the Trash. Some providers, like Gmail, allow you to archive your messages instead, which removes emails from the inbox but does not delete them.

Folders and Labels

All major webmail providers offer folders or labels, which allow you to organize your messages any way you want.

Reply All

Sometimes you may receive emails addressed to you and several other recipients . When responding to these messages, you'll need to decide whether you want to reply to the original sender or all recipients . Only use the Reply All command if you want to send a message to everyone included in the original email. Many people accidentally use Reply All when they mean to reply to just the original sender.

Forward

Whenever you want to share an email you've received, you can use the Forward command to send the message to another person.

Conversations

Most email providers will group messages you have replied to into conversations , keeping your related emails together.

Sign Out

If you're concerned about privacy or are using webmail on a public or shared computer , you should always sign out when finished.

Reply

Whenever you receive an email, you can use the Reply command to respond to the message. The Compose pane will appear with the text of the original message copied into the body of the email.