First Class Email Tips and Tricks

Without a doubt, one of the most often asked questions surrounds the handling of file attachments to messages.

Virtually anything can be attached to a message, and when the recipient reads the message, it's nice to be able to download the attachment and do something with it.

This can be easier said than done. In a perfect world, and with a perfect computer setup, all that you need to do is to double click on the attachment. Your computer should then know what kind of file has been attached and execute it or load the appropriate application and then the attachment.

There are times when that's not what you want to do. Consider the following examples:

• The file is actually an executable program. Nobody in their right mind just runs a program these days sight unseen. The proper course of action is to download the program, scan it for viruses, and only then execute it.
• The file was created on a different platform from your computer and it's not recognized by a simple double-click.
• The file IS recognized by the simple double click but you want to open it with a different application.
• You just want to download the file now and do something with it later.
• You don't have access to the download directory because of the security installed on your computer.
• The attached file is actually a group of files that need to be dealt with collectively.
• You want to download the file to YOUR workspace. The default download location is the DOWNLOAD directory in the FIRST CLASS directory...you prefer the desktop or your home directory on the fileserver.

Phew! That's a pretty good list but there undoubtedly are more reasons that rule out a simple minded double click.

Here's what to do.

On a Macintosh computer, don't double click. Hold your cursor over the attachment, press the button, and hold. On a Windows computer, just right click on the attachment. Up will pop a menu that lets you change where you want to save the file. Do that, exit First Class and go to that location and retrieve your file.

But, consider this. A tip within a tip. Suppose someone sends you a lot of files. Can you download the lot of them at once? Absolutely. Hold down the SHIFT key while you click on each of the files and then click and hold (Macintosh) or right click (Windows) and you can download the whole shooting match at once.

In the example below, Dan Mooney the graphics king, sent me the April edition of CAITs' Corner. There's an index page (CAIT.HTM) and all the graphics that Dan is famous for. I could download them all at once or select them all and download in one action.

After selecting them all, I chose the Save Attachment option and put them all into a folder on my desktop entitled APR00. I got them all in one simple download action and was ready to incorporate them into this month's newsletter!

It's actually quite an interesting process to watch (and hear!) as all the windows pop open and First Class does its sound effects to show the end of a download.