ZipLink Support

Index

1. How do I configure my e-mail program?
2. How is E-mail handled?
3. How do I read mail out of multiple POP mailboxes?
4. Where is my e-mail kept?
5. How do I attach a file to send in e-mail.
6. How do I download an attachment?
7. How do I read my e-mail off-line?
8. How do I find out what someone's e-mail address is?
9. How do I recover my e-mail if my hard drive crashes?
10. What is POP3?
11. What e-mail addresses should I use to contact Ziplink at?
12. What is my Ziplink e-mail address?
13. How do I get another e-mail address or change mine?
14. How do I change my e-mail password?

Q. How do I configure my e-mail program?

A. If you got your software from Ziplink your e-mail will be configured for you during the installation process. If you are using your own software we can only give you generalities for what you will need to set it up. Here is the following pieces of information you need.
SMTP server - smtp.ziplink.net
POP3 server - pop3.ziplink.net
POP3 username or e-mail username - yourusername (without the p in front)
POP3 password or e-mail password - yourpassword (or shell password if you have one.)



1. Q. How is E-mail handled?

   A. When an e-mail message is sent to you from someone else on the Internet it is held on the ziplink mail server until you connect to ziplink and get your mail. (you do not have to be connected at the same time a message is sent to you) Your e-mail program sends the mailserver your username and password and, if it checks out, the mailserver sends you a copy of your mail message. (no one can read your e-mail without your username and password) When the message is recieved, your e-mail program will tell the server to delete the message. (If you are disconected from ziplink in the middle of getting a message, it is not lost, you will be able to get it the next time you connect to your account)
   When you are sending out a message to someone else the message gets moved from your computer to ziplink, and we send it out to the Internet with the address that you put on it. Assuming the address is good your message will get to the mail server of the person that you sent it to, and wait for that person to log on and get their mail. (Be very carefull with spelling on e-mail addresses, any mistake will prevent the message from getting to the right person)
   The amount of time it takes for an e-mail mesage to travel from person to person can vary greatly. It may be as quick as a few seconds to as long as half an hour or more for a message to travel across the Internet. Factors include how far the message has to travel, how heavy the load is on the mail servers involved and the Internet as a whole.

2. Q. How do I read mail out of multiple POP mailboxes?

   A. If you are using netscape or microsoft Internet explorer for your e-mail, the only way to acess multiple POP mailboxes is to change the pop username in the settings each time you want read mail from a different account. Not only is this a pain, but all your mail gets downloaded to the same inbox, making keeping track of and sortting your e-mail quite a chore. It is much better to use a standalone e-mail program that can handle and seperate e-mail from multiple accounts. Try Eudora Pro and Pegasus.
   (Download E-mail Win95 programs)
   (Download E-mail Macintosh programs)

   Q. Where is my e-mail kept?

   A. Your e-mail is kept on our machines until you make a connections and download it. Then the mail messages are stored on your computer.
   
   

   Q. How do I attach a file to send in e-mail.

   A. This answer will be broken down into parts because of the different pieces of software we send out.
   
   1. If you using Netscape do the following. When in Netscape mail click on the To:Mail button to bring up an editing window. Address your mail, give it a subject, and then click Attachment. This will bring up a box where you will click on Attach File. Then it will bring up an open file box. Find the file you wish to attach, click on it, choose open, and then click OK. You may type in what ever text you like it won't hurt your attached file. Click send when you are done and it will send it off. Netscape used MIME to encode the file so whomever is getting your mail will need to be able to decode MIME files.
   
   2. If you are using a MAC click here to go to the Mac FAQ.
   
   3. If you are using any other piece of software we won't know how it does attachments, but here are a few tips. If your e-mail program supports MIME encoding use it to send files. MIME has support on all the major platforms. If you don't have MIME, make sure that whomever you are sending your attachment to that they support your encoding system.
   
   

   Q. How do I download an attachment?

   A. Since Ziplink offer different pieces of software to the different platforms this answer will have multiple parts
   
   1. If you are using Netscape you will see the attachment at the end of the letter. Just double click it and it will bring up a save box asking you were to save it. Once you have saved it you will have to go to the directory you saved it in and launch it. If you don't have a program that can open the file you will have to go fine one.
   
   2. If you are using a Mac go to the Mac FAQ.
   
   3. If you are using a different piece of software we won't be able to tell you exactly how to retrieve the attachment, but her are some tips. You should use an e-mail program that supports MIME since it is a standard on the major platforms. Make sure whomever is sending you the attachment that they use MIME to encode the file. If they don't have MIME you will have to have the same encoding system as they are using.
   
   

   Q. How do I read my e-mail off-line?

   A. Since we are using a POP3 protocol your e-mail is downloaded to your computer. As soon as it comes down you should be able to disconnect and read your mail directly on your hard drive. You will have to be connected to send mail to other people.
   
   

   Q. How do I find out what someone's e-mail address is?

   A. The best way to find out someone's e-mail address is to ask them. There are a few search systems on the Web here are a two.
   1. www.hotbot.com
   2. www.search.com
   
   

   Q. How do I recover my e-mail if my hard drive crashes?

   A. If you have downloaded your e-mail from the system and left the setting in your e-mail software to delete mail from server, then your e-mail is lost. So please back up important messages. However if you have choose leave e-mail on server, your e-mail will still be on the POP3 server. The problem however is that all of your e-mail will download to you. It is best to read up on your e-mail software and just leave the important messages or the server, or as before just back up your important e-mail on another disk.
   
   

   Q. What is POP3?

   A. It is Post Office Protocol, and it is supported by all of the top e-mail programs.
   
   

   Q. What e-mail addresses should I use to contact Ziplink at.

   A. For a complete list of Ziplink e-mail addresses form go to the Ziplink Contact page
   
   

   Q. What is my Ziplink e-mail address?

   A. yourusername@ziplink.net (this is the username without the p in front of it.)
   
   

   Q. How do I get another e-mail address or change mine?

   A. Go to Ziplink Contact
   
   

   Q. How do I change my e-mail password?

   A. Go to Ziplink Contact