WebMail gives the ability to send and receive your Wells email from any computer on the Internet, using just a Web browser (Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.). Just type in the address http://webmail.wells.edu and login with your Wells username and password. Unlike traditional email programs, no configuration is necessary.

The basic WebMail interface is simple, but if you have questions or want to try out more advanced features you can press the Help button to go to the system's detailed Help pages.

Using WebMail as your only mail program

If you only use WebMail to access your Wells email, all you need to remember is to delete all the messages that you don't absolutely want to keep on the server. Each user has a quota of four megabytes of mail that can be kept on the server. The quota includes messages in your Inbox and those in the various folders you create. If the quota is exceeded, new mail cannot come in, error messages are generated, and it may be necessary for the mail administrator to delete your mail.

If you do want to keep some messages on the server, it is best to move them to folders you create. Mail in folders is safer from accidental deletion. If there are messages that you absolutely, positively cannot afford to lose, the best solution is to highlight the text, Copy, and then Paste the text into a Word document that you save with a filename. You might even create a general document in Word ("Important email.doc") where you save important messages, with each new message going to the top or bottom of the file. You may need to experiment with page width and font size to get your email messages to fit properly. It is a great waste of paper and toner to print email messages.

Note that there can be no guarantee that mail stored on the server will not be lost due either to deletion (see above) or to unforeseen circumstances, so if there are certain messages you cannot afford to lose, be sure to preserve them by copying them to a file, or by downloading them to your own computer or email disk using a POP3 mail program as described below.

Using WebMail together with traditional POP3 mail programs

WebMail can be used in conjunction with traditional POP3 email programs such as Netscape Messenger, Microsoft Outlook Express, Pegasus, and Eudora. (Each of these programs must be configured for your own mail account with your username and the appropriate incoming and outgoing server names before you can begin using them.) For many people there may be advantages in using a traditional POP3 program in conjunction with WebMail--increased features and flexibility, ability to store unlimited quantities of mail, etc.--but it is important to understand how the two systems interact. 

In a POP3 email system you download mail to your own computer or email disk every time you check for mail. The mail resides on your own computer or disk, not on the server, giving you total control over it. This means that as long as you download mail to your own computer, there is no limit to how much mail you can store (other than the size of your own hard drive). You do not need to worry about the four megabyte storage limit on the server, or about the possibility that mail on the server might be deleted or lost. (Note that you do have to be sure that you configure your POP3 mail program such that downloaded messages are indeed deleted on the server--generally the default. If you configure your program to leave copies of messages on the server you will of course eventually run into the mailbox quota on the server and experience problems.)

If you are away from your own computer (or don't have your computer lab email disk with you) you can use WebMail to do your mail and then when you are once again back at your own computer you can download your mail in the traditional way. All the mail that you saw using WebMail (except the messages that you specifically chose to delete) will still be available to be downloaded using your traditional POP3 program.

Once you download mail to your POP3 mail program, all the mail that earlier appeared in your WebMail Inbox will no longer be available through WebMail. But all the messages you placed in WebMail folders that you created will continue to reside there as well as on your traditional POP3 mail program.

As in any situation where there are increased options, it is necessary to use increased care and to be aware of the order you are doing things. In this case: if you check mail through WebMail first, you will still get the same messages when you check mail with your traditional mail program later. But if you check mail using a POP3 mail program first, those messages will not be available to WebMail. And whenever you download mail with your traditional mail program, the mail that was in your WebMail Inbox will be removed.

If you have questions or problems concerning WebMail, please contact network@wells.edu.