MSU Email Help
As of December 30, 2003

You may also find your questions answered on "What You Need to Know about the New Murray State University Email System".

Contact Information:

HelpDesk 762-2346

E-mail Office 762-6116

Student Labs & Training 762-3690

TLT Office 762-2535

Student Lab Schedule

Download Eudora (Directions and Link)

User Guides

Email FAQ Home
Using Webmail
Using Eudora
Using Siren
Using Netscape
Listserv Commands

Login to WebMail
RacerNet

Answers to MSU Email FAQs

How do I log in to my email account using Webmail?

  1. Go to Webmail (http://webmail.murraystate.edu)
  2. Enter your username, which is your firstname.lastname (Ex. jane.doe)
  3. Enter your password.
    NOTE: During the changeover to the new email system on December 29, 2003, your password will be reset to the last four digits of your social security number. We strongly recommend for you to change your password once you have logged in.
  4. Click on the Log In button.

How can I tell what my email address is?

If you are trying to log in with your firstname.lastname and last four digits of your social security number and you are denied access, there may be another person with the same name already registered at Murray State. You may try logging in using your first name and first initial of your middle name, and your last name. (Ex. janem.doe)

If you continue to experience problems, contact CTLT at x6116.

How do I change my password?

  1. Log in to Webmail.
  2. Click on the Settings tab at the top of the screen.
  3. Click on the General button at the left.
  4. Type in your old password.
  5. Type in the new password
  6. Re-type in the new password for confirmation.
  7. Click Save.
    NOTE: Once you have saved your changes, you will see a message at the top stating that your settings have been saved successfully.
  8. Log out of Webmail before trying to access your mail in another program.

How do I send an email message?

  1. Click on the Compose tab at the top left of the screen.
    NOTE: If a new window does not open, you may have a pop-up blocker installed on your computer. If so, you must disable the pop-up blocker before you can compose the email message.
  2. Type information in the To address, the Subject line, and the Message area.
  3. Click on the Send button to send the message to the recipient.
    - Or –
    Click on the Save to Draft button if you do not wish to send the message at this time.
    NOTE: The window will automatically close once you have sent or saved the message.

How do I make my name appear in the From: line of an email message?

By default, Webmail does not provide a name in the From: line for email messages that you send, so it is important that you make this change. If you do not specify that your name should appear, your recipients will not see any name in the From line, and they may delete the message without opening it.

To specify that your name should appear in the From Line:

  1. Click on the Settings tab in Webmail.
  2. Click on the Options button in the left column.
  3. In the "Your Name" field, enter your name as you would like for it to appear in the From line of the messages that you create.
  4. Click on the Save Settings button at the bottom of the screen.

I’m having trouble composing/replying to/forwarding an email message in Webmail. What should I do?

If you are not able to create, forward, or reply to a message, that is a good indication that a pop-up blocker is installed on your machine. You must disable the pop-up blocker. You may trying holding down the [Ctrl] key or the [Shift] key while clicking on the link. Many commercial pop-up blockers use these commands to open a blocked window.

For instructions on disabling pop-up blockers, refer to your pop-up blocker manufacturer's information. You may also find information for your web browser or pop-up blocker in the sections below.

I use the Google toolbar. How do I control its Pop-up Blocker?

Find information about Google's Pop-up Blocker at http://toolbar.google.com/popup_help.html.

I use the Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. How do I control its Pop-up Blocker?

Find information about Yahoo's Pop-up Blocker at http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/companion/pub/index.html.

I use the Opera web browser. How do I control its Pop-up Blocker?

Find information about Opera's Pop-up Blocker at http://www.opera.com/features/popups/index.dml.
For information about Opera 7, visit http://www.opera.com/support/tutorials/opera/using/coolfeatures/#pop.

I use the Mozilla web browser. How do I control its Pop-up Blocker?

You may be able to open new messages in Webmail even with the pop-up blocker turned on, but you will not be able to create, forward or reply to a message until you disable Mozilla's pop-up blocker.

To change Mozilla's Pop-up Blocker preferences, select Tools > Popup Manager > Allow popups from this site.

How do I receive/check mail?

When you log in to Webmail, the window will default to your Inbox. Your new messages will appear in bold.

  1. Click on the link (the sender’s name) to open a new message. The message will appear in a new browser window.
  2. Click on the Close button when you wish to close the message.
  3. Webmail will periodically check for new incoming mail. If you wish to manually check for new mail, click on the Inbox tab.

I’m not receiving email, but I think I should be.

If you are not receiving expected mail, or people trying to send you mail are getting "Recipient's Mailbox is full" messages, you may need to delete some of your old messages in Webmail.

All users are given 5 (five) megabytes when their account is created. You can see how much space you are using at any time by clicking on the 'Settings' tab and clicking on the 'General' button from the list on the left side of the page.

If you are still having problems after you have cleared your mailbox, contact CTLT at x6116.

A. I think my mailbox might be full. How can I check?

Your @murraystate.edu account has a file space limit of 5000 KB (or 5.0 MB). You can see how much space you have used by following the steps below.

  1. Log in to Webmail.
  2. Click on the Settings tab at the top of the page.
  3. “Mailbox size” displayed at the top shows the total amount of disk space that you are currently using. If it is at (or near) 5.0 MB, you will need to delete some messages to free up more space.

B. How can I delete messages off the mail server?

  1. Log in to Webmail.
  2. Click on the Inbox tab at the top.
  3. Select the checkbox beside the message that you want to delete.
  4. Click the Delete/Undelete button below the list of messages.

    5. NOTE: Messages that you have selected for deletion will have a line through them.

  5. If you do not want to delete the selected message, select the checkbox beside the deleted message. Click on the Delete/Undelete button again. The message will be deselected.

    6. NOTE: Deleted messages are still kept on your account until you purge them. When you are sure that all of the selected messages are safe for deletion, click the 'Purge Deleted Messages' button at the bottom of the message listings. This will remove the selected messages from your account, freeing up room and allowing you to receive new mail.

  6. To permanently delete the message, click on the “Purge Deleted Messages” button.

C. How can I check my Filtering settings?

You may not be receiving expected mail because of your Filtering settings. To check your settings:

  1. Log in to Webmail.
  2. Click on the Settings tab.
  3. See "How do I change my Filtering (Quarantine) Settings?" for more information.

How do I change my Filtering (Quarantine) settings?

Our new Modus Mail provides a great way to filter out junk and SPAM e-mail messages. You have several different options in this area.

Anti-Spam

First, you can use the anti-spam utility.

  1. Click on the 'Settings' tab at the top of the screen.
  2. Click on the 'Anti-Spam' button from the list on the left side of the screen.
  3. Modus Mail gives you three options for what you wish to do with spam mail it finds. You can:

    4. Choose your desired action by selecting the appropriate radio button at the top of the page.

  4. Set the severity level of Modus Mail's spam scanning. You can disable the scanning, or set it to Normal, Strong, or Extreme.
  5. Select which topics you would like spam scanned for. Check or uncheck the boxes next to the topics you wish to have filtered.

Filtering Rules

Another option you have is to set a "Rule" for your account. Rules will scan specific portions of all incoming messages for key words or phrases. You can set the rule to either delete the message immediately or be filtered directly into one of your folders. This allows you to set up a sorting process for ALL of your mail, not just junk mail.

To Create a Rule:

  1. Click on the 'Rules' tab at the top of the window.
  2. Click on the 'Add Rule' button.
  3. Enter a Name for the rule.
  4. Select the radio button for which account you would like the rule to be applied to.
  5. Select the parameter(s) to be used for the filtering, such as filter messages "From" "Contains" "murraystate.edu".
  6. Select the action to be performed, such as moving the filtered message to a specific folder.
  7. Click the 'Save Rule' button at the top when you have finished.

Blacklist

If an unwanted message does make it into your Inbox and you open it, you can click on the 'Add to Blacklist' link across from the 'From:' line of the message. This will add a specific email address to your Blacklist.

To view your Blacklist:

  1. Click on the Settings tab.
  2. Click on the Blacklist button at the left.
    NOTE: Email addresses that you have added to your Blacklist will appear. All messages coming from these addresses will be subjected to one of three actions – the same three actions that the Anti-Spam filter will perform.
  3. Select which action you want performed (Delete immediately, Block message into Quarantine, or Tag and let message pass through).
  4. Click on the 'Save' button.

To add addresses to your Blacklist:

  1. From the Blacklist page, click on the 'Add' button at the bottom.
  2. Enter the email address you wish to add to your Blacklist.
  3. Click on the 'Add' button.

To delete (remove) addresses from your Blacklist:

  1. Click on the 'Delete' link next to the email address you wish to remove from your Blacklist.
  2. When asked if you want to delete this address, click on the Delete button.

How do I create folders for my email messages?

You can create folders to keep your messages organized in Webmail.

To Create a Folder:

  1. Click on the Folders tab at the top of the window.
  2. Enter a name for the new folder in the textbox at the bottom of the window.
  3. Click on the New button. NOTE: If you want this folder to be a subfolder of an existing folder you’ve created, simply click on the Under drop-down box and select the folder you want the subfolder created in.

    The new folder will appear in the list.

To Delete a Folder:

  1. You can delete any folder you’ve created, but you cannot delete the default folders (inbox, drafts, outbox or sent items).
  2. Click on the checkbox beside the folder that you wish to delete.
  3. Click on the Delete button.

    The folder will be removed from the folders list.

How do I auto-forward my murraystate email to another email address?

There may be situations in which you wish for mail that comes to your @murraystate.edu mailbox to be automatically sent to another e-mail address. If you would like to use another email account to receive the mail sent to your murraystate.edu address, you can set up an Auto-Forward.

To set up an auto-forward:

  1. Log in to Webmail.
  2. Click on the 'Settings' tab.
  3. Click on the 'General' button on the left side of the screen.
  4. Type the complete address of the email account you want your mail forwarded to in the bar where it says "Forward mail to:"
  5. Choose whether you would like to keep a copy of the message in your webmail account or just have it deleted.
  6. Click Save.

How do I create an auto-reply message?

There may be situations in which you wish to automatically notify senders that you have received their message. It is often necessary to let people know that you will be away from your e-mail for an extended period of time.

  1. Log in to Webmail.
  2. Click on the Settings tab at the top of the screen.
  3. Click the Vacation button at the left of the screen
  4. Click the Enable autoreply button on the top of the screen
  5. Select one of the three options listed
  6. Type your message in the space provided.
  7. In the “Reply From” bar, set the return address you would like to appear on the auto-reply that is sent.
  8. In the “No Reply From’ box, set people that you do not want your auto-reply sent to that might receive mail. Enter their email address here.
  9. In the “No Reply To’ box, enter any email addresses to which auto-reply messages will not be sent. For example, if you belong to any mailing lists, enter the list addresses here to prevent their receiving your auto-replies.
  10. Choose whether or not you want to include the original message in the auto-reply, whether you want to send an auto-reply to someone only once or each time they send you mail, and whether you want to auto-reply to forwards.
  11. Click on the Save button.

    12. Anyone who sends you a message will be sent the message that you specified.

How can I send messages from a different ISP?

Murray State's SMTP server is set up to accept messages originating from the campus systems only. This is to prevent spammers from using our server as a relay host. If you are using your @murraystate.edu address from an outside ISP then you need to specify their SMTP server as your OUTGOING mail server. More detailed directions are available for doing this at http://campus.murraystate.edu/mailhelp/secure.html

When I try to open an attachment, I get a "Page Cannot Be Found" error. What should I do?

There is a known issue in modusWebMail where users of some web browsers and the Mac platform are not able to open attached files. You can try this change to attempt to open the attachment.

    In the page that displays the error message like "Page Cannot Be Found", you will see a long url in the Address line. For example, http://webmail.murraystate.edu/photo1.jpg?z=1&FolderID=.....

  1. Delete everything after .edu/ and before ?z. (This will be the filename and extension of the attached file.) For example, delete photo1.jpg from the url.
  2. In place of the deleted filename, type in getattachment.asp. For example, http://webmail.murraystate.edu/getattachment.asp?z=1&FolderID=.....
  3. Hit Enter.

Created and maintained by TLT,
Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology
Murray State University.
Last updated December 22, 2003. ©Murray State University, 2003.