Composing a Message

Click the Compose menu icon in the top menu bar to open a new message composition window.

A new message composition window will open. Use this window to compose new messages.

At the top of the message composition window are the "header" fields. This is where you set who are sending the message to and what the subject of the message is. If sending to multiple people, separate the addresses with commas (not semi-colons or spaces -- these will not work properly).

Enter the text of your message in the space provided. When finished click on the Send Message button.

About the Header Fields

There are several addressing fields which contain email addresses for the message recipients. These fields differ in logical importance and in concealment purposes, but otherwise function the same. The fields are:

To:: The To: field specifies direct recipients of the message. These are people to whom the message is directed. All the recipients will see these addresses in the To: field of the message.
Cc:: The Cc: field specifies recipients who should receive a "carbon copy" of the message. All recipients will see these addresses listed in the Cc: field of the message.
Bcc:: The Bcc: field specifies recipients who should receive a "blind carbon copy" of the message. This is similar to the Cc: field, except that these addresses will not show up in the other recipients messages. In this way, you can send a copy to someone without the other recipients knowledge.

The last header field is the Subject: field. While a subject line is not required. A subject line allows the recipient to know what the message is about without having to open and read the message. It also allows for easy recognition, threading, searching or filtering of messages. Good subjects are as short and concise as possible, conveying the contents of the message in as few words as possible.

Saving a Message as a Draft

You can save a message you are composing as a draft, so you can finish and send the message at another time. The message is saved in your Drafts folder, ready for you to resume at your convenience.

Tip: If you specify a meaningful subject on messages before you save them as a draft, it will be much easier to find the correct message later when you want to resume it.

Begin composing your message. When you are ready to stop, click the Save Draft button.
From the folders pop-up menu in the upper left corner of the folder view, select the Drafts folder.
The Drafts folder will open. To open the draft message, click its subject or sender.
To resume working on the message, click on the Resume link.