Receiving Email Messages

Reading Messages Working With Shortcuts Replying to Messages Forwarding Messages Printing Messages Flagging Messages

Replying to Messages

AT&T Mail gives you two ways to reply to messages:

  • Reply to Sender lets you reply to the sender only.
  • Reply to All lets you reply to the sender and everyone else who received the message.

Tip: Be sure you select the appropriate reply option. You can’t stop delivery or recall a message once you click the Send button.

 

Here’s How

  1. Preview or open the email message. (Remind me how.)

  2. Click the arrow on the Reply button.

    Click the arrow on the Reply button.

    A pull-down menu appears. Notice that the Reply to Sender option is bold. That means that it’s the default option. Click the Reply button (or type r), and AT&T Mail addresses the reply message to the sender only. Selecting the Reply to Sender option on this menu does the same thing.

  3. To reply to all of the recipients of the original message, select the Reply to All option or type a.

    Click the Reply to All option.

    The new message tab opens and automatically fills in the address boxes with the email addresses of the sender and other recipients of the original message, the Subject box with the subject of the original message preceded by "Re:" to indicate that it is a reply, and the text box with the text of the original message.

    The text of the original message appears on the reply tab.Enlarge

    Tip: When you compose a reply to a message, you can change the subject if you want. However, it’s usually a good idea to leave the subject the same, so the recipients recognize it when they receive your reply.

  4. Add and remove email addresses from the address boxes (To, CC, BCC) if you like. Addressing Your Message shows you a number of ways to add email addresses.

  5. Type your reply in the text box above the original message.

    Type your reply in the text box.

    Tips:

    Since the entire text box is editable, you can actually type your reply anywhere, even between paragraphs of the original message. This is called an inline reply. If you type your reply inline, it’s a good idea to use rich text formatting—such as a different color or font from the original text—to highlight your response.

    Type your reply anywhere in the text box.Enlarge

    You can also delete some or all of the original message, including the information about who it came from and who it was addressed to. Simply select the text you want to remove and press the Delete key.

  6. When you’re ready to send your reply, click the Send button or type Ctrl+Enter.

    Click the Send button.

    AT&T Mail sends your reply. When you return to your Inbox or other mail folder containing the original message, a replied icon (The Replied icon) appears on the message line.

    The Replied icon lets you know that you've replied to this email message.

 

What’s Next

You can share messages you receive by forwarding them to other people.

Help Topics


Was this tutorial helpful?   Yes   No

Tell us what you liked or didn't like about this tutorial

 

Words to Know

  • Bcc: short for "blind carbon copy"; an email address in this field won’t be visible to any other recipients of the message.
  • Cc: short for "carbon copy"; use this field to add secondary recipients to an email message.
  • Email address: A contact’s address that identifies an electronic location where email can be sent. An email address includes the contact’s email name followed by the "@" followed by the contact’s email domain, such as "person@domain.com".
  • Folder: a container that holds individual elements specific to the context; for example, email messages in AT&T Mail or bookmarks in the Bookmarks Sidebar module.
  • Inline reply: when you type your reply to a message between the lines of text in the original message.
  • New message tab: a tab in AT&T Mail where you address, write, and send a new email, chat, or text message.
  • Reply: to respond to an email message you received.
  • Rich text: a format that lets you change font style, add color, and more to your outgoing message text.