Contacts and Groups

One of the best ways to reach a large group of people is via a group contact list. Using a contact list, you can contact a group of people that you email consistently (i.e. the parents of your students; a group of teachers). Google's email application, which we use at St. Anne's, allows you to make such an email contact list.

In order to create a contact list, click on Contacts on the left hand side of the email Inbox. (In the picture, "Contacts" is at the bottom of the list). Once you have clicked on the "Contact" link, you will be asked to name the group. Upon completing this step, you can start adding addresses to your new group. In order to add an email address to your new group, make sure that the group is highlighted before you start. (If you are adding names to this new list, the list will automatically be highlighted. Therefore, you can start adding addresses right away). In the example shown here:
"My Contacts" is highlighted, as seen by the blue band and dark blue color. Any email addresses that I type into the box (on the right side of the above image) that has the addition sign and says "Add to this group", will be placed into "My Contacts". Listed on the left hand side are the contact lists that I have previously created ("Former Co-workers, Math teachers and Science teachers").

When composing a new email, instead of typing in each Science teacher's email address, I can start typing "S-C-I" and the choice of selecting "Science Teachers" (group) will present itself. I can then click on this option, type up my email and send it to all of the Science teachers that I have added to that contact list.

Email/Gmail

Gmail, the email provider at St. Anne's, is a Google application (program). You can access this email from anywhere that you have access to the internet. Using any web browser (Safari, Firefox, etc) you type in http://mail.st-annes.org and enter your username and password.

The following topics were discussed this morning during the Wednesday Tech Topic:


Labels - Gmail uses "labels" instead of folders to organize emails. All emails that you receive are placed into your "Inbox", except for Spam. The "Inbox" is a label that is automatically attached to your incoming emails. In order to create a new "label", locate the labels section on the left hand side of the webpage.
Under the label heading, click on "Edit labels". The next screen will ask you to create a label. A label is an organizing tool. You can create as many labels as you like. Think about general names for your labels, i.e. meetings or admin, that will cover several emails. If there is an email that falls under multiple labels, you can apply more than one label to an email.


Once you have created a label, return to your Inbox. To the left of each email in your inbox, there is a small check box. Click on the box corresponding to the email you want to label. Then, from the drop down list that says "More actions" select the label that you wish to apply. (From this drop down list, you can also create new labels. If you have checked the box next an email and click on the More Actions drop down list, you can also add a "New label".

Attaching Files: When sending an email to someone else, you can attach a file to it. When attaching a file, there are a few important details to keep in mind. If the other person does not need to edit the file, save it as a PDF (portable document format). When using an Apple (Mac), open the document you wish to send. Once it opens, select "File" from the menu at the top. Next, select "Print" and wait for the window to open. From the lower left hand corner, click the button that says "PDF" with an arrow pointing downward. From the drop down menu, choose the first option, "Save as PDF".

Return to your email inbox. Click on the link that says, "Compose Mail". Enter the email address of the person to whom you wish to send the email. Next, enter a subject, then underneath the subject line, click on "Attach a file". Next, click on the "Browse" button to the right. A window will open with your documents. From there, select the document that you wish to attach. Make sure that it is the PDF.

Bcc: This function stands for "Blind Carbon Copy". This allows you to send an email to more than one person without seeing other people's email addresses. If you are sending an email to a list of people and do not want the list of emails to be public knowledge, click on the "Add Bcc" link below the "To:" box. In this new box, enter email addresses of those people whose email addresses you wish to remain private.