When you log into your mailbox, you see a screen view similar to the one below.
- Search Bar. Use the search field to find your messages or contacts.
- User Name, Quota Display, and Log Off link. Your email address and mailbox quota are displayed here. The link to log off your mailbox is in the top right corner.
- Overview pane. (Sometimes called the Navigation pane.) Your folders are displayed, including the system folders Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Junk, and Trash. Any custom folders you create are displayed in this pane. Searches you saved and tags you created are also listed here.
- Application tabs. This displays the applications available for your account. You begin your session in the Mail tab. Click on another tab to open that application's Content pane.
- Toolbar. Shows actions available for the current application. The toolbar displays at the top and bottom of the Content pane. The toolbar in this figure is for the Mail application.
- Content pane. The content of this area changes depending on what application is in use. In the Mail view, the Content pane displays all messages or conversations in your Inbox.
When you open the Mail tab, your email messages are listed. From this view you can open and read your messages.
Typical Inbox view when you open your mailbox.
- This row includes Refresh, Compose, Print, Delete, Junk and two action menus, Move to and More Actions.'
Click Refresh to retrieve new email messages.
Click Compose to start a new email message. It opens in the Content pane.
To delete a message, select a message and then click Delete or Junk to move a marked message to either the Trash folder or Junk folder.
Use the Move to action bar to move messages to the folder selected. The arrows and numbers the other side of the Move to action bar display the number of email messages in this page. This may not be the total number of messages on your mailbox. Clicking the right arrow will move you to the next page of email messages.
Use the More Actions action bar to mark selected messages as read or unread, flagged or unflagged, tagged with an already created tag, or untagged.
- Header bar for the Content pane. If you check the check-box in the Header, all email messages on that page are also checked.
- Your messages are displayed as either Conversations or as single messages. Use the check box to select the message or conversation when you want to perform a Move to or More Actions task.
The system folders are Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Junk, and Trash. You cannot move, rename, or delete these folders. System folders are always displayed at the top of your folder list, followed by any folders you create.
Inbox
New mail arrives in the Inbox. By default, your Inbox is displayed after you log in.
Sent
A copy of each message you send is saved in the Sent folder.
Drafts
Messages you have composed but have not sent can be saved in the Drafts folder. If you open a message in the Drafts folder, it opens in the Compose view.
Junk
Most filtering of unsolicited automated mail (aka "spam" or "junk mail") is handled by a spam filter before those mail messages reach your Inbox. Mail that might possibly be junk mail, but isn't certain to be junk, may be placed in your Junk folder. You can review these messages and either move them or delete them. If you don't delete them, they will be purged after 6 days.
If you find a message that is clearly not relevant, you can highlight it and click Junk on the toolbar. The mail is moved to your Junk folder. Sometimes messages may be put in the Junk folder that are not really junk mail.
Trash
Deleted items are placed in the Trash folder and remain there until you manually empty the trash or until the folder is purged automatically. Mail is purged from this folder after 15 days.