Tutorial 02 - Installing Eudora

Eudora is an e-mail program. So what does it have to do with making web pages? Well, nothing actually. However, so many people have frustrations with UF Webmail that it seemed in order to suggest a better alternative. Eudora is an e-mail program with a huge and loyal following. Best of all, it's free on the UF software CD! So are you up to giving it a try?

To install Eudora, being by following the procedure for running the UF software CD outlined in Tutorial 01.

• Click "E-mail clients"
• Click tab named "Eudora Pro"
• Install the software.
• Near the end of the installation, you can UN-check the "Take me to accessory page" and "Show me the README file" boxes.

You are ready to launch Eudora.

When Eudora starts up, it will tell you "Eudora is not currently the default mail program. Would you like it to be?" If you have reservations about using Eudora on a permanent basis and want to "try it out" first, you can say "no" to this question for now. However, it doesn't hurt to answer "Yes" to this question. That's your choice.

The next screen informs you that Eudora displays some small advertisements. Click OK.

In the "Welcome to Eudora!" screen, click Cancel. DON'T USE THE SETUP WIZARD.

• From Tools menu, select Options
• Look for the Getting Started icon (looks like a cup of coffee) and type in the following values:
• Your real name
• Return address = yourgatorlinkusername@ufl.edu
• Mail server (Incoming) = pop.ufl.edu
• Login name = yourgatorlinkusername
• SMTP server (outgoing) = smtp.ufl.edu

• Next click on the Checking Mail graphic (a letter tray with a green arrow)
• UN-click "Send on Check"

• Next click on the Incoming Mail graphic (also represented by a letter tray with the green arrow)
• Verify that under server configuration, POP should be checked.)
• Here you have to make a personal decision. If you would like to continue using Webmail as well as Eudora, check "Leave Mail on server." Then you will have to delete your e-mail manually from within Webmail. If you do not plan to use Webmail regularly (at least once a week), leave this option un-checked. You can always change your mind later by going into this menu.
  

• Next, scroll a fair distance down (on the left-hand side) to the Icon named "Styled Text" (it has a green letter "A").
• UN-check the option that says "Show formatting toolbar."
  

• Keep scrolling down to the Icon named "Background tasks."
• Where it says "Wait for __20__ seconds of user inactivity before processing messages", clear out the 20 and type in "1". 
• After that, check "Bring task status window to front."
  

• Click OK - we're finished with this window.

Now let's compose a letter using Eudora.

• Click the "New Message" icon (it looks like an envelope with a flash of light, and is located right underneath the "Special" menu).
• Address this to yourself by typing your own address in the To: line. Type something in the body, such as "This is a test of Eudora."
• Tip: You can make the message composition window smaller or larger by clicking the minimize/maximize buttons at the top-right corner.
• Make sure you have an open Internet connection, then click Send
• The first time you attempt to send a message, Eudora asks you for the password. Type your current password.

Note: When it's time to change your password, you do this by selecting from Eudora's Special menu (between Tools and Help) the option Change Password. You'll type in your old password, then type your new password twice. Eudora has a minor glitch and sometimes changing the password doesn't work on the first try - don't panic if it tells you your new password is no good! Just be persistent!

Resuming our progress, if you look at the bottom of the screen, Eudora will tell you that it is sending your message. On occasion, there will be some error and you will need to try again. To re-send a message:

• On the toolbar, press the Outbox button
• Double-click on your message which hasn't been sent
• Click Send.

Always make sure you have an Internet connection before sending mail.

To check mail, click on the Check Mail button near the top of the screen. It looks like a letter tray with a blue arrow over it pointing down. When you click it, it will start to download ALL the mail that's on the server. At this point, please refer to where I said "Here you need to make a decision," above. If you configured Eudora to remove mail from the server, it will delete those messages from the server after they are downloaded onto your computer. Otherwise it will leave them on the server. Eudora "knows" which messages have been downloaded already, so even if it leaves the messages on the server, it won't try to download them all again. Once all your e-mail has downloaded, scroll to the very bottom of the list - your test message should display there. Congratulations! You've become a "real" e-mail user!

Most of the important tasks in Eudora are accessed with the icons at the top of the screen. Hover your mouse over each one of these icons and a "tool tip" will pop up telling you what each does. Note there is a button for "Reply All," which you'll be using for group supervision.

Tip: You can make your inbox larger by clicking it's "maximize" button at the top right corner. You can also move the the window pane divider, the little border which separates the list of message from the message view. You can customize Eudora in a lot of ways!
 



- Timothy Baker, Ed.S., NCC
  2004