The two most useful parts of the main GroupWise screen are the Folders List and the Items Area. The Folders List contains a hierarchical structure of the folders that are used to organize and hold messages and documents. The Items Area displays the individual messages that are located in the selected folder. The Folders List and Items Area are linked to each other. To view the items in a folder, simply select the folder in the Folders List on the left; the items in that folder then display in the Items Area on the right. Nine folders appear automatically in the main GroupWise screen. In Chapter 5, "Message Management," you learn how to adjust the settings for these folders and how to create new folders for storing your messages. Table 1.1 lists the nine system-generated default folders and describes their functions: Table 1.1. Default GroupWise Folders
The following subsections describe each of the default system folders in more detail. MailboxWhen you want to see your new messages, you must open the Mailbox folder. When you receive a new message, an unopened envelope icon displays next to the Mailbox folder. The number of unopened messages in your mailbox also displays to the right of the Mailbox folder. You open the Mailbox folder simply by clicking it. You will see a list of your opened and unopened messages in the Items Area, as shown earlier in Figure 1.1. To read a message, double-click the message line. The message will open in a new window. Sent ItemsThe Sent Items folder is your outbox . This folder is used to manage the messages you have sent, and it lets you perform these three useful tasks:
Figure 1.2 shows the Sent Items folder. The first time you double-click an item in the Sent Items folder, a dialog box appears asking you what you want the double-click action to perform in the future. You have the choice of either having the message open or having the status information appear. This dialog box only displays the first time you double-click a sent item. Your choice in this dialog box becomes your default action. (You can change this option later by clicking Tools, Options, Environment.) Figure 1.2. The Sent Items folder allows you to access and manage messages you have sent.
When you view the status information of a message, you can see detailed information about what has happened to the message since you sent it; you can see information such as when the message was delivered, opened, deleted, completed (if the message was a task), forwarded, accepted, or declined (if the message was an appointment or a task). The Sent Items folder is a special type of folder known as a query folder . Folders are explained in more detail in Chapter 5. From the Sent Items folder, you can resend messages that need to be updated, modified, or sent to additional recipients. To resend a message, select the Resend option from the Actions menu. When you edit and resend a message, you can retract the original message as long as the recipient has not opened it yet. To retract a message, highlight the message in the Sent Items screen and press the Delete key. Next, select either Recipient's Mailbox or All Mailboxes. (Selecting the My Mailbox feature will not retract the message but instead delete it from your Sent Items folder.) Deleting from the recipient's mailbox will retract the message and leave a copy of the message in your Sent Items folder. Deleting from all mailboxes retracts the message and also deletes the message from your Sent Items folder. TIP You can only retract messages that have not been opened by the recipient. CalendarThe Calendar feature lets you create, view, and manage your appointments, tasks, and notes. These Calendar items can be personal items (for example, a personal note to yourself), or they can be group items (for example, a meeting request). Figure 1.3 shows the Calendar. Figure 1.3. The Calendar provides access to your appointments, tasks, and notes.
NOTE Chapters 6 and 7 explain personal and group calendaring in more detail. You can view your Calendar items in the Items Area by clicking the Calendar folder. To view the Calendar as its own window, click Window and choose Calendar. Then select the Calendar view you want to see, such as Week. You can also click the Calendar button on the Toolbar. DocumentsGroupWise can be used as a full-featured document-management system. The Documents folder displays references to documents that have been stored in a GroupWise library. These might be documents you have created or documents created by other individuals. GroupWise document management is explained in Chapter 9. ChecklistThe Checklist folder is used to keep track of items requiring an action. It displays items in your personal task list. (The first time you open the Checklist folder, you will see an information screen that gives you an overview of this folder, which goes away after you place a task into the folder.) This includes both tasks you have created yourself and tasks assigned to you by others. Figure 1.4 shows the Checklist. (Tasks are explained in more detail in Chapters 6 and 7.) Figure 1.4. The Checklist folder allows you to manage your tasks.
A task is something that requires an action on your part, such as following up on an email message or returning a telephone call. Each task has a start date and a due date. Overdue tasks are carried forward in the Calendar views. If you send a task item to someone else, and that person accepts the task, you can track its status by opening the task from the Sent Items folder. Work In ProgressYou can use the Work In Progress folder to store drafts of messages that have not been sent, as shown in Figure 1.5. For example, if you begin writing a message and you run out of time to complete it or you need to obtain additional information, you can save a draft of the message in the Work In Progress folder. Later, you can retrieve the message from this folder, complete it, and send the message along to the recipients. Figure 1.5. Work In Progress allows you to save drafts of messages for later completion.
The Work In Progress folder is also useful for storing drafts of documents if you are using the document-management features of GroupWise. CabinetThe Cabinet contains additional folders used to organize your messages. Figure 1.6 shows an example of the Cabinet. Use this folder to organize messages in the same way you use the directory and subdirectory structure on your computer to organize files. You can place messages that pertain to the same project in a folder, nest folders inside other folders, and link messages to multiple folders. (Chapter 5 explains more about folders and how to manage your messages.) Figure 1.6. The GroupWise Cabinet lets you organize and manage your messages.
TrashWhen you delete a message from anywhere in GroupWise, the message goes into the Trash. Later, if you need to undelete the message, you can retrieve it from the Trash, provided that the Trash has not been emptied. (Chapter 5 discusses managing messages in the Trash folder.) To view the messages in the Trash, simply click the Trash folder. Figure 1.7 shows how the Trash folder looks when it is open. Messages do not remain in the Trash forever. They stay there for a specified period of time and then they are emptied from the Trash. When a message is emptied from the Trash, it is completely deleted from your GroupWise mailbox and you cannot retrieve it again. (Your GroupWise system administrator might be able to recover items that have been deleted from the Trash. Contact your system administrator if a situation arises in which you absolutely must retrieve items that have been deleted from the Trash.) Messages are automatically emptied from the Trash after 7 days. However, you can adjust this number to choose the number of days you want deleted messages to stay in the Trash before they are automatically emptied. (Chapter 11, "Customizing GroupWise," explains how to set this option.) Figure 1.7. The Trash stores your deleted messages.
In some GroupWise configurations, you might be prompted to confirm a final deletion of an item that has not yet been backed up by the GroupWise system. If a document has not been backed up by the GroupWise system, it cannot be restored at a later date. This is a special protection mechanism known as a smart purge , which may or may not be enabled by your GroupWise system administrator. If you receive this prompt, make sure the message is not needed again for any reason. |