5. Using TkRat

Upon starting TkRat, You'll notice that you are in a folder called "INBOX". Use fetchmail to download any new mail. If you have any, it will appear in this INBOX folder.

TkRat has an intuitive interface. The top half of the screen is the list of messages you have (Each line is a seperate E-Mail). The bottom half of the screen will be the actual content of the E-Mail.

You can read E-Mails by simply clicking on any message in the list.

When you are finished reading a message, you can move on the next message, reply to that message, compose a new message, or move the message to a different "Folder".

Folders are a way of storing E-Mails into seperate "Folders". This way, you can keep several folders for different topics you may receive E-Mail about.

Perform the following steps to create folders:

1. Click on Admin, then New/Edit Folders
2. You will see a box with a "INBOX" folder. Left-Click in that box.
3. You are then presented with a menu, so select "New File Folder".
4. You'll be given a dialogue box asking for information.
5. In the first textbox - enter a name for the folder.
6. In the second textbox - enter the filename you will use to store the messages in (Hint: Use something like /home/username/mail/name_of_folder. So, if the first field says "Personal", the second field would say something like "/home/dave/mail/personal" (assuming your username is dave).
7. Click OK. You'll notice your new folder is now in the list of folders. So, go to "Window" and then "Close".

You can now Move messages to the new folder - and switch to that folder by selecting the folder's name under the "Folders" menu.

Sending mail is also easy. Click "Compose", type in the recipient's E-Mail address, type in a subject, and then write the message in the body.

When you are finished, click on Send.