An e-mail could be something like this:

Don't use words with ç, and don't use accentuation. The email protocols don't like those characters very much...

Well, let's start by the beginning: an email has always a header. This header has a lot of informations, like the sender of the message, and its subject. It has information about the path the message took on the InterNet from the sender's computer to yours. Inside of that header we can find:

• The From field. This field has the email address of the sender (on the messages you will send, the From field has your own email, of course). Don't worry about that field: your email software will fill it for you.

• The To field. This field is one of the most important fields in an email. Here's the place where you'll type the email address(es) of the people you want to send email to. If you want the same email to go to more than one person, you may type all the emails separated by commas, like "mulder@xfiles.com, scully@xfiles.com, skinner@xfiles.com".

• The Cc (carbon copy) field. You may type here the email address(es) of the people you want to send a copy of the email to. I still don't know the difference between the To and Cc field, because the results are the same. You may use them like this: on the To field, type the emails of the people who are interested in the subjcet, and on the Cc filed type the emails of the people who are less interested in the discussion.

• The Bcc (Blinded carbon copy - I guess) field. If you want to send a copy of the email to anyone, but without the other receivers knowing about it (those ones form the To and Cc fields), this is the space you should use. It's usefull, for example, on a discussion you may send an email to someone like "You're a stupid ...", and a Bcc of that email to someone who also dislikes the guy. You may also use the Bcc field to keep a mail-list, just like I do on main. In this case, the subscribers of the list won't receive the (sometimes very big) list of all the other subscribers.

• The Subject field. You may use this field to give an idea of what's that message about.

Well, the header's over. Next, we have the message itself, that can be anything you want to write. On the end there is the signature. The signature is a group of lines (4 is enough, more is too big) that the email software may add automatically to the end of every message. You may edit the signature, and write anything into it. Usually the signatures have the real name, the email and the homepage (if it exists) of the sender. It may have a tagline - an InterNet tradition that always have existed and that will always exist (I hope).

The address structure works like this: imagine the email mulder@mail.xfiles.com The first part (that one that is on the left of the @) is the username that we ask for to the ISP. In other words, the ISP, when you register yourself, asks you an "username". That's the name before the @. The part on the right of the @ is a bit more confusing. In this case, it means that Mulder's account in in a computer called mail, inside Xfiles, in the COMercial domain. So, we have all the computers and domains hierarchy, from the smaller to the bigger, from the left to the right.

You may also send files and programs on a mail. To do that, just choose the command Attach Document of menu Message on the Eudora. The file will be sent, in an encoding format called MIME. Using this format, you may send decoded files, because the resource fork won't be wiped out (check the page about encoding). The receiver must have a programs that reads MIME, for example Eudora or Netscape.

On the mac, to read and send e-mail, I think Eudora is the best program. It's an amazing program. There's two versions: a freeware one and a commercial one. The freeware version works fine, but the commercial one has some more functions. You may download the freeware version (the ftp host address is on the end of the page), read the read-me files, and decide if you want to buy the other version.

On the Eudora configuration, we just need four things. Your e-mail address, the POP server, the SMTP server and your password. Usually, this is enough. The POP server is the computer that receives your mail. When Eudora wants to check if there's new mail, it uses this computer. The SMTP server is the computer used when you want to send an email. ATTENTION: The POP server and the SMTP server may be the same computer. Then, just introduce these things on the Eudora. Let's see how to configure Eudora, step by step:

1. Choose the Settings... command in the Special menu. The following window will appear:
   

2. Select the first item of the collumn of the left, if it isn't alredy selected. To do that, use the scrolling bar if necessary and click on "Getting Started".

3. Type, on the POP account field, the address of your account. For example, if your username (it may be different from your email address) is ip000000, and the server is mail2.ip.pt, type ip000000@mail2.ip.pt. So, you should type in here your username, an @ symbol, and the mail server (more exactly, the POP server).

4. In the Real Name field, type your name or nickname (if you choose the name, use just your first and last names).

5. Choose the TCP/IP option in the Connection method. Leave the "Offline" option unchecked.

6. Next, click on the second item of the collumn, the "Personal Information" item. The window will become one like this:
   

7. If your email is different from your POP account username (e.g. your POP account may be ip000000@mail2.ip.pt, and your email arroz@ip.pt), type your email on the Return Address field. If your POP account (including the text on the right of the @) is exactly equal to your email, you don't need to type anything on this filed.

8. Choose the third item on the collumn, "Hosts". The window will change:
   

9. On the SMTP field, type the address of the SMTP server. That is the server Eudora uses to send emails. In some ISPs, like IP, the SMTP server and the POP server are the same.

10. Choose the fourth item of the collumn, "Checking Mail". You'll see this:
    

11. You may change some interesting settings inside this window. The first one is the "Check for mail every X minutes" field. If you want Eudora to check if new mail has arrived in regular intervals, just check this checkbox, and type in a value in minutes. The second important option is the "Save password" box. If you check this option, Eudora saves the password, so you must introduce it only in the first time. BUT BE CAREFUL! If you check this checkbox, any person who can use your computer CAN SEE YOUR E-MAIL. So, ckeck the checkbox only if you are sure that no one can reach your computer.

You may see the other Eudora settings, and change them as you like. To check if Eudora is working fine, open a connection to the Internet. If your connection is via modem, open a connection via PPP, if it's a direct one, you don't need to do anything. Choose Check Mail or press command + M. Eudora will ask you the password, and it will save it if you said it to do so on the "Save password" checkbox. Then, Eudora will connect him-self to the POP server, and he will get any message that may be there for you. To send email, choose the New Mail... command, type the address of the receiver in the To field, type the subject and the message. Then, click on the SEND button to send it. You may send a message to yourself, to check the system. Type your own email on the To field, type something like "testing 1 2 3" on the message body and send it. Wait about a minute, and choose Check Mail. If everything is working fine, you'll receive your own message!

I won't tell anything else about Eudora, because it has a very good manual and the balloon help is impressive!

Eudora has it's own site, the http://www.eudora.com. You may go there and download the freeware versions, or the updaters for the commercial version. The most recent freeware version is the 3.1.