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Unit 1 Google Mail
Navigating Gmail
E-mail, short for electronic mail, is a system for sending messages from
one device to another over an electronic network. E-mail services provide
users with an e-mail client by which e-mail can be sent and received. Some
e-mail clients are software programs installed on a computer. Other e-mail
clients are browser-based, which means the e-mail software is accessed
through the Internet via a website.
Once a user logs in to his or her Gmail account, the
page is displayed.
The list of received e-mail messages, known as the inbox, occupies most of
the browser window. Each entry in the list of received messages includes
the name of the person or business that sent the message. The subject line of
the message is displayed to the right of the sender’s name. The last piece of
information included is the date the message was received. When the sender’s
name, subject, and date information for a message are displayed in bold text, it
indicates that the message has not been opened or read.
Many people are used to storing e-mail messages in folders. Gmail
uses labels rather than folders to store e-mail messages. Labels are used
to organize e-mails in the same way folders are used to organize fi les on
a computer. The advantage of labels over folders is that messages can be
assigned to more than one label at a time. The labels list appears to the left of
the e-mail list. There are default labels that are part of the Gmail system. The
default or system labels include Inbox, Starred, Important,
Sent
Mail, Drafts,
and
All
Mail, as seen in Figure 1-1. Some of these system labels appear in the
label list only after the user completes certain actions. For example, the
Trash
label may be displayed only after the fi rst time a message has been deleted.
Gmail users can also create new labels, as discussed in Chapter 2.
Composing and Sending E-mail
Messages
To reach someone using e-mail, a Gmail user must compose a new
message. To compose a message is to create and write it. The fi rst step is to
address the message by entering one or more e-mail addresses in the
To
text
box. Next, add a subject to the message by entering the text in the
Subject
text box. The subject of an e-mail should give the recipient an idea of what
the message is about in 130 characters or less. It is similar to the headline of
a news article. The message itself is the information being communicated. It
is entered in the large text box below the
Subject
text box. Once the message
text is complete, the user sends the e-mail.
The sender is the person who sends the e-mail. The recipient is the
person to whom the e-mail is sent.