KEYBOARDING

EMAIL ( electronic mail )  

  • Is a widely used electronic messaging method, replacing traditional mail. 

  • The convention for fields within emails – the “To”, “From”, “CC”, “BCC” etc. - began with RFC – 680 in 1975. 

6 COMMON TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS 

  • .com - COMPANY 

  • .edu - EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION 

  • .gov - GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION 

  • .org - ORGANIZATION 

  • .net - NETWORK 

  • .mil - MILITARY 

 

CREATING A GMAIL SIGNATURE 

On the Web: 

  1. Open Gmail and click the "Settings" icon (gear) at the top right. 

  1. Select "See All Settings" and scroll to the "Signature" section. 

  1. Click "Create New," name your signature, and add content (e.g., name, contact info). 

  1. Set your signature as the default for new emails and replies. 

  1. Click "Save Changes." 

On Mobile: 

  1. Open the Gmail app and tap the menu (hamburger icon). 

  1. Go to "Settings" and select your account. 

  1. For iPhone/iPad, toggle "Mobile Signature" to enable; for Android, tap "Signature." 

  1. Add your mobile signature text and save. 

 

HOW TO SCHEDULE AN EMAIL ON GMAIL 

On Desktop: 

  1. Compose your email and click the down arrow next to the "Send" button. 

  1. Select "Schedule Send." 

  1. Choose a time (e.g., "tomorrow morning" or a custom date/time). 

  1. Gmail allows scheduling up to the year 2068. 

 

CC (Carbon Copy): 

  • Purpose: Used to send a copy of the email to additional recipients beyond the primary "To" recipient. 

  • Visibility: All recipients can see who was CC'd in the email. 

  • When to use: When you want others to be aware of the email content but don't require them to take action. Ideal for group communications. 

BCC (Blind Carbon Copy): 

  • Purpose: Sends a copy of the email to additional recipients without revealing their email addresses to others. 

  • Visibility: Recipients in the "To" and "CC" fields cannot see who was BCC'd. 

  • When to use: When privacy is needed, such as when sending an email to a large group without disclosing everyone’s email addresses. Also useful for protecting recipients' privacy and avoiding reply-all chains. 

Summary: Use CC when you want all recipients to know who else is receiving the email, and use BCC when you want to keep recipient addresses private. 

 

How to Mail Merge an Excel Spreadsheet into a Word Document: 

  1. Open a new Word document. 

  1. Click Mailings > Start Mail Merge and choose the type of merge. 

  1. Click Select Recipients > Use Existing List and open the Excel file. 

  1. Insert merge fields to pull data from the spreadsheet. 

  1. Preview the results. 

  1. Click Finish & Merge > Print Documents or Send E-mail Messages. 

Tips for Mail Merging: 

  • Prepare the Data Source: Use the Text Import Wizard for .txt or .csv files in Excel. 

  • Add Placeholders: Insert fields like Address block or Greeting line in the document. 

  • Match Field Names: Ensure the mail merge fields match the column headers in Excel. 

  • Link to Email: Include a column for email addresses if sending bulk emails. 

  • Save the Document: Keep the mail merge document saved to reuse it with future data.