Reading e-mail is even easier than sending it. You will use the Get Mail button to have your e-mail delivered to you. It is the first button on the left side of the Netscape Mail menu bar.

Have you ever been in a business office and seen a set of trays on someone's desk? They were probably labelled In and Out. They help the office workers keep track of mail that has come in and mail that is going out. Your classroom teacher may have a similar system for assignments. Homework may get put in one box to be turned in and it may be put in another box to return to you once it has been graded. Both systems are just a way to organize handling paper.

Those trays are a lot like the folders in Netscape Mail. Folders are used to help organize your e-mail messages. The three most common folders are the Inbox, Sent, and Trash folders. You may not have a Trash folder until you actually delete something, so don't worry if you don't see it on your screen at first.

• The Inbox Folder contains mail that has been sent to you.
• The Sent Folder contains a copy of the mail that you have sent to others.
• The Trash Folder contains mail you have deleted.

Depending on the version of Netscape you are using, some of the illustrations provided may look a little different than your screen. However, the same general instructions apply and you should be able to follow along. You may find it helpful to print out these instructions so you can follow along more easily. Select the Print icon on your menu bar at the top of the screen in order to make a hard copy of these instructions. Please follow these instructions carefully. Contact me if you run into problems.

1.	After you log into your Internet Service Provider and launch the Netscape browser, you should be looking at a home page.
2.	Do you remember the shortcut to Netscape Mail? That's right, just by clicking on the small envelope at the botom right side of the screen, you will wind up in Netscape Mail. Down at the bottom right side of your screen, you will notice a tiny little envelope. Click on the envelope, and you will wind up in Netscape Mail.
3.	Now is a good time to look at the organization of your Netscape Mail screen. On the left side you will see that your messages are stored in several different Mail Folders. In my example, the Inbox folder is highlighted. You will only be able to select messages to read that are in the highlighted, or active, folder. If you want to see messages in any other folder, just click on that folder with your mouse to select it.
4.	Now for the other side of the Netscape Mail screen. On the left side of the screen is a list of all the e-mail messages stored in the activ efolder. In the example, the active folder is the Inbox, so all of the messages are ones that I have received.
5.	Sometimes your mail is delivered to you automatically when you log on and sometimes you have to request it. We will adjust some settings later to make sure you always get your mail automatically when you log on. For now, you are going to request it by clicking on the Get Mail button. This is the first button located on the left side of the menu bar.
6.	This is part of a message that I received when I asked for some technical assistance with a software problem. You see part of the message list screen at the top right with the message highlighted in blue. Below it in the message window, you see part of the reply I got from technical support. When you are ready to read your messages, you do the same thing. Just highlight the message in the list window at the top right by clicking on it with the mouse. The message will appear for you to read in the message window below. If it is a long message, you can use the scroll bar on the right side of the Netscape Mail screen to move up and down through the message until you have read the whole thing.
7.	Be sure and read all of the message you have received up to this point.
8.	Do you remember how to exit to exit from Netscape Mail? First, select File from the menu bar as shown below.
9.	Then, from the File menu, select the Close option (see the following example) to exit from Netscape Mail. If you did everything right, you should be back at the Netscape browser interface viewing a home page. Explore if you like, and thenexit Netscape in the usual way. In the next Module--Reading E-Mail--you will use your new e-mail skills to read messages other people on the Internet have sent to you.

Homework Assignment: Please review page 60 and the top part of page 61 in your PC Novice Guide to Netscape. After reading this article, answer the following questions. Now that you know how to use Netscape Mail, you can send me your answers by e-mail.

1.	Describe the purpose of each of these buttons.
2.	What are the three most common e-mail folders and what type of messages get stored in each one?
3.	Briefly describe two similarities and two differences between reading e-mail and snail mail (for example a letter with pen and paper).
	Don't forget, send me these answers as an e-mail message.

Competencies: After completing this assignment, you should have a basic familiarity with how to read e-mail. With time and practice, you will soon be an e-mail pro.