Creating rules for automatic mail handling
If your organization is using FirstClass as its mail system, you'll have a FirstClass mailbox containing all the private messages you have sent and received. Whether you are using FirstClass mail or not, you'll see messages in FirstClass conferences.
When you receive a message over the Internet, FirstClass blocks images for security reasons. To display these images, select the yellow bar.
To open the message with all images in a separate tab, use the View Original button.
To see the route the message took to get to you, use the Internet Header button.
Messages with replies are grouped into threads. A message thread consists of a message plus all the replies that have been made to it. The oldest (original) message is at the bottom of the thread, and the most recent reply is at the top.
If you have read all the messages in a thread, all but the most recent message is collapsed to a single line that indicates how many more messages are in the thread. If a thread consists of a mixture of read and unread messages, only the read messages are collapsed.
You can expand and collapse message threads just as you do groups of objects in columns.
To send a message, use the New Message button in your mailbox or a conference, or at the top of the MAILBOX pane.
Note
Depending on your preferences, addressing a message to someone who isn't in your organization will automatically create a contact representing that person in your Contacts folder. If you don't want this behavior, clear the Auto create contact for external recipients checkbox in your preferences.
The message form consists of a top pane (envelope), where you provide information such as the message subject and recipients, and a bottom pane, where you enter and format your message content.
Note
Your spelling is checked as you type. To see suggestions for a word that is underlined in red, Control(Command)/right-click ituse your device's standard method.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Icon Picker | The icon that will be associated with this message. To change the icon, select the existing icon, then the icon you want from the popup list. To see additional icons, choose All Icons from the popup's menu. |
| Subject | The subject of the message. |
| To | The recipients' names. Type the name as it appears in the Directory (or type an Internet email address), then tab. For recipients who are in the Directory, you can also type a partial name, tab, then choose the person you want from the list of matches. If you type an email address that is in the Directory, the name will resolve to the recipient's Directory name. You can add multiple recipients. You can enter conference names just as you would enter a person's name. If you created this message in a conference, the message is automatically addressed to the default conference recipients (typically just the conference itself). |
| Cc | Recipients who will be copied on the message. To reveal this and the Bcc field, use the disclosure button beside To. Enter their names just as you would enter To names. |
| Bcc | Recipients who will be blind copied on the message. These recipients won't see the names of any other recipients, and their names will likewise be hidden from the other recipients. Enter their names just as you would enter To names. |
| Attach | Attaches a file that is on your device to the message. Browse for and select the file, or take a picture. To attach an object that is on your server (such as a FirstClass document or an uploaded file), drag the file or other object to the message's envelope. You can also use this method as a shortcut to attach files that are on your device. For tablets, Attach is in the message's menu. |
| Send | Sends the message and closes it. |
| menu | Print prints the message using your device's standard print method. Delete deletes the message, if you decide you don't want to send the message after all. If you want to keep the message, but not send it yet, close the message form. It will be saved as a draft. Other menu options are documented below. |
When you create a message, you can add a pre-existing signature to the bottom of the message body. Signatures can be used to repeat your name, indicate your title or email address, provide required legal statements, and so on.
You can add a signature only to selected messages or make FirstClass add it automatically to every message you create. In addition, you can create multiple signatures and choose the appropriate one for each purpose.
To create a signature, choose Preferences from the application menu, then go to the Signatures section. Type an identifying name for your signature at Signature name. If you want this signature to be added to every new message, tick the Add this signature to new messages checkbox. Type and format your signature content.
Your signature name is created right away. The content of the signature is saved when you select the Save button on the preferences form.
If you want multiple signatures, use the Add Signature button, name your new signature, then type and format the signature content.
You can display and update a signature by choosing it at Signature name. If you want to delete a signature, display it, then use the Delete Signature button.
To add a signature to a specific new message, use the Signature edit button and choose the signature you want to use.
If your device has a microphone, you can use FirstClass to record a spoken message, or any other sound, and attach this recording to a message as an MP3 file.
Note
You can also attach existing MP3, AIFF, GSM-610, and WAV files. WAV and AIFF files can contain many audio formats, such as PCM, ADPCM, IMA-ADPCM, MULaw, and A-LAW.
To attach a recording to a message, choose Insert Voice from the message's menu. A sound player is displayed in the message envelope.
Use the Record button and your microphone to record. When you are finished recording, use the Stop button.
To review your recording, use the Play button. You can pause the recording and control the volume just as you would with other sound players. You can rerecord if necessary.
When you are satisfied with the recording, use the Attach Voice Recording button to attach the recording as a sound file. If you want to replace this attachment with another recording, delete it and start the recording procedure over again. You can also record again to attach additional sound files.
In addition to the normal priority, you can make a message urgent or low priority.
An urgent message appears in red bold when you send it or after you have read it. It may also result in special handling on route.
A low priority message may also get special handling. Check with your administrator to see if making messages low priority has any effect in your organization.
You set priority from an open unsent message's menu.
| To | Choose |
|---|---|
| make a message urgent | Priority > Priority Urgent |
| make a message low priority | Priority > Priority Bulk |
A message's receipt options control:
Normally, FirstClass notifies you when your message can't be delivered. If you don't wish to receive this notification for a message, you can tell FirstClass not to create it.
Limitation
These options won't work with all mail systems.
You set the receipt option from an open unsent message's menu.
| To | Choose |
|---|---|
| notify you that a message has been read For a message sent to a conference, you will receive a notification each time someone reads the message. This option won't work if a recipient toggles the red dot off before opening the message. |
Receipt > Receipt on Read |
| notify you when a message has been delivered | Receipt > Receipt on Delivery |
| notify you each time your message is delivered to another server on its route | Receipt > Receipt on Route |
| prevent nondelivery notices | Receipt > Suppress NDN |
When you send a message, only one copy of the message is actually created. It is stored on the server, and you and your recipients have links to it.
You can change the properties of your own link (for example, by changing the subject), and even delete it, without your actions affecting the others' links. The actual message stays on the server as long as there are any links to it, and it has not yet expired.
This means that if you send a message to a conference, then want to delete it, you must first unsend it.
In certain circumstances, you can unsend a message. This makes the message disappear from all FirstClass recipient mailboxes and conferences. It remains in your mailbox as an unsent message, where you can either delete it or update and resend it. Do be aware that the message may already have been read by recipients before you unsent it.
Notes
You can't unsend a message that was sent through the Internet or a gateway, or moved or deleted by the recipient.
In most cases, you can't unsend a message directly from a conference. You must go to your mailbox to unsend it.
To unsend a message, choose Unsend from its menu, or open it and use the Unsend button.
To reply to a message, open the message, then use the Reply button. The reply is addressed to the recipients you specified in your preferences, as described below.
Tip
If you want to quote part of the original message, select the part you want to quote before using Reply.
To open a menu of all reply options, use the Reply Options button beside Reply:
If you select part of the message first, Reply with Quote works just like Reply, and quotes the selected part in your reply.
This reply option is often not allowed. It's only available in conferences where you have permission to use it.
A reply message opens with the same subject and preaddressed. You can update any of the information in the reply's envelope.
Type your response in the body area below the envelope, then send the message.
Note
Depending on your preferences, replying to someone who isn't in your organization will automatically create a contact representing that person in your Contacts folder. If you don't want this behavior, clear the Auto create contact for external recipients checkbox in your preferences.
When you choose Reply to reply to a message, FirstClass preaddresses the reply with your default reply recipients. You can change this default in your preferences.
Exception
Replies to messages in conferences are automatically addressed to the conference's default reply recipients.
To change your default reply recipients, choose Preferences from the application menu, then go to the Messaging section. Update the Reply preference field:
| This option | Does this |
|---|---|
| Automatic | Either addresses a reply directly to the sender and puts all other recipients of the original message in the Cc field, or uses the reply preference set for the user group to which you belong. |
| Reply All | Addresses a reply directly to the sender and all other recipients of the original message. |
| Reply Sender | Addresses a reply directly to the sender only. |
No matter what reply option you choose, you can make FirstClass always quote original messages in your replies. This also changes the default Reply button to Reply with Quote.
To always quote original messages, choose Preferences from the application menu, then go to the Messaging section. Tick the Use "Reply with Quote" for all reply types checkbox.
If your organization uses FirstClass as its email application, you can make FirstClass reply automatically to messages that are sent to you. This is useful, for example, if you want to inform message senders that you are on vacation.
To turn on automatic reply, choose Preferences from the application menu, then go to the Messaging section. Update the fields under Automatically reply to:
| This field | Does this |
|---|---|
| Local mail | Choose No if you don't want automatic replies generated for mail sent from others on your server. Yes generates replies for all local mail. Urgent Only just generates replies for mail that senders marked as urgent. |
| Internet mail | Choose No if you don't want automatic replies generated for mail sent over the Internet. Yes generates replies for all Internet mail. Urgent Only just generates replies for mail that senders marked as urgent. Be careful about replying automatically to Internet mail. Spam mailers are often looking for replies to verify that an address is genuine. |
| Reply text | The text that you want in your automatic replies. |
To forward a message to someone else, open it, then use the Forward button. A forwarded message opens, containing the original message in the body. Update the envelope as desired. You can also add your own text in the body.
If your organization uses FirstClass as its email application, you can make FirstClass forward your messages automatically. This is useful, for example, when you aren't available and want your mail answered by someone else.
To turn on automatic forwarding, choose Preferences from the application menu, then go to the Messaging section. Update the fields under Automatically forward:
| This field | Does this |
|---|---|
| Local mail | Choose No if you don't want mail sent from others on your server to be forwarded. Yes forwards all local mail. Urgent Only just forwards mail that senders marked as urgent. |
| Internet mail | Choose No if you don't mail sent over the Internet to be forwarded. Yes forwards all Internet mail. Urgent Only just forwards mail that senders marked as urgent. If you receive messages from an automated listserver, be careful about forwarding Internet mail. Every message you receive from the listserver will be forwarded. |
| Voice/fax mail | Choose No if you don't voicemail and faxes to be forwarded. Yes forwards all voicemail and faxes. Urgent Only just forwards voicemail and faxes that senders marked as urgent. |
| Method | Redirect shows the original message sender as the sender of the forwarded message. The original list of recipients is retained for information purposes only. Forwarding doesn't send these recipients duplicate copies. Forward shows you as the sender of the forwarded message. The new recipient replaces the original list of recipients. This is the same behavior you see when you manually forward a message. |
| Forward to | The email address to which you want to send forwarded or redirected mail. |
Your administrator may create partially completed messages as stationery. Stationery often contains information such as the recipient's address. Depending on how your administrator set up stationery, you may not be able to change prefilled information.
You'll find a container's stationery in its Pinned flyout. To use it, simply select it. It works just like a paper pad of message forms; you "tear one off" and complete it.
If you send a lot of messages to the same recipient, or with the same information, you can create personal stationery that works just like this as a shortcut.
To create stationery, use the New Message button in a container just like you normally would when creating a message. Fill in the information that you want your stationery to contain, then close the message without sending it. In your mailbox, choose Properties from the unsent message's menu, then tick the Stationery checkbox. The message is converted to stationery and moved to your mailbox's Pinned flyout.
Tip
If you want others to use your stationery, move it to a container where they have access.
If you need to update your stationery, choose Properties from its menu and clear the Stationery checkbox. The stationery is converted back to an unsent message and appears in your mailbox's list.
You can now open this message and update it. When you are done, turn on its Stationery property again.
Using your mailbox's menu, you can list:
To show all items again, choose Show All.
You can also list more items on the screen at once, in column view, by choosing List View.
You can tell FirstClass whether to accept or delete mail that FirstClass considers spam. To do this, choose Preferences from the application menu, then go to the Messaging section. Choose the option you want at Junk mail handling.
You can also create mail handling rules, as described below.
Mail rules tell FirstClass how to handle both sent and received messages. You can set up rules for your mailbox and for conferences (if you have permission to do so in a conference). For example, your mailbox may have rules to:
When you create mail rules, they are listed in your mailbox's or a conference's Rules folder. The order in which they are listed in the Rules folder determines how they work together.
FirstClass runs rules in the order they appear in the Rules folder, from the top down. This means that you must put exceptions to a mail rule before that rule in the list.
For example, if you have a rule that puts all Internet mail into a suspected spam container, but want messages from several trusted Internet addresses to go straight to your mailbox, you must put any rules that handle the trusted addresses before the general Internet filing rule.
To change the sort order of your rules, drag them into the appropriate order.
To create a rule for mail received in your mailbox or a conference, choose Rules from its menu. The container's Rules folder opens.
Use the New Receive Rule button and update the receive rule form.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name you want to give this rule. |
| Enabled | Makes this rule run each time mail is received by this container. |
| If | The condition that incoming mail must meet before this rule will handle it in the way you specify at Then. Depending on your choice at the first field, additional fields may be displayed. Complete all displayed fields to build your condition. Where you can type a phrase (for example, names or subjects), FirstClass looks for the whole phrase, not for each individual word in the phrase. You can type in upper or lower case. Here are some terms that may not be self explanatory: ---- means there are no conditions. always means this rule will apply to every piece of mail received by this container. within/not within lets you choose a time period, type the number of days, or type a value such as 1w 3d 4h. group is a user group that has been set up by your administrator. size includes any attachments. spam level indicates how likely this message is to be spam. The level is automatically set for all incoming Internet messages. You can choose Low (least likely to be spam), Medium, or High (most likely to be spam), or you can type a number (the higher the number, the more likely the message is to be spam). Check with your administrator to see which values are appropriate for your system. |
| Then | The action to take when the incoming mail meets the condition you specified at If. Depending on your choice at the first field, additional fields may be displayed. Complete all displayed fields to build your action. Here are some actions that may not be self explanatory: ---- means do nothing. Automatically reply with fixed text requires you to type the reply message in the next field. You can add a subject prefix by typing it in the prefix field. Automatically reply with preferences autoreply text means that the reply message will use the autoreply text specified in your preferences. Delete silently deletes the mail and doesn't notify the sender. This is useful for Internet spam where you don't want the sender to know yours is a valid email address. File in folder lets you file the mail in a subcontainer within this container. Reject deletes the mail and sends the sender an NDN (nondelivery notification). Set expiry period lets you specify when mail will be ready for FirstClass to automatically delete. Choose a time period, type the number of days, or type a value such as 1w 3d 4h. |
If The sender matches joespammer@bugthem.com
Then Delete silently
This rule will delete any mail sent by joespammer@bugthem.com, and won't notify that address.
Note
These rules only affect the copies of sent mail that remain in your mailbox (the local copies).
To create a rule for mail that you send, choose Rules from your mailbox's menu. Your mailbox's Rules folder opens.
Choose New Send Rule from the New button's dropdown menu and update the send rule form.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name you want to give this rule. |
| Enabled | Makes this rule run each time you send mail. |
| If | The condition that sent mail must meet before this rule will handle it in the way you specify at Then. Depending on your choice at the first field, additional fields may be displayed. Complete all displayed fields to build your condition. Where you can type a phrase (for example, names or subjects), FirstClass looks for the whole phrase, not for each individual word in the phrase. You can type in upper or lower case. Here are some terms that may not be self explanatory: ---- means there are no conditions. always means this rule will apply to every piece of mail that you send. group is a user group that has been set up by your administrator. size includes any attachments. |
| Then | The action to take when the sent mail meets the condition you specified at If. Depending on your choice at the first field, additional fields may be displayed. Complete all displayed fields to build your action. Here are some actions that may not be self explanatory: ---- means do nothing. File local copy in moves local copies of sent messages to subcontainers in your mailbox. Set local copy's expiry period lets you specify when local copies of sent messages will be ready for FirstClass to delete automatically. Choose a time period, type the number of days, or type a value such as 1w 3d 4h. |
If The subject contains budget
Then File local copy in Budgets
This rule will move local copies of sent messages containing the word "budget" in the subject to a subcontainer in your mailbox called Budgets.
Note
Setting up a properly functioning advanced mail rule can be more complex than setting up basic receive and send rules. For that reason, we recommend that you not create advanced rules unless you feel that you have a good knowledge of mail rules.
If the receive and send rule forms don't cover the conditions or actions you want to specify, you can create an advanced mail rule. An advanced mail rule can apply to both received mail and mail you you send or delete.
To create an advanced mail rule, open the container's Rules folder. Choose New Advanced Rule from the New button's dropdown menu, then update the advanced rule form.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Icon Picker | The icon that will be associated with this rule. Change the icon just as you would the icon of a new message. |
| Name | The name you want to give this rule. |
| Add to toolbar | Doesn't apply to FirstClass for web browsers. |
| Enabled | Makes the rule run each time the trigger event occurs. |
| When | The trigger event that will cause this rule to run: Message Received Runs the rule when mail is received by this container. Message Sent Runs the rule on your local copies when you send mail. Item Deleted Runs the rule when someone deletes mail. The rule's actions are performed before the actual delete, enabling you to cancel the delete, move the mail to a folder, and so on, instead of deleting it. If you don't want to delete mail, add the action Cancel deletion after any other actions this rule will perform. Exception: If you move an object to a subcontainer, FirstClass automatically cancels the deletion. Run Manually Doesn't apply to FirstClass for web browsers. |
| If | All means all of your conditions must match before action will be taken. Any means any one of your conditions must match before action will be taken. This can result in the rule running more frequently. Build your conditions just as you would for a basic receive or send rule. If you want multiple conditions, use the + button to add another row. Using the - button deletes the selected row. Here are some advanced rule terms and conditions that may not be self explanatory: current user is the person who does something that activates this rule. history contains activates this rule when an action or person you specify is in the mail's history. Internet header activates this rule when mail has the Internet header you specify. This can be a standard Internet header or one generated by FirstClass (X-), for which your administrator sets the possible values. X-SPAM-Warning indicates the probability of this being spam as an alphanumeric expression, such as LOW. We recommend you use a receive rule with a spam level condition instead of X-SPAM-Warning. FirstClass can process the spam level condition more efficiently. X-SPAM-Level indicates the probability of this being spam as a number. X-SPAM-Tests refers to the tests that resulted in this message being marked as spam. X-RBL-Warning means the message was sent by a known spammer as reported by a Realtime Blackhole List (RBL). You must know the possible values for the header you choose. leaf means any object that isn't a container. when the odds are allows you to specify a probability. The condition is considered to be met based on this probability. For example, if the odds are 1 in 2, there is a 50% chance that this condition will be met. If this is the only condition, it means there is a 50% chance that this rule's actions will run. |
| Then | Build your actions just as you would for a basic receive or send rule. If you want multiple actions, use the + and - buttons as you do in the If section. Here are some advanced rule actions that may not be self explanatory: Generate reply with attachment name means that the reply message will be based on the object attached to this rule. You will only see an attachment name in this field after you have attached an object. Make rule log entry adds an entry to your rules log, using the text you specify in the next field. Send notification requires that the specified person have notification activated. Send pager message uses your paging preferences to create a forwarded or redirected message. Stop rule processing is used when you have other rules below this one in the Rules folder, and you don't want those rules to process messages that meet this rule's conditions. If you have multiple actions within this rule, put this action at the end of the list of actions. Suppress FC notifier turns off FirstClass notification for this mail. Turn approval makes the mail require approval. |
| Attachment | This only applies to the Message Received trigger. An attachment can be used as the basis for certain actions. For example, a reply with attachment uses the text, formatting, embedded pictures, and so on, of the attached object (typically a message or document). If you want to include an uploaded file, first attach it to a message or document, then attach the message/document to the rule. |
Every time you create or update a mail rule, or change the order of mail rules, FirstClass compiles the rules for that container. This is done to locate any errors in the rules, such as a missing folder name. The results of the compile are recorded in a rules log that FirstClass places in the container's Rules folder. Be sure to correct any errors reported by the log before your new or updated rule runs.
The cost reported in the log is a general indicator of how much impact your rules processing will have on your server. The higher the number, the more server resources you are using. A cost up to 25 has little impact. Above 50 has a high impact, and may result in slower response times.
Each compile adds to this log. If you want FirstClass to start a new log, delete the old one.