You may have noticed as you composed the last few e-mail messages that entering an e-mail address in the TO: box each time is a bit tedious. It is also an opportunity to make a mistake.

E-mail servers are notoriously unforgiving… one little mistake, one extra space, a forgotten period, even upper and lower case letters in the wrong place are enough to bounce an e-mail message back undelivered. Don’t worry, it happens to all of us!

There are some shortcuts that eliminate some of the tedium and opportunities for error. All e-mail clients have a REPLY option. This is typically an icon in the toolbar or an option in one of the menus. You may have to search a bit to find it as each e-mail software application is a bit different. But, this one is well worth the search as you will see shortly.

1. Open your e-mail client.
   
2. Select the last e-mail message that I sent to you and open it.
   
3. With this message displayed on the screen, find the REPLY option.
   
4. A new message will appear on your screen with the TO: box already addressed to bjost@josts.net
   
5. The SUBJECT: box have something like RE: (Title of last e-mail message) already entered. Change that to "e-mail C"
   
6. The TEXT: box may have the text of the previous message displayed with a > character to the left of each line.
   
7. You can erase part or all of the text of the previous message (if it is displayed on the screen) by holding down the mouse button while you drag across the text to select it and then hitting the backspace key. it is generally considered to be a courtesy to edit the original text, leaving just a few sentences or phrases for reference.
   
8. Type your reply message
   
9. Enter your e-mail address in the CC: box
   
10. SEND the message.

The REPLY TO ALL option functions in a similar way. You can use this feature if you have received an e-mail message addressed to multiple recipients. Selecting the REPLY TO ALL option allows you to send a response to everyone on the recipient list at the same time. Be very careful with the Reply to All option. If you received a message that was sent to many recipients, clicking this button will send your reply to all of the addresses in the original recipient list even if you only wanted to reply to the sender.

The FORWARD option is another shortcut you will find helpful. If you select this option, you can forward the entire e-mail message to another recipient. You will need to insert the address of the new recipient in the TO: box by entering it manually or getting it from your address book.

Most e-mail clients will allow you to add a comment to the e-mail message before you forward it. Typically your comments will appear at the top of the message followed by the forwarded text.

The FORWARD option is often used to pass along jokes, announcements, other messages of general interest. You will recognize it by the long list of e-mail header tags that often appear at the top of the message. By the way, you can select and delete these headers from your forwarded message as a favor to the new recipient by using the Edit option. Your friends will thank you!

Some e-mail applications allow you to REDIRECT a message. This is similar to forwarding a message except that the original sender’s e-mail address is left intact and <by way of…> is added to the FROM: box. If the new recipient selects the REPLY option, the return e-mail will go to the original sender, not to the person who redirected the message.

1. Reopen your e-mail application.
   
2. Select the last e-mail message you received from me and open it.
   
3. Search around until you find the FORWARD option.
   
4. Select the FORWARD option and enter my e-mail address bjost@josts.net in the TO: box. Enter your e-mail address in the CC: box.
   
5. Type a short comment in the message box. Include the words "e-mail C" in your comments.
   
6. Note: In a professional environment, forwarding jokes and other non-professional e-mail messages is typically frowned upon and may even result in disciplinary action. Carefully consider the content before forwarding messages to your colleagues.
   
   It is considered a courtesy to edit the original message leaving only the pertinent information. We all know how annoying it is to get one of those often-forwarded messages that has pages and pages of message headers.
   
   Resisting the urge to forward "Sound the alarm! Forward this message along to everyone you know." and virus warnings is especially important in the professional environment.
   
   Forwarding those types of messages creates a lot of unnecessary traffic on the mail server and may even unwittingly pass along viruses that are attached to the messages. Just click the Delete button when you see those types of messages.

It is easy to see how the REPLY, REPLY TO ALL, FORWARD and REDIRECT options can be a real time-savers, especially if you receive and send lots of e-mail!

Record the date when you completed this activity in your logbook.

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