First Class Email Tips and Tricks

A lot of things happened on the First Class system this month that serve to remind one of the power of the software and, more importantly, the power of posting messages and reaching out to those that use the service on a regular basis.

FIRST

Thanks to everyone who responded to my message asking for tips on getting a new dog for the family. There were a LOT of replies ranging from jokes about "long little doggies" (we were interested in getting another dachshund) to sympathies for losing our family friend earlier in the year, to a long list of local and Ontario breeders that were in a position to help. I was very impressed and touched by those of your who responded to the message.

SECONDLY

We did get a new puppy. He's a cute little dachshund cross who is showing a great deal of intelligence and potential as a new member of the family. In appreciation, I took a picture of Beauregard and posted it on the First Class system to show everyone in the district.

That's when another illustration of the power of First Class came shining through. I received numerous requests wondering how to post a picture to a First Class message. In reply, here's how to do it.

Plain text messages are not the only "type" of message that's available on our system. If you connect and login in, don't just press CTRL-N or OPTION-N to generate a new message. That just gives you a plain, blah, new text message. Instead, select NEW FORM from the Message menu. You'll be presented with the following list of available options.

We'll select a "Picture Message". You have the standard "To:", "Subject", etc. fields but just above the text is a spot for you to insert your picture. The easiest way is to have your picture open in a graphics program so that you can crop, colour, and otherwise manipulate the picture and then simply copy it from your graphics program, click in the picture area and then past it into place!

Address it, send it and your picture is on its way!

There are some restrictions on the picture. First of all, the picture will be shown in 256 colours so you're all set with any GIF files that you wish to attach. Secondly, there is a limit of 64k on the size of any picture or diagram that you wish to include. Finally, above and beyond the physical limitations, remember that some people will be downloading from at home with a modem connection. The smaller you make your image, the quicker it shoots through the phone lines!

THIRDLY

Notice all of the little icons on the top of the message? Over the Spring Break, the ITS department upgraded the First Class server to version 5.5. There's a great deal more power that's available on your desktop with this release. Look for more tips and tricks on the new version in the upcoming months.