• What is an email program?
• Where can I find my online email client?
• Where can I find my stand-alone email client on my computer?
• What does an email client do?

What is an email program?

You have probably already received several e-mail messages today. To look at them, you use some sort of e-mail program, commonly called an "email client". Many people use well-known stand-alone clients like Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora or Pegasus. Your Internet Service Provider usually provides you with an e-mail client that appears in a Web page.

Where can I find my online email client?

You visit the web page of your online email client and enter your username and password to login.

Where can I find my stand-alone email client on my computer?

If you have a Windows operating system, left-click your left mouse button on the start button (usually in the bottom left corner of your computer screen). You should see a program like Outlook Express, Outlook, or Thunderbird. You can also check your email using your browser, a popular option for those who use the Mozilla Firefox or Netscape browsers. Double left-click your left mouse button on the name of the email client. Once the program loads, you can find out the full name and version of the program by clicking "Help" then "About..." in the top menu.

What does an email client do?

No matter which type of client you are using, it generally does four things: It shows you a list of all of the messages in your mailbox by displaying the message headers. The header shows you who sent the mail, the subject of the mail and may also show the time and date of the message and the message size. It lets you select a message header and read the body of the e-mail message. It lets you create new messages and send them. You type in the e-mail address of the recipient and the subject for the message, and then type the body of the message. Most e-mail clients also let you add attachments to messages you send and save the attachments from messages you receive. Sophisticated e-mail clients may have all sorts of bells and whistles, but at the core, this is all that an e-mail client does.

(special thanks to howstuffworks.com )