The UVa Central Mail Service (CMS)
Getting Started with CMS WebMail
How to Use Basic CMS WebMail Functions
Reading, Writing & Responding to Email
Fully Logging Out of CMS WebMail
Reading, Writing & Responding to Email
Reading Email
- Connect to the UVa Email Switchboard. If needed, authenticate through NetBadge to view your Inbox and select UVa Central Mail Service (CMS).
- Move your cursor to highlight the message you want to open.
- Click on the sender's name (in the From column) to open the message and read it.
- When you're done reading an email message, you can:
- Click
(previous) to read the previous message; - Click
(next) to read the next message; - Click
(mailbox) to return to the folder you were viewing and see its complete list of messages; or - Click
(unread) to move to the unread message that has been in your mailbox longest.
TIP: For a faster display, you can change the CMS WebMail interface buttons to display text only in place of the icons.
- Click
Replying to a Message
- With a message open:
- Click
(reply to sender), or - Click
(reply to all, to send your response to every recipient listed in the To: and Cc: fields).
- Click
- Type your response text in the message window.
- Click the Send button when you are finished typing your reply.
TIP: You must compose and send your message within 60 minutes, or monitor and reset the timer to extend this limit. Otherwise, your unsent reply will be lost.
Copying or Moving a Message
- Create a destination folder, if necessary.
- With a message open, choose the destination folder by using the Select Mailbox drop-down menu.
- Then, copy or move your message, using the instructions found in Moving or Copying Selected Messages in Mail Management Tools.
Deleting a Message
- With a message open:
- Click
(delete) to and return to the Inbox; or - Click
(delete and move to next) to delete an open message and automatically open your oldest unread message.
TIP: To delete a message without first opening it, see Mail Management Tools.
- Click
Forwarding a Message
- With a message open, click
(forward). - Type any desired text in the message window.
- Click the Send button when you are finished typing your comments.
TIP: To forward a message without first opening it, see Mail Management Tools.
Redirecting (Bouncing) a Message
Redirecting or bouncing a message differs from forwarding in that redirecting/bouncing maintains all of the message headers. Redirect a message when you want the recipient to be able to reply directly to the person who wrote the original message. Additionally, ITS may ask you to bounce messages to abuse@virginia.edu or postmaster@virginia.edu in cases of abuse or email account problems. The ability to retain message header information helps ITS to track and resolve these types of problems.
- To redirect/bounce selected messages, enter the address (for example,
mst3k@virginia.edu) in the email address box, then click
(redirect). Note that you will not have the ability to add text to the individual
messages before redirecting them. You will see an acknowledgement that the messages have been redirecte
d.
Printing a Message
- With a message open, click
(print). Your message will open in a new, printer-friendly screen. - Then use your Web browser's Print function to print.
Adding a Sender's Email Address to Your Address Book
- With a message open:
- Click
(add from address), and the sender's address will be automatically added into your address book; or - Click
(add addresses), select the desired address(es) to save, and click the Add button. This allows you to save the sender's address and any address(es) in the To: and Cc: fields of the email.
- Click
Composing a Message
- Click the Compose tab, located near the top of the Mailbox window.
- Enter the desired recipient address(es) or select an address from a CMS WebMail address book.
- Type your message subject and body. Include any attachments, if desired.
- Click the Send button after you have finished drafting your message.
TIP: If you take longer than 60 minutes to compose your message, WebMail will force an account logout, and you will lose everything you have written. To avoid this, monitor the time remaining at the top of the Compose screen, and click the Reset button if you need more time to compose your message.
Also, you may want to save your in-progress messages to your Draft folder periodically. Should you experience a forced logout, you could then login and recover your message from the last saved version.
Including Attachments
You may add up to 3 files as attachments to a CMS WebMail message. Note that the total size of the combined attachments may not exceed 50 MB.
- Enter the Compose window by clicking the Compose tab at the top of the mailbox window. Enter the recipient address and message text as usual.
- Scroll to the bottom of the message window to locate the attachment tools.
- Enter the name and path of the first file you wish to attach in the first attachment box, or click the Browse button to search for the file on your computer's hard drive. Repeat in each of the other two attachment boxes if needed.
- Click the Send button when you are ready to send the message with the attachments.
Logging Out
Why a Full Logout is Important
It is critical that you log out, and then close your Web browser, when you are finished with a CMS WebMail session, to protect yourself against unauthorized use of your email account. Failure to do so may compromise your personal privacy and security by leaving your account accessible to the next person who uses the computer. This is particularly true if you use CMS WebMail in a public location.
How to Log Out
- Click
in the top right of the WebMail window. - Then, exit your Web browser completely.
- Windows users: From the File menu, choose Close or Exit.
- Mac users: Click the browser's name in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then select Quit.
Page Updated: 2011-07-01
