Getting Started
- General Overview of the User Interface
- Terminating the Session
General Overview of the User Interface
Once authenticated, the screen of Baya 4 webmail is displayed. The screen is divided into functional parts which are explained here:
(1) Application Switch
The left pane of the webmail interface provides an application switch for Email, Contacts (Address Book), Tasks, Calendar, Online Help, and Settings. Use this list to switch from one application to another. That will reload the screen with a specific view of the selected application. Instead of switching back and forth, applications can be opened in individual browser windows or tabs. Right-click on an app icon in the list and then choose Open Link in New Tab/Window from the browser’s context menu to do so.
Besides the applications, the button to log out of the current session (Logout) is located at the bottom.
(2) Status Display
The bottom area of the screen is dedicated to displaying status notifications (e.g. confirmations, warnings, errors) about the success or failure of the operations you just executed in the application. While the app is working or loading data, a notification is displayed here as well.
(3) Toolbar
The main toolbar is always located above the content area and allows you to perform different actions, depending on what is being shown or selected in the content part of the window. If a toolbar icon shows a small arrow on its right side, clicking that arrow will present you variations of the action to be executed. Additional actions can be found by clicking the More button (if available).
(4) List Operations
The icons in the footer area of a list provide actions that influence the list above or the currently selected element of the list respectively. The gear icon usually opens a menu with additional actions.
(5) Search Box
If the currently selected application allows searching for data (e.g. for email messages or contacts), a search box is located above the main content area. Enter a search term and press <Enter> on the keyboard to start searching. To reset the search, click the Clear icon on the right border of the search box.
There are more search options hidden in a drop-down menu that opens when clicking the down-arrow icon located in the right of the search box.
Resizing content boxes
Some boxes filling the main content area of the screen can be resized. Find the resize handle between two boxes and drag it with the mouse.
Terminating the Session
Once your work is done on the webmail application, it’s important that you properly terminate the current session by clicking the Logout icon. This will make sure that no other person accessing your computer can read or delete your emails or send them on your behalf. Simply closing the browser window is not enough to log-out.
The Email application provides all functions to read, write, and organize email messages. When you log in to your SkyConnect account, the email application opens on the screen by default.
The content area of the screen shows three areas: Mailbox folders, Messages List, and the Preview Pane.
Messages List
The middle pane of the screen is displaying the list of all messages in the currently selected folder. Scroll down using a mouse to populate more emails on the screen automatically.
The application periodically checks for new messages and will update the display if new emails arrived. You can force this check manually by clicking the Refresh button in the email view toolbar.
- Open a Message for Reading
- Mark Messages as Read or Flagged
- Change messages list sorting
- Threaded message listing
- Change message list columns
- Selecting Multiple Message
Open a Message for Reading
A single click on a message will display it in the preview pane located on the right of the list. In order to open a message in full view or a new window (depending on your settings), double-click it with the mouse. Another way to open a message in a new browser tab or window is to right-click on the subject and then choose Open Link in New Tab/Window from the browser’s context menu.
Selecting a message in the list will also activate toolbar buttons that offer further actions related to the selected message, such as replying, forwarding, marking, deleting, or more options.
Mark Messages as Read or Flagged
When opening an unread message for reading it’ll automatically be marked as read. This can also be done directly in the list by clicking the unread circle in front of the subject. Click it again to mark the message as unread.
Hover the mouse over a message in the list to view the flag icon. You can flag/un-flag a message by clicking on the flag column of the message row. Also, there’s the Mark menu in the toolbar (in the Preview pane) that allows you to flag all selected messages with one click.
Change messages list sorting
The sorting order of the messages can be changed from the options menu. Clicking the menu depicted by the three vertical dots column in the list header will show a list of menu items. Choose the options, to view list order and sort options. Select the column from the drop-down on which you’d like the messages to be sorted. Choose the sorting order either descending or ascending from the drop-down list.
Threaded message listing
Instead of sorting messages by their date or subject, conversations spawning multiple messages can be grouped together as Threads. Use the options menu to change the list view. Clicking the menu depicted by the three vertical dots column in the list header will show a list of menu items. Choose the options, to view the list order. When in threads option is selected from the drop-down list, messages are listed in a threaded manner. From the options menu, groups of messages can be collapsed or expanded using the arrow icons in the leftmost column of the message list.
Selecting Multiple Messages
With a single click on a row in the messages list, the according message is selected and highlighted. By pressing either the Shift or Ctrl keys on your keyboard while clicking on a message, you can select multiple messages or deselect them.
There are also selection helpers hidden in the Select drop-down menu (depicted by three vertical dots) located on the top. The menu allows you to select all unread or flagged messages at once or to invert or reset the current selection.
Mailbox folders
On the left of the message list, you will see a hierarchical list of all folders in your mailbox. Folders can be used to file email messages by topic, sender, or whatever you choose for the organization.
Incoming messages usually appear in the Inbox folder which is the first item in the folder list. There are some special folders that are used by the system to store sent (Sent Items) or deleted (Trash) messages and where not-yet-sent message drafts (Drafts) are saved. These system folders are indicated with special icons.
The number of unread messages in each folder is displayed at the right border of the folder list.
Click a folder in the list to show the contained messages in the message list on the right. The currently selected folder is highlighted in the list.
Folders with hidden subfolders are indicated with a small [+] icon which can be clicked to expand or collapse the folder tree.
- Folder operations
- Quota display
Folder operations
On the top of the folder list, the Folder actions menu (depicted by three vertical dots) shows a list of folder-related actions when clicked. Most of the actions in the menu affect the currently selected folder.
- Compact: This action will compress the folder size by finally deleting messages that have been marked for deletion.
- Empty: This will delete all messages in the selected folder permanently. Be very careful with this operation as it cannot be undone. For security reasons, this action is only available for the Trash and Junk folders.
- Mark all read: This action will mark all the unread email messages in the selected folder or all messages as read.
- Manage folders: This menu item will take you to the settings section when you can manage the mailbox folders. This is where you can create, delete, rename, or re-organize your email folders.
Quota display
If your mailbox is limited by a maximum size, the quota display located in the footer of the folder list indicates the current usage of the available disk space. Move the mouse pointer over the percentage display to see the real numbers of your quota usage.
Preview Pane
The preview pane in the right of the message list displays the currently selected message right in the main email view.
- Shortcut Functions
- Expanding the Message Headers
Shortcut Functions
On the top of the Preview pane there are buttons for often-used actions like a reply, forward, delete, mark the message or see more actions.
The north-east arrow icon will open the message in a new window to have a full-size view of the entire message.
Expanding the Message Headers
The preview pane is meant to give you a quick view of the message. Thus only important message fields such as sender and date are displayed right away. The header part of the preview can be expanded with a click on the Details then at the left of the header then clicking All headers will display a pop-up window.
Viewing Emails and Attachments
Double-clicking a message in the list opens it in full size or in a new window, depending on your message display preferences.
The header block now shows all message headers.
- Open in a New Window
- Move to Another Folder
- Jump to the Next or Previous Message
- Add Contacts to your Address Book
- View or Download Attachments
Open in a New Window
While looking at a message in the preview pane, it can be opened in a new window by pressing the Northeast arrow button.
When opening a message in a full-size view, the toolbar above shows buttons for possible actions to choose for this message.
Move to Another Folder
Use the drop-down list (depicted by three horizontal dots) on the top right of the toolbar to move the current message to another folder. When a folder is selected from that list, the message is moved there right away and the window will display the next message in the list.
Copy to Another Folder
Use the drop-down list (depicted by three horizontal dots) on the top right of the toolbar to copy the current message to another folder. When a folder is selected from that list, the message is copied there right away.
Add Contacts to your Address Book
Every email address referenced in the current message, either as a sender or recipient, can be saved to the address book. Clicking on the contact id will show the option to save it in the Address Book. It won’t be saved twice if contact with that email address already exists in the address book.
View or Download Attachments
If the opened message has any files attached, these are listed on the right, next to the message text. Click on the file name to open or download it. If the file can be displayed directly in the web browser, a preview window will be opened showing the attachment. This will happen for images, text files, and PDFs if your browser indicates being able to display them.
Otherwise clicking the file name will initiate the download process and a dialog will most likely appear, asking you where to save the file. If that doesn’t happen, check the default Downloads folder on your computer for the attachment file.
Image Previews
If enabled in the Preferences images attached to the message are listed as previews (aka “thumbnails”) right below the message header. Right-click the down arrow next to the image to see the options which let you either open the image in full size or download it to your computer’s hard drive.
Sending Email Messages
- Composing a New Message
- Selecting Recipients from Address Books
- Adding Attachments
- Composing Formatted (HTML) Messages
- Using Prepared Responses
- Other Message Sending Options
Composing a New Message
Clicking on the Compose icon on the left pane opens the message compose screen. Depending on your settings it opens in the current browser tab or in a new window.
Enter at least one recipient address or select them from the address book, type in a subject, and the message text and click the Send button at the bottom when you’re ready to send the message.
Save it as Draft (toolbar icon) if the message is not yet complete and you’d like to finish and send it at a later time. The email will be stored in the Drafts folder and can be double-clicked there in order to resume composition.
Note: While composing a message, copies are periodically saved to the drafts folder to avoid unintentional loss. In case the session terminates unexpectedly or your computer or browser crashes, you’ll find a copy of the message in the Drafts folder. You can configure the automatic saving interval in the User Preferences.
Reply to a Message
If you want to respond to a received message, click the Reply or the Reply all button in the toolbar or the equivalent buttons in the Preview Pane. This will also open the compose screen but with a quote of the message you’re replying to and with the recipient(s) pre-filled.
While Reply will copy the sender address into the To field, Reply all will add all recipients of the original message to the To and Cc fields.
Forwarding Messages
Messages can also be forwarded to somebody by clicking the Forward button in the toolbar. The compose screen will contain the message text and all attachments already added. You can still add more attachments or remove some you don’t want to forward.
The Forward toolbar button offers the following options:
Forward inline: In this (default) mode, the content of the original message is copied to the message text editor and can be altered or deleted. Also, attachments of the original message are copied to the new message and can be removed individually. Note: this mode can truncate or re-format HTML formatted messages.
Forward as an attachment: With this option, the original message is copied as an attachment to the forwarding message. This will preserve the message with all its formatting and attachments and doesn’t allow you to alter anything.
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Edit as a new message
Message received to your mailbox can also be edited as a new message and send to recipients. Select a message from the list to view it in the Preview pane. Use the drop-down list (depicted by three horizontal dots) on the top right of the toolbar to edit the current message as a new message. This will open the message in the compose screen. You can edit the text, or add attachments to the message.
Selecting Recipients from Address Books
The recipients of the composed message can be freely entered into the To or Cc fields in the header section of the compose screen. Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,). Make sure you enter full and valid email addresses.
Address Book Auto-completion
While typing a recipient address, the app continuously searched your address book and suggests matching entries right below the input field. Use the cursor keys (up/down) on the keyboard to select one and then hit <Enter> or <Tab> to copy the highlighted address into the recipient field.
Using the Address Book Widget
If you prefer to select recipients from a list of contacts, use the address book widget on the left side to look them up. First, select the address book to browse on the upper part of the widget and see the contacts listed below. Only a limited number of contacts are displayed at a time so use the arrow buttons in the widget header to jump to the next page of contacts.
Select one or more contacts in the list and then click either one of the buttons below (To+, Cc+, Bcc+) in order to copy the selected contacts according to the recipient field. Double-click a contact in the list to have it added to the To field immediately.
Adding Attachments
In order to attach files to the message, click the Attach a file button in the right pane and then select the file on your computer using the file picker dialog that opens. Attachments to be sent with the message are listed on the right and can be removed again by clicking the Delete icon of the according to file.
If your browser supports HTML5, you’ll see the file-drop icon at the bottom of the attachment list. That means you can drag a file from your computer’s file explorer with the mouse onto that icon in order to attach it to the message.
Composing Formatted (HTML) Messages
Depending on your settings, the compose screen shows a simple text field to enter the message or a rich text editor with a toolbar that enables text formatting, bullet lists, image embedding, and more.
You can toggle the composition mode between plain and rich text (HTML) with the Editor Type selector which is in the sending options bar.
Embedding Images
When in HTML editor mode, you can embed images right into the message text. And here’s how to do that:
- Add the image as an attachment to the message
- Click the Insert/Edit Image icon in the editor’s toolbar
- Select the image from the Image List drop-down menu in the dialog
- Hit the Insert button
- Resize the image in the text area if necessary
Using Prepared Responses
Saved responses can be handy when repeatedly writing emails with the same text, e.g. when answering support requests or sending invitations with always the same introduction.
The Responses button in the compose screen toolbar holds your personal set of canned responses which can be inserted into the message body with a single click. Please note, these are only text snippets that can be inserted anywhere and not message templates with subject, text, or attachments.
Insert a Response
Clicking the Responses button opens a menu that lists all the saved boilerplate texts by name. Simply click on one and the saved text will be inserted into the message at the position of the cursor, exactly where you stopped typing. If you selected some part of the message text with the mouse before, the saved response text will replace the selection.
Save a new Response
When typing the same text for the second time already you might want to store it for future email writing. In order to save a new response, first, select the section of the message text that should be saved with the mouse and click Create a new response from the menu behind the Responses button. This will open a dialog where you can review the text before saving it. Give the new response a snappy name and click Save. It’s now added to the list of snippets to be inserted.
Edit Responses
Switch to the Settings section where you can manage all the saved responses.
Other Message Sending Options
The message sending options are hidden by default and first, need to be expanded by clicking the down-arrow on the left border of the message headers block.
There you can switch the editor type to compose HTML messages and adjust other settings concerning the message delivery.
Searching for Email Messages
For searching email messages, first, select the folder you want to search in the Mailbox folders list. Then enter the search term into the search box above the message list and press <Enter> on your keyboard to start the search. Search results will be displayed in the message list.
Reset the search by clicking the Reset search icon on the right border of the search box. Switching to another folder will also reset the search and clear the search box.
- Choose what parts to search
- Choose where to search
- Message List Filters
Choose what parts to search
Open the search options menu by clicking the down arrow icon right in the search box. You can select which parts of the message should be searched for the entered term. Check the Entire message to search them all.
You can also type specific search criteria directly into the box, such as “from:Scott” or “subject:Conference.” Supported criteria keywords are:
- from:
- to:
- cc:
- bcc:
- subject:
- body:
Choose where to search
Also located in the search options menu, the Scope selector controls whether messages are searched in the currently selected folders, including subfolders or across all folders. If a search query is already active, changing the scope in this menu will immediately execute the search again and update the results in the message list.
Message List Filters
The drop-down menu next to the search box offers some predefined filters to quickly reduce the messages listed to their status or priority.
The filter rules selected here are applied in addition to the search term entered in the search box. For example, you can choose to only list unanswered messages from Paul by selecting the filter Unanswered and enter “from:Paul” in the search box.
Set the date range to minimize the search criteria for example to search a mail younger than a week.
The message filters also depend on the Scope selected in the search options menu. Change the scope if you want to expand the active filter to list matching messages from all folders.
Organizing your Email Messages
The folder list in the email view lists all folders that can be used to sort emails into temporary or final storage. You manage the folders in the settings section and freely choose the hierarchy of the folder tree.
- Special System Folders
- How to Move Messages to Folders
- Delete Messages
Special System Folders
Some of the folders have a special meaning and are used by the system to place messages in. These special folders are indicated with an individual icon in the list and usually cannot be deleted or renamed.
- Inbox: This is where new messages arrive.
- Drafts: When composing messages you can save them temporarily as a draft. Such messages are stored in this folder and can be picked up for editing here.
- Sent Items: Unless configured otherwise, a copy of each message you compose and send to others will be saved to this folder.
- Trash: When you delete a message it is moved to this folder and not deleted immediately. Depending on the email server’s settings, trashed messages will automatically be removed from this folder after a certain time. You can also empty the trash folder manually with the Empty command from the Folder actions menu.
The assignment of special folders can be changed in Preferences > Special Folders.
How to Move Messages to Folders
Filing messages to specific folders is as simple as dragging a message from the list with the mouse and dropping it on the folder you want it moved to. That also works with multiple messages selected.
If the target folder is a subfolder and not currently visible, just hold the mouse over the parent folder while dragging and it’ll expand automatically after two seconds. Move the mouse (while dragging) over the folder list footer to let it scroll until the target folder moves into sight.
Copy instead of moving
There’s also the possibility to copy a message into another folder instead of moving it there. Holding down the Shift key on the keyboard while dropping one or multiple messages on the destination folder will copy them. Also, in the preview pane, you will find the drop-down menu Copy to... hidden in the action menu (depicted by three horizontal dots) on the top. Select a folder from that menu and the message will be copied there.
Moving from the Message View Screen
When reading a message in the preview pane, you’ll find a drop-down menu labeled Move to... hidden in the action menu (depicted by horizontal dots) on top. Select a folder from that menu and the message will be moved there. The message view screen will then load the next message in the list of the current folder.
Delete Messages
The selected message(s) can be deleted from the current folder by clicking the Delete icon in the toolbar or by hitting the <Del> (or Backspace on Mac) key on your keyboard. This will by default move the message to the Trash folder. In order to immediately delete the message in the first place, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Delete button or when pressing <Del>.
There’s a preference in Settings > Preferences > Server Settings where the default behavior of message deletion can be changed.
Import/Export
The common exchange formats for email are MIME (.eml) and Mbox (.mbox) which are both supported for import.
- Importing Email Messages
- Exporting Email Messages
Importing Email Messages
One or multiple files with either MIME or Mbox data can be uploaded to add email messages to the currently selected folder:
- Click the folder where the imported messages should be added.
- Select the Import option from the More menu in the right pane depicted by three horizontal dots.
- Select the file to import from your computer’s hard drive. You can select multiple files in the file picker dialog by holding down the Shift or Ctrl keys while selecting a file.
- Click Import to start the import process.
Exporting Email Messages
Messages from your inbox or any other folder can be downloaded to your computer for archiving or backup. When exporting, messages will be saved as single .eml files.
Download a Single Message
To download an email message, first, select a message in the Messages list and then choose Download (.eml) from the More menu in the toolbar. Choose where to save the exported .eml file if prompted, otherwise, find the file in the Downloads folder on your computer.
Download Multiple Messages
Multiple messages will be packed into a Zip file for downloading. Select individual messages in the Messages list and then follow the instructions for downloading a single message. You need to unpack the downloaded .zip archive to access the individual message files.
Export an Entire Folder
For archiving purposes, all messages from a folder can be downloaded as a .zip archive without first selecting them in the list.
Switch to the folder you want to export and then select the Download folder from the Folder actions menu behind the gear icon in the folders list footer.
- Priority: The priority flag of the message to be sent. This will be displayed in the recipient’s mailbox.
- Return receipt: Request the recipient to return a receipt confirmation when opening the message. This will be sent by the recipient’s email program if she confirms it.
- Delivery status notification: Request a notification message when the message is delivered. This will be sent by the email server upon message delivery. Please note that this doesn’t confirm that the actual recipient has received the message