ICONSnet User Guide: Reading Messages

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Options for Reading Messages

Select the Read New Messages button. If you have new messages, you will get a list with message details.

You can choose one of the following options:  

• Read all new messages.
  Choose this option if you would like to read all messages that have been sent to you since you last read messages.

• Read new messages within an issue area.
  This option is preferable when you are interested in reading only the messages within a particular issue area. This feature is useful for teams whose members have divided responsibility among issue areas. Click the button(s) next to the issue areas that you are interested in.

• Read selected new messages from the list.
  This option is appropriate if you are looking for a particular message. This feature is useful if you are expecting a response from another user, and don't want to have to read through all new messages. Click in the blank boxes next to the message(s) that you are interested in viewing.

Options for Marking Messages

After you have selected and read a new message, you will be presented with several options. The first decision you must make is whether you would like to keep it new, archive it, or archive it as a favorite message. In general you will want to archive messages so that they do not clutter your New Message list and so that they are easier to retrieve at a later time, but occasionally you may want to leave a message new so that a teammate will find it in the New Message list when he or she logs in. These choices are all given in a list box at the end of the message.

• Keep New
  If you want the message to continue to appear in your team's New Message list, select Keep New.

• Archive
  To store a message, select Archive. This will move the message into the general archives, meaning that it will no longer appear on the list of new messages that appears when you sign on to the ICONSnet system.  The archives allow you to retrieve your messages very easily, according to a number of parameters.  See Searching the Archives for instructions on how to locate archived messages

• Archive as Favorite
  To add the message to your list of favorite messages, for easy retrieval later, select Archive as Favorite. This will remove the message from the New Messages list, move it to the general archives, and include it in a special subset of messages tagged as favorites. This list of favorites can be accessed by clicking the Read Favorites button on the Search Archives screen. It should be noted that messages that have been marked as favorites can also be retrieved through a normal archives search. .

You and your team can determine whether Keep New or Archive will be your default setting when you retrieve new messages.  See Administrative Features for more information.

Responding to Messages

After every message, you have the option to respond to the message or to quit reading messages. (You may, of course, also continue to scroll through the messages.) If you choose to respond, the system will return a form for sending a message which is addressed to the sender of the original message, including the same issue and subject as the original message, as well as a link to the message being responded to.

 To send a response, type your message in the message box. Clicking on Send will send your message. After sending the response, you will be returned to the list of New Messages. Remember that any new messages that you have marked as Archive will no longer appear in the list).

When the recipient receives your response, it will not contain the text of the original message, just a link back to that original message.  If you would like to comment on any specific text from the original message, "copy" the relevant text from the original message and "paste" it into your response.  To avoid confusion, make sure that you indicate when you have included passages from another message.

Quit Reading Messages

When you select the Quit Reading Messages button, all the messages that you have marked as read will be moved to the archive and the familiar row of buttons indicating ICONSnet functions will be returned.

http://www.icons.umd.edu/help/net3.html
Last modified: March 2, 2001