Reading and managing your email on the iPad

 Find out how to read, write, delete and file your email

MAIL IS A GOOD-LOOKING iPAD APP, AND AS THE
previous walkthrough shows, care has been taken to optimise the experience for portrait and landscape modes, and to ensure users generally have an efficient and effective way to read, write and manage email. A few big features were not mentioned in that walkthrough, and so we'll go through those now. Perhaps the most important is Mail's search facility. In portrait mode, this is housed in the 'Inbox' pop-up; in landscape mode, it's in the sidebar. In either case, type a search term and use the buttons to restrict your search to 'From', 'To' or 'Subject' fields, or use 'All' to search all of them. Note that at the time ofwriting, iPad Mail does not allow you to search the content of email messages.

By default, the aforementioned inbox (either in pop-up or sidebar form) enables fast access to recent emails. To access other folders (such as Spam in Google Mail, or Drafts), tap the button at the top left labelled with the account's name. You then tap a folder to access its content.

When you're on an account page, there's one 'higher' level that you can reach by tapping the same button (which will be labelled Accounts'). This enables you to move from one email account to another. Users with many email accounts (home, work etc.) will probably find this method awkward and time-consuming, and the unified Inbox support now puts allyour incoming mail from allyour accounts in one place.



 KIT LIST:

■ iPad with one or more email accounts set up

■ Internet connection

Time required: 10 mins 
Difficulty: Beginner

The toolbar

The four icons on the right of the toolbar are for moving messages, deleting messages, replying and composing a new message.

Link actions

As In Safari, tap-hold a link to bring up a popup dialog that enables you to open the link or copy it to the clipboard.

Advanced rendering

As with Mail for the Mac, the IPad version deals well with complex emails, happily displaying images and colored text. You can pinch-zoom, too.

 1 Read messages In portrait mode, Mail acts rather like a full-screen email reader. The toolbar arrows let you view the next and previous email.

 2 See you r inbox Just tap the 'Inbox' button. The current email is highlighted; blue dots indicate unread emails. To read a message, tap its preview.

 3 Use landscape mode In landscape mode, Mail resembles a desktop email app. The sidebar shows your inbox, and the main area to the right houses a scrollable area for your selected message.

4 Manage email Tap 'Edit' to manage your email. Tap previews to select/deselect messages. Selected items are added to a pile. Tap 'Delete' to trash the pile or 'Move' to put the emails in a folder.

 5 Compose a message Tap the icon at the top right to bring up the 'New Message' window, containing your default signature. You'll find typing easier in landscape mode, due to the larger keyboard.

 6 Add contacts Tap the'+' icon to add recipients from the Contacts app, or tap the To' field and start typing to see a filtered list of matching contacts. Tap to select the one you want. Tap'Send'to send.

 

 Add a contact 

Tap the name in the 'From' field of an email fora pop-up window with the sender's email address and other details. From this, you can create a new contact in the Contacts app by tapping 'Create New Contact' (the window expands, enabling you to add a photo and other details), or you can add the details to an existing contact by selecting them from the list that appears after you tap 'Add to Existing Contact'.

 7 Save a draft If you tap 'Cancel', you can save a draft ('Save') in your Drafts folder. Tap the arrow with your account's name to access Drafts.

8 View attachments Images and PDFs will display inline; other attachments may open in apps. For more sophisticated PDF views, try GoodReader.