Email in Netscape 6

This is a "quick start" guide to setting up email with Netscape 6. It was tested with version 6.1, but should be very close for Netscape 6.x, 7.x, and Mozilla. You may wish to print this page, since it's going to be hard to read the page while you're setting up Netscape's preferences.

HOWEVER, if you print it, please don't print it until you've filled in the information below.

First, a quick check to make sure you have what you need:

Are you connected to the network? If you're at home, this means that you have a modem, and have dialup networking set up. If not, see the Networking Quick Start page.
Do you have the right version of Netscape installed? This page applies to version 6. Version 6 is somewhat controversial. Many of our staff and users prefer the most recent version of 4.7. Netscape currently has the most recent 4.7 and 6/7 available from its download site, http://www.netscape.com/download. To check the version, pull down "help". The last entry should be "about Netscape" (or Communicator or Mozilla).
Do you have a OIT computer account? If you're using the Rutgers modems, you already have an account. If you use any of the main OIT computers (eden, rci, andromeda, pegasus, crab, or clam), you already have an account. If you need an account, see Creating a OIT Account.

We Need Some Information

In order to give you specific instructions, we need to know some information about you:

Please enter your name in the box below, and hit the "enter" or "return" key:
Name:
(This isn't a computer username -- it's a name as you would normally type it, e.g. John Q. Smith.)
Please enter your username in the box below, and hit the "enter" or "return" key:
Username:
(This is the user name that you selected when you created your OIT computer account. It is a single word, not longer than 8 characters.)
Please select the system where you created your OIT computer account:
Camden faculty/staff: crab.rutgers.edu
Camden students: clam.rutgers.edu
Newark faculty/staff: andromeda.rutgers.edu
Newark students: pegasus.rutgers.edu
NB faculty/staff: rci.rutgers.edu
NB students: eden.rutgers.edu

(A few few faculty and staff from Newark and Camden have accounts on the NB system, RCI. If you would prefer to read mail on RCI, please choose that system.)

If this isn't right, please go back and fix the appropriate box.

If these boxes remain blank, you are probably running a brower that does not support Javascript. Please use Netscape 4 or above to view this page. (Normally we write pages to be viewable on all browers. But since this page contains specific instructions for Netscape 4, it seems reasonable not to support old browsers.)

Setting up Netscape

In order to set up mail, you must be in the mail program. If you aren't, the "edit" menu won't have the necessary entry. To get into the mail program from the main browser, pull down the "tasks" menu (the "Window" menu in some versions) and choose "mail".

If this is the first time you have set up Netscape, you are likely to get a "new account setup wizard" that takes you directly into these questions. Otherwise, following the instructions in the next 2 paragraphs.

In the mail program, Pull down the "edit" menu and choose "Mail/News Account settings...". It will bring up a panel with a list of accounts on the left, and a larger panel to the right that gives information about the account you choose on the left. Initially, the only account that shows on the left is "Local Folders" and possibly "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

At the bottom left of that panel, you'll see several bottons. Click the one lablled "New Account."

You'll now see a box "New Account Setup", with 4 radio buttons:

Make sure that "ISP or email provider" is selected, and then choose "Next". For some versions, you'll only see two buttons: mail and news. Choose mail.

You'll now see a box "Identity", with two boxes to fill in:

Fill in "Your name" and "Email address" as shown. Your name should be your name as you normally write it. Email address is your email address as described in the previous section. When you are finished filling in this box choose "next".

You'll now see a box "Server Information", with two radio buttons and either one or two boxes to fill in.

WARNING: If you are connecting from home using a commercial Internet Service Provider (rather than the Rutgers dialups), see the section below "About the Outgoing Server" before setting the server name listed under "Outgoing Server".

Check the "IMAP" button, and fill in the server names as shown. If you have set up email already, you will not be asked about the outgoing server, because you will already have set one up. See below. When you are finished filling in this box choose "next".

You'll now see a box "User Name", with one box to fill in.

Fill this in as shown. When you are finished, choose "next".

You'll now see a box "Account Name", with one box to fill in.

This is a name that you will use to identify this particular account. You can choose any name you want. It starts out being set to the email address, as shown above, but feel free to change it. When you are finished with this box, choose "next".

You will now see a summary of the choice you have made. If they are correct, choose "finish". Otherwise, use the "back" button to go back to a previous box and change something.

About the Outgoing Server

If you are setting up Netscape mail for the first time, it asked you for an outgoing server (SMTP). If you have already used it before, it left the server the same. The outgoing server is the system that sends mail for you. If your computer is attached to the Rutgers network (including residence halls and Rutgers dialups), you should use a Rutgers address, as in the instructions above.

WARNING FOR ISP USERS: However if you connect to Rutgers from a commercial Internet Service Provider, you'll need to make one change. In the box labelled "Outgoing Server (SMTP)", you'll need to fill in the name of your ISP's mail server. The other boxes should still use Rutgers information. You will probably have to contact your ISP's customer support group to find the name of their mail server. If they ask what kind of server, tell them you need their "SMTP server". If you were already using Netscape 6 for email, you may have that already set.

NOTE FOR AOL USERS: If you ask AOL for their "SMTP server", they probably won't tell you. AOL customers should use the Rutgers outgoing server, as given to you in the instructions above. The Rutgers outgoing server will work for AOL users, but will not work for any other ISP.

OPTIONAL: If you have a large directory, you may wish to do one additional thing. The mail software has access to your directory. It uses that to save messages. If you have a very large directory, it can take netscape a good deal of time to start, because it scans your directory looking for new files. In that case, you can tell netscape to use a subdirectory rather than your whole home directory. Commonly, you would use a subdirectory call "mail".

To set this up: In the main "Account Settings" menu, choose the account you just set up. It will list 4 options below it:

Server Settings
Copies and Folders
Addressing
Offline & Disk Space

Choose "Server Settings". To the right you'll see many options, including "Server Type", "Server name", "User name", etc. At the bottom right of the screen there will be a button "Advanced". Click on it.

You'll get a box labelled "Advanced IMAP Server Settings". The first item in it is labelled "IMAP server directory". Fill in the name of the subdirectory, e.g. "mail".

Using Netscape for Mail

To read mail in Netscape, pull down the "Tasks" menu and choose "Mail". This will bring up a screen showing your messages. It will ask you for a password. This the password for your OIT computer account.

To send a message, click on the box "New Msg".

If you want to check your server for any new mail, click on the box "Get Msg".

Last changed June 11, 2002 by hedrick@nbcs.rutgers.edu