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GWKB1100 : Using the E-mail Program of the Braille Sense and Voice Sense Notetakers

E-mail and the Sense Notetaker

The Sense notetakers (Braille Sense, Voice Sense, and Braille Sense Plus) have an E-mail program which can be used to read and write electronic mail. Although the program can be used while the Sense notetaker is not connected to the Internet, an active Internet connection is necessary in order to send and receive any new E-mail. This article provides steps in configuring the E-mail program as well as some tips on using the program itself. Please note that only POP3 E-mail accounts are supported at this time. Future versions of the Sense notetaker firmware may include support for IMAP as well. Accounts which can only be accessed via a web browser cannot be used from this program. In order to use webmail-only E-mail accounts, you will need to use the Sense notetaker Web Browser. When the E-mail program is launched for the first time, the Sense notetaker displays a message that the service manager will need to be used to create an E-mail account. This means that until at least one E-mail profile has been created, the E-mail program will not be able to send and receive E-mail.

Information Needed

The following information is needed in order to setup the E-mail account. Please note that when sending and receiving E-mail from different physical areas such as hotels, air ports, and coffee shops, you may need to configure SMTP authentication as well as the SSL settings. Note that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may still require these settings even if you are using E-mail from their own network.

• E-mail address. IE: myname@mydomain.com
• POP3 or incoming user name. IE: myname@mydomain.com
• POP3 password. IE: mypassword
• POP3 or incoming server name. IE: mail.mydomain.com
• POP3 or incoming port number. IE: 110
• SMTP or outgoing user name. IE: myname@mydomain.com
• SMTP password. IE: mypassword
• SMTP or outgoing mail server name. IE: mail.mydomain.com
• SMTP or outgoing port number. IE: 25

Creating an E-mail Profile

In order to create and manage any E-mail profiles, the service manager must be opened. The service manager is accessed from the Tools menu of the E-mail program or by pressing ENTER-M. When the service manager is opened, it will display a list box and a series of buttons. the list box is where the E-mail profiles are contained. The first time the E-mail program is run, this list box will be empty. Once one or more profiles have been created, the UP and DOWN arrow keys can be used to choose a profile to work with. Once a profile has been chosen, the TAB key can be used to access the other buttons.

General Settings

Once the service manager has been opened, press the tab key until the "Register" button is displayed. Pressing ENTER on this button will open the general settings dialog box. This dialog box consists of a series of edit boxes and buttons. The first edit box is called "Service name". To move between these edit boxes, use the UP and DOWN arrow keys. To access the buttons, use the TAB key. Please note: When you are on a computer edit box, you must be sure that computer Braille input symbols such as DOT-4-6 for a period and BACKSPACE-SPACE-DOT-4 for the at sign are used. The following is the list of general settings to configure.

1. Service name edit box.

   This is where you type the name of what you want to call the E-mail profile. This can be whatever you want such as home, work, personal, ETC.

2. Display name edit box.

   This is where you type how you want your name to appear in the "From" field of outgoing E-mails. This can be your capitalized first and last name.

3. Logon username computer edit box.

   This is where you type the username used to receive incoming E-mail. The logon username is usually either your entire E-mail address or in some cases, just the first part up to the at sign.

4. Password computer edit box.

   This is where you type the password used to receive incoming E-mail. Asterisks will be shown as you type the password.

5. E-mail address computer edit box.

   This is where you type the E-mail address used to receive incoming E-mail. Please note that the logon username and the E-mail address are usually the same.

6. POP3 server computer edit box.

   This is where you type the name of the mail server used to receive E-mail.

7. SMTP server computer edit box.

   This is where you type the name of the mail server used to send E-mail.

At this point you are ready to save your settings. However if your E-mail setup requires additional changes such as using different ports other than 110 for POP3 and 25 for SMTP, SMTP authentication, or SSL for incoming and outgoing connections, you will need to configure those settings from the advanced settings dialog box discussed in the following section.

Advanced Settings

From any edit box of the general settings dialog box, press the tab key until the "Advanced" button is displayed. Pressing ENTER on this button will open the advanced settings dialog box. This dialog box consists of a series of check boxes, edit boxes and buttons. The first check box is called "Use secure POP3". To move between these check boxes and edit boxes, use the UP and DOWN arrow keys. To access the buttons, use the TAB key. the check boxes can be toggled with the SPACE key. The following is the list of advanced settings to configure.

1. Use secure POP3 (POP-SSL) check box.

   Press SPACE to check this box if your Internet service provider requires secure POP3 over SSL connections for incoming E-mail.

2. POP3 port number computer edit box.

   This is where you type the POP3 port number for incoming E-mail. The default is 110. However if using POP-SSL, the default port is 995.

3. Use secure SMTP (SMTP-SSL) check box.

   Press SPACE to check this box if your Internet service provider requires secure SMTP over SSL connections for outgoing E-mail.

4. SMTP port number computer edit box.

   This is where you type the SMTP port number for OUTGOING E-mail. The default is 25. However if using SMTP-SSL, the default port is 465.

5. SMTP username computer edit box.

   If your Internet service provider requires SMTP authentication, this is where you type the username used to send outgoing E-mail. The SMTP username is usually either your entire E-mail address or in some cases, just the first part up to the at sign.

6. SMTP password computer edit box.

   If you are using SMTP authentication and you have entered a username in the prior computer edit box, this is where you type the password used to send outgoing E-mail. Asterisks will be shown as you type the password.

7. Use as default SMTP check box.

   Press SPACE to check this box if you want this E-mail profile to be used as your default profile when writing new E-mail messages. This is useful only when you have more than one E-mail profile configured.

At this point the only thing left is to configure a signature. However if you are finished and will not be using an E-mail signature, you are ready to save your settings.

Configuring a Signature

From any edit box or check box of the advanced settings dialog box, press the tab key until the "Use signature" radio button is displayed. The default setting for this button is No. If you want to use a signature for outgoing E-mail messages, do the following.

1. Press Down arrow to choose Yes.
2. Press the TAB key until the "Signature" button is displayed.
3. Press ENTER on this button.

When you press ENTER on this button, a multi-line edit box will open. This edit box is where you type your signature in. Since it is not a computer edit box, the input mode you use depends on the view/input setting you have set with SPACE-G. Once you have typed in your signature, you are ready to save your settings.

Saving Your Settings

Regardless of whether you are in the general settings, advanced settings, or signature boxes, to save your settings, you need to press the TAB key until the "Confirm" button is displayed. Pressing ENTER on this button will close the dialog box you are in and you will be returned to the prior dialog box. This means that if you are in the signature box, pressing ENTER on the "Confirm" button returns you to the advanced settings dialog box and so on. Once you have pressed ENTER on the "Confirm" button in the general settings dialog box, you will be returned to the service manager. the list box will now display the E- mail profile you have just configured. To close the service manager, press the F4 escape key or SPACE-E. Once you do this, you will be returned to the inbox.

Some E-mail Configuration Examples

The following sections give example settings for various E-mail accounts which are known to work with the Sense notetakers. If you have an E-mail account with one of the following, you can use these settings to successfully configure the E-mail profile. Please note: GW Micro makes no guarantee that these settings are valid or up-to-date. If these settings do not work, you will need to contact the provider for assistance. In the examples, the email address used is myname@myprovider.com and the password is mypassword.

gmail.com

In order to successfully use gmail.com with the Sense notetaker, you will have to log into your gmail account via the web browser and enable POP3 access. By default, POP3 is not enabled.

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@gmail.com
• POP3 server: pop.gmail.com
• SMTP server: smtp.gmail.com

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: checked
• POP3 port number: 995
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: checked
• SMTP port number: 465
• SMTP user name: myname
• SMTP password: mypassword

hotmail.com

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname@hotmail.com
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@hotmail.com
• POP3 server: pop3.live.com
• SMTP server: smtp.live.com

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: checked
• POP3 port number: 995
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: checked
• SMTP port number: 25
• SMTP user name: myname@hotmail.com
• SMTP password: mypassword

comcast.net

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@comcast.net
• POP3 server: mail.comcast.net
• SMTP server: smtp.comcast.net

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: unchecked
• POP3 port number: 110
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: unchecked
• SMTP port number: 587
• SMTP user name: myname
• SMTP password: mypassword

verizon.net

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname@verizon.net
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@verizon.net
• POP3 server: incoming.verizon.net
• SMTP server: outgoing.verizon.net

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: unchecked
• POP3 port number: 110
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: unchecked
• SMTP port number: 25
• SMTP user name: myname@verizon.net
• SMTP password: mypassword

bellsouth.net

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname@bellsouth.net
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@bellsouth.net
• POP3 server: pop.att.yahoo.com
• SMTP server: smtp.att.yahoo.com

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: checked
• POP3 port number: 995
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: checked
• SMTP port number: 465
• SMTP user name: myname@bellsouth.net
• SMTP password: mypassword

suddenlink.net

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname@suddenlink.net
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@suddenlink.net
• POP3 server: pop.suddenlink.net
• SMTP server: smtp.suddenlink.net

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: unchecked
• POP3 port number: 110
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: unchecked
• SMTP port number: 25
• SMTP user name: (leave blank)
• SMTP password: (leave blank)

An E-mail Account From a Cpanel Hosted Domain

Many web hosting companies offer services via a program called Cpanel. Typically if a domain is registered and the person or company uses one of these types of web hosting companies, the settings will be as follows. In this example, the email address is myname@mydomain.com

General Settings:

• Logon user name: myname@mydomain.com
• Password: mypassword
• E-mail address: myname@mydomain.com
• POP3 server: mail.mydomain.com
• SMTP server: mail.mydomain.com

Advanced Settings:

• Use secure POP3-SSL: checked
• POP3 port number: 995
• Use secure SMTP-SSL: checked
• SMTP port number: 465
• SMTP user name: myname@mydomain.com
• SMTP password: mypassword

Some Tips For Using the E-mail Program

The following is a list of some tips which will help use the E-mail program once it's configured. For further details, please consult the Sense notetaker documentation.

• Pressing ENTER-O prompts you whether you want to leave the mail on the server. Choosing Yes will only download copies of the incoming mail. This way if you are reading the same mail from another machine such as a PC, the mail will still be there. Choosing No will make it so the mail you download with the Sense notetaker will only be on the Sense notetaker.
• Pressing BACKSPACE-O on an html-only message will open that message in the web browser. This allows you to TAB to the web links which may be contained in the E-mail message.
• You can switch to another program while you wait for a lot of mail to download. Simply press F1, then choose the other program you want to open. You can later press F2-F3 to switch back to the E-mail program to check the status of downloaded E-mail.
• You can read and write E-mail while you are offline and on the road. Simply download your E-mail while you have an Internet connection. Later when you are traveling, read and write all the mail you want. When you try to send new messages with ENTER-S, they will not send because you are not online. When you get to a place where you have Internet access, from the inbox, press ENTER-S to open the storagebox. Press ENTER-A to select all the messages you wrote. Press ENTER-S and all the messages will be sent off in one batch.

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