Receiving and Responding to Email Messages

Reading a Message Replying to a Message Forwarding a Message Working With Shortcuts Deleting a Message Filtering Your Folder View

Reading a Message

att.net Mail keeps email messages in mail folders. Initially, all of your incoming email messages arrive in your Inbox folder (except suspected spam which goes directly into your Spam folder). To read an email message, open a mail folder, then click a message’s subject.

The Mail home page lets you know how many unread messages you have by displaying the number of messages next to each mail folder on the left side of the page and the number of unread messages in your Inbox under the your name.

The Mail home page tells you how many unread messages you have.

Clicking either place opens the folder, where you can open and read your email messages.

 

Here’s How

  1. In the Mail home page or any folder view, click a folder name on the left side of the page under the Folders label.

    Click a folder name.

    The mail folder opens on the right displaying a list of email messages. Unread messages display in bold text.

    Unread messages appear in bold text.Enlarge

    Tips:

    All att.net Mail folders look similar to the Inbox.

    If you have lots of messages in your folder, you might find it useful to filter the folder view so you can find the message you want. Take a look at Filtering Your Folder View for more information.

  2. To open and read an email message, click the message’s subject (bold or not) in the Subject column.

    Click the message's subject.

    The message opens in the browser where you can read it, reply to it, forward it, and more.

    An opened email messageEnlarge

 

What’s Next: Dealing with Spam and Attachments

You may receive unsolicited junk email, also called spam. or email messages with attachments. Both can be harmless. In fact, attachments are the way to go when you or others want to share documents and photos. But junk email, unless you requested it, can be annoying. And then there are the dreaded emails that carry viruses; these aren’t harmless. We have tutorials dedicated to both spam and attachments to help you use good judgment before opening and reading these emails.

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Words to Know

  • Attachment: a separate file included as part of an email message; for example, a multimedia or document file.
  • Folder: a container that holds individual elements specific to the context; for example, email messages in att.net Mail or bookmarks in the Bookmarks Sidebar module.
  • Forward: (two uses in att.net Mail) to send an email message that you receive on to someone else or to configure att.net Mail to send all email messages that come into your att.net Mail account to another email address.
  • Inbox: a folder where you receive incoming email.
  • Junk mail: unsolicited email on the Internet; also called "spam".
  • Reply: to respond to an email message you received.
  • Spam: unsolicited email on the Internet; also called "junk mail".
  • Spam folder: a permanent folder containing messages that you or Spamguard consider spam.