Penn State WebMail2 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Welcome to the Penn State WebMail2 FAQ. WebMail has been redesigned as a full e-mail client that supports Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX). This document provides you with the basic information that you need in order to use Penn State WebMail2. This document will be updated on a regular basis. If we didn't include something in the WebMail2 FAQ that would be helpful to you and other users, please let us know.

For a list of known WebMail issues, please see the Webmail Knows Issues Article on the ITS Knowledge Base. This page will be updated by the ITS Help Desk staff as information becomes available.

Comments can be directed to helpdesk@psu.edu.

SECTION 1: Getting Started

• 1.1 What is Penn State WebMail?
• 1.2 Who can use it?
  • 1.2a What e-mail servers are supported by WebMail?
  • 1.2b Can IMAP users check e-mail in WebMail?
• 1.3 How do I access WebMail?
• 1.4 What should I do if I can't access WebMail?
• 1.5 Will my folders/mailboxes be transferred to the new WebMail?

SECTION 2: Basic WebMail Features and Use

• 2.1 The options screen appears the first time I access WebMail. Can I change the default options?
• 2.2 How do I access the different WebMail sections?
• 2.3 Can I change the colors of WebMail?
• 2.4 How much space can I use in my WebMail?

SECTION 3: Using WebMail/The Inbox and Other Features

• 3.1 How do I check my e-mail via WebMail?
• 3.2 How do I read my e-mail messages?
• 3.3 If an attachment is sent to me, how can I retrieve it?
• 3.4 How do I delete/move e-mail messages?
• 3.5 Can I sort messages?
• 3.6 How do I compose a new message?
• 3.7 Can I include attachments with my messages?
• 3.8 Can I send e-mail formatted with HTML?
• 3.9 Can I create new folders in which to store my e-mail?
• 3.10 How can I search for messages sent/received/saved?
• 3.11 Can I create e-mail filters?

SECTION 4: Logging Out

• 4.1 How should I log out of WebMail?

SECTION 5: Troubleshooting/Getting Help

• 5.1 Who should I contact if I need help with WebMail?
• 5.2 I am not receiving any new e-mail. Why is this happening?
• 5.3 Why doesn't the HTML editor always appear in Safari when I try to compose an e-mail?
• 5.4 Why does nothing happen when I choose the "-New Folder-" option when trying to move an e-mail?

SECTION 1: Getting Started

1.1 What is Penn State WebMail?
Penn State WebMail is a web-based e-mail client, similar to Yahoo! Mail, that provides you with anytime, anywhere access to your Penn State e-mail via a web browser. Authentication to and e-mail storage in WebMail are made possible via your Penn State Access Account userid and password. The easy-to-use interface lets you create and organize mailboxes, access directory services, create and add personalized signatures, and change a variety of settings.

1.2 Who can use it?
Penn State faculty, staff, and students with a valid Access Account userid and password and who use either mail.psu.edu or email.psu.edu to check e-mail can use WebMail.

1.2a What e-mail servers are supported by WebMail?
WebMail supports email.psu.edu and mail.psu.edu only. We do not have plans to support other e-mail servers at this time. To use WebMail, you must receive your e-mail via email.psu.edu or mail.psu.edu.

1.2b Can IMAP users check their e-mails in WebMail?
Currently, IMAP users will not be able to access their e-mails in WebMail. However, ITS may make this available in the future.

1.3 How do I access WebMail?
To access WebMail, type https://webmail.psu.edu/ into your web browser location/address field and the WebMail splash screen will appear. Click the Login to WebMail2 link, and you will be prompted to authenticate with your Access Account userid and password.

Note:

• To use WebMail, you will need to make sure that your web browser is JavaScript-enabled and SSL-enabled. These options are ordinarily enabled by default, but can be changed using your web browser's preferences or options.
• If you're a new user of WebMail, you'll automatically be directed to the options screen the first time you log in to WebMail. The information that appears on your options screen is based on your LDAP directory entry. For more information about directory services at Penn State, please see http://css.its.psu.edu/internet/directory.html. After you fill out the options form, click <Save Changes> to apply the changes. For details about the options screen, please refer to Section 2: WebMail Basic Features and Use.
• WebMail is one of several published services using WebAccess, such as Portal, Angel, Web-based Training, etc. Every time you log in to WebMail, you can access other WebAccess applications just by typing in the URL of the site you wish to access to in the address field of your browser without entering your userid and password again. For instance, if you wish to go to Angel after you're done checking your e-mail, simply type https://angel.psu.edu in the browser location/address field of your web browser and hit enter. You'll automatically be logged in to Angel without authenticating again. The same applies if you're in Portal and wish to go to WebMail.

1.4 What should I do if I can't access WebMail?
If you cannot authenticate to WebMail, consider the following:

• You might have entered your Access Account and/or password incorrectly. Note that you must authenticate to WebMail with your Access Account userid (for example, xyz123 where xyz123 represents your userid) and password. Our error logs show that attempting to log in with your full name or Penn State e-mail address (for example, xyz123@psu.edu where xyz123@psu.edu represents your e-mail address) is a common error made among users. Make sure to type your password correctly and that your CAPS LOCK key is not activated, because passwords are case sensitive.
• Try changing your current Access Account password via the Secure Server at https://www.work.psu.edu/.
• If you continue to experience problems and the options above do not solve the problem, then you may need to reset your Access Account password to the one originally issued to you. To do so, visit the Accounts Services Office at 101 Computer Building, e-mail accounts@psu.edu, call 814-865-4772, or contact an ITS Help Desk to have your password reset. You will also need to present your Penn State ID+ card for verification. If you are at or near another Penn State location, then you can visit this location's local computer support/help desk to have your password reset. Other help desk locations can be found at http://css.its.psu.edu/consulting/consult.html#hd.
• Once your password is reset, you will need to visit an automatic signature station and swipe your ID+ card to obtain your password. Then, you will need to change the password via the ITS Secure Server at https://www.work.psu.edu/.

1.5 Were my folders/mailboxes from the original WebMail transferred to the new WebMail?
Yes. Your mailboxes, along with the folders you had already created, should have been fully migrated to WebMail2. Please note that the Attachment folder was not migrated, but remains in your PASS. To retrieve your attachments from the original WebMail, use any one of the file transfer methods listed at http://helpdesk.psu.edu/ftppass.html. Once you access your PASS space, navigate to the attach folder, which should contain all of your attachments from the original WebMail.

You can also access your attachments from the original WebMail by using WebMail2 to open the e-mail the attachment was originally sent with. The attachment will then be available from your WebMail2 attachments folder.

Note: If you believe any of your messages or folders from the original WebMail were not migrated, please contact an ITS Help Desk or e-mail webmail@psu.edu to have the messages or folders migrated.

REMEMBER: Please do NOT hit the back button in your browser when logged in to WebMail at any time. If you do, you'll be redirected to the log in page and will lose any unsaved work or unsent messages. Also, if you hit the refresh button in your web browser, your instance of WebMail will be restarted, which results in closing all tabs and starting at your inbox again. This can also result in the loss of unsaved work or unsent messages.

2.1 The options screen appears the first time I access WebMail. Can I change the default options?
Certainly! Think of the Options screen as your "settings" for viewing your e-mail via WebMail. You can modify and customize the options screen to suit your needs. By default, the information fields are already filled in with information (extracted from your directory entry); however, you can edit the fields to suit your needs.

It is important to note that WebMail does not leave your e-mail on the server unless you select the option in your Options screen; however, it does leave e-mail on the server for faculty and staff by default.

If you choose to leave e-mail on the server, this means that you will still be able to receive all of your e-mail via another client. For example, if you check e-mail using the e-mail client Thunderbird on your computer, the e-mail you received through WebMail will also download to the Thunderbird client.

Although you can change the server WebMail checks for e-mail under the E-mail server setting, you should make sure it is set to the same server your mail is being forwarded to. See Section 5.2 for details on how to check your mail forwarding.

After you make your changes, click Save Changes.

2.2 How do I access the different WebMail sections/screens?
To access the WebMail sections/screens (Inbox, Compose, Outbox, Attachments, Junk, Trash, Folders, Directory, Contacts, Search, Options, Help, and Logout), use the navigation panel located on the left of the WebMail screen. Once you authenticate to WebMail, this navigation panel can be accessed from all WebMail sections/screens.

2.3 Can I change the colors of WebMail?
Yes, WebMail provides you with a default color scheme and a default theme, but you can also create a customized WebMail color scheme via the Color Options section of the Options screen.

2.4 How much space can I use in my WebMail?
WebMail provides a new, fast, and dedicated file system from which to serve all of your e-mail. Each user gets 500MB in addition to the 1 GB maximum quota of PASS. This means that you gain an additional 500MB of space.

SECTION 3: Using WebMail/The Inbox and Other Message Features

3.1 How do I check my e-mail via WebMail?
Simply, Log in. Your Inbox tab will appear and any new messages should be downloaded automatically. The number and type of messages that display in the Inbox window depend on your options settings.

• To change the number and type of messages that display in your inbox:
  • Make a selection from the Change Display Filter drop down menu.
  • If you wish to change the setting permanently, make sure that you do so via the Options screen. We recommend choosing either Display only last 20 messages or Display only last 50 messages. Permanently choosing Display all messages can cause some slow down while using WebMail2, especially on slower connections.

Note: WebMail is set to refresh/check your e-mail automatically. If your e-mail was recently checked, your inbox's status section — located under the Check Mail Now link — will display the number of messages received. Otherwise, the time your e-mail was last checked is displayed.

To manually check your e-mail, click the Check Mail Now link. Please note there is a two minute minimum check interval.

You are expected to observe University Policy - AD20 Computer and Network Security. Excessive checking of e-mail is considered system abuse under University Policy AD20. WebMail makes checking e-mail within AD20 guidelines very easy for you by automatically keeping track of the last time you checked your e-mail.

3.2 How do I read my e-mail messages?
To read an e-mail message from your inbox, click on the Subject for the message. Note that all unread messages display with bold Subject lines. As with any other e-mail client, header information (e.g. From, To, Subject, Date, and Content-type) is displayed with the message. Beneath this information is the body of the message itself.

3.3 If an attachment is sent to me, how can I retrieve it?
While viewing messages, links to all of the attachments sent with the message are available below the body of the e-mail.

3.4 How do I delete/move e-mail messages?
You can easily delete or move messages in WebMail to your trash or to another mailbox.

3.5 Can I sort messages?
You can sort your e-mail in every mailbox by sender, subject, date, and size. To do so, click either one of the four links (From, Subject, Date, or Size). You can sort in ascending or descending order for each category. The arrow next to the links will tell you the order. By default, your messages are sorted according to the newest date first (descending date order).

3.6 How do I compose a new message?
Just as you would compose new messages in any other e-mail client, you can also compose messages via WebMail. To compose a message:

• Click on the Compose link from the navigation panel. A separate Compose tab appears.
• Add the recipients in the To: field.
  • If you have created a contact list, WebMail can auto-complete the name and/or e-mail address for the recipient. For example, when typing "X" in the To: field, the name Xavier and the e-mail address xyz123@psu.edu (assuming you have Xavier and the e-mail address xyz123@psu.edu saved in your contacts) will appear from a drop down menu that appears under the To: field. If applicable, it also will add recipients to the CC: and/or BCC: fields.
  • You can also add recipients directly from your contact list.
    • Click on the Contacts button to the right of the To: field or the contacts button in the navigation bar.
    • Note that the Contacts window includes four links at the top of its window: Contacts, Add a new entry, Add a new contact list, and Directory Lookup. Via these links, you can easily access your Contacts, add new entries or contact lists, or perform directory searches.
    • The first letter of each entry is represented as an alphabetized link. The links appear at the top of your contacts list. As your contacts list begins to expand, the alphabetized links will help you to quickly "jump to" any entry, without having to scroll through your contacts list.
    • To add a recipient to the message you are composing:
      • Click on either To, CC, or BCC located on the right-side of the recipient's name and e-mail address. WebMail will automatically add the recipient to the appropriate field.
  • If you need to look up a recipient's e-mail address, you can use the built in directory search:
    • Click Directory from the navigation panel.
    • Use the available search criteria to search for the recipient. Search results display information from the Penn State On-line Directory.
  • Once your search is completed, you can add the recipient to your Contacts list by clicking Add to Contacts List.
  • After the Adding New Contact screen appears click Save to confirm the entry and save it to your contacts list.
• In the message field, compose your message.
• WebMail includes a new and improved spellchecker. To access this feature,
  • Click on , which is the Spell Check button.
  • The spellchecker will now check for possible misspellings.
  • A new window will open and shows you what misspellings, if any, are found.
  • The spellchecker then gives you several options to choose from (such as Ignore, Replace, Cancel, etc.).
  • When the spellcheck completes, you can continue to edit your message, send the message, or save it as a draft to finish later.
• To send the message, simply click Send.
• If you wish to send the message at a later time, click Save Draft.
  • By putting your mouse pointer on the Compose link in the navigation bar, a list of saved drafts will appear.
  • You can resume a saved draft by clicking on it from this menu.
  • If you wish to delete the saved draft:
    • Resume the saved draft
    • Click Cancel in the Compose tab.
  • Note: the saved drafts are stored in a mailbox/folder called Postponed-msgs.
• All sent e-mail is stored in your Outbox.

3.7 Can I include attachments with my messages?
Yes, you can. To attach a file:

3.8 Can I send e-mail formatted as HTML?
Yes, you can. With the new enhanced WebMail, you are able to format your message, choose a font family, font size, insert tables, emotions, and many other features. These commands are located at the bottom of your compose message body when the advanced or HTML editor is enabled.

3.9 Can I create new folders in which to store my e-mail?
WebMail lets you create new e-mail folders, so that you can easily organize your e-mail messages.

3.10 How can I search for messages sent/received/saved?
You can search for messages in different folders in WebMail based on different criteria such as From, Subject, To, or Body. To search your messages,

• Click the Search link located in the navigation panel.
• You can check or uncheck different parts of the messages to search. If From is checked, you can easily search for messages from a specific sender, such as webmail@psu.edu.
  • By default, the From and Subject fields are checked.
• Type the keyword you are looking for in the text field to the right.
• Select each of the folders you would like to search for messages matching the given keyword.
• Finally, click Search and you will be presented with an index of matching messages.
• You can view each of the matching messages by clicking on its subject just as you would in a normal folder index.
• If you wish to perform another search, simply click on the Search Again button below the index of search results.

3.11 Can I create e-mail filters?
Yes! You can create filters to better organize your incoming e-mail into folders or to deal with unwanted e-mail messages.

4.1 How should I log out of WebMail?
It's easy to log out of WebMail.

• First, finish your current tasks and save and/or send any messages.
• Click Logout located on the navigation panel.
• A WebAccess window appears asking whether you wish to completely Logout of all WebAccess Applications or go Back to WebMail.
• Click Logout.
• This action logs you out of WebMail and all WebAccess services. You will then be directed to the WebAccess login page.

Note: It is strongly recommended that you log out completely from WebMail. If you choose to log out without using Logout in the navigation panel by simply exiting your web browser, your mailboxes will NOT be compressed automatically.

5.1 Who should I contact if I need help with WebMail?
If you experience problems with WebMail and the answer to your question is not found in the WebMail FAQ, send a message to webmail@psu.edu and include the following:

• your Access Account userid (for example, xyz123)
• the time the error occurred
• the error message(s) received, if any
• the web browser type and version (for example, FireFox 1.5.0.5 or Internet Explorer 7.0)
• the platform (for example, Windows or Macintosh)

5.2 I am not receiving any new e-mail. Why is this happening?
There are a few reasons why you might not receive e-mail via WebMail:

• If you use another e-mail client to check your e-mail, make sure that you have it set to leave mail on the server. Correct configurations for e-mail clients can be found via the Electronic Mail section of the ITS Internet Access Guide at http://css.its.psu.edu/internet/email.html.
• Remember, WebMail only supports email.psu.edu and mail.psu.edu. If you use another server to check your e-mail (such as a departmental server or one maintained by a third-party ISP), then you will not be able to use WebMail unless you change your e-mail forwarding information. See the next item for details.
• If you forward your e-mail to another e-mail server, then you will not receive e-mail via WebMail. Check your e-mail forwarding entry via the ITS Secure Server at https://www.work.psu.edu/.
  • Once you access the ITS Secure Server, click on the Change your e-mail forwarding address link.
  • You will be prompted to authenticate with your Access Account userid and password.
  • The Change Forwarding Address page should then appear.
  • In the Forwarding Address field, check the server.
    • If you wish, change the Forwarding Address server to email.psu.edu or mail.psu.edu
    • Click Change.
  • If either email.psu.edu or mail.psu.edu is already the server your mail is being forwarded to, verify that your options in WebMail use the same server. See Section 2.1 for details on the options screen.

5.3 Why doesn't the HTML editor always appear in Safari when I try to compose an e-mail?
The developers of WebMail2 have tried to recreate the problem to find a resolution but we have found that when we try to recreate it, the problem does not happen again. Because the problem does not happen when the Safari debugger is turned on, ITS is recommending you enable this debugger to keep the problem from arising.

5.4 Why does nothing happen when I choose the "-New Folder-" option when trying to move an e-mail?
This problem is due to Internet Explorer (IE) 7's integrated scripted window blocker, which is separate from the popup blocker and is enabled by default. When you select the -New Folder- option, WebMail2 opens a small window called a scripted window for you to enter the name you would like for the new folder. When the scripted window is blocked, it is impossible to create new folders.

Please send your comments and suggestions to helpdesk@psu.edu.