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Email Basics: Contacts and Calendars
Contacts and calendars
In addition to email services, most webmail providers offer an online
calendar and address book. These features make it easy to stay organized and access
your important information from anywhere.
In this lesson, you'll learn more about the basics of online calendars and contacts
lists using examples from a few common webmail providers, including Yahoo! and
Gmail.
Contacts basics
Online contacts lists help you organize contact information for your friends, family,
and coworkers, just like an address book. Once people are added to your contacts list, it's
easy to access their information anytime and anywhere.
Review the examples below to become familiar with the basic
features and advantages of online contacts lists.
Adding contacts
It's easy to add people to your contacts list. When you create a new contact, you should
(at the very least) enter a first and last name, as well as an email address. However, you
can also enter other information, like a phone number, home address, and more. In most
email accounts, the name and email of anyone you correspond with will be added to
your contacts list automatically.
Selecting contacts
Once you've added people to your contacts list, you'll never have to worry about
remembering an email address. Whenever you create a new email, you can select
the To or Add Recipients button.
Then choose recipients from your contacts list. The contacts' email addresses will be
added automatically to the message. You'll even be able to use the same contact
information for other webmail services, like instant messaging and calendar sharing.
Most email services will also autocomplete or suggest an email address when you start
typing, as long as it's an address that's already been saved in your contacts.
Linking contacts
If you already have a lot of contacts saved in another web-based service, such as
Facebook or LinkedIn, it's easy to link them between accounts, which can save you a lot
of time. For example, you could import your Facebook contacts to your webmail service
or use your existing contacts list to search for friends on Facebook.
Contact groups
If you frequently connect with the same group of people, you can create contact
groups for quick access. This allows you to quickly sort your contacts by type. For
example, you might use one group to organize your personal contacts and another
for professional contacts.
Calendar basics
Online calendars make it easy to schedule appointments, organize tasks, and manage
your time, just like a desk calendar. But unlike a physical calendar, online calendars give
you the freedom to quickly edit and rearrange your schedule whenever you want. You'll
even be able to access your calendar on the go and sync it across multiple devices, like
your mobile phone and personal computer.
Review the examples below to become familiar with the basic
features and advantages of online calendars.
Creating appointments
It's easy to schedule, track, and edit upcoming appointments or events. When you create
a new appointment, you should (at the very least) include a title, start and end time,
and location, but you can also include other information, such as reminder preferences,
detailed notes, and more.
Title
You can add a title to any appointment.
Start and End Time
Most appointments require a start and end time.
All-Day Appointments
Appointments can span an entire day or even multiple days, which is especially helpful
if you're planning an extended event, like a vacation.
Repeating Appointments
If you have a standing appointment—for example, a weekly staff meeting—you can
create a repeating appointment that will appear on your calendar automatically.
Location
You can enter a location for any appointment.
Calendar Selector
You can create multiple calendars , like one for work and one for personal use, to
organize different types of appointments. Use the calendar selector to choose a calendar
for an appointment.
Description
You can add detailed notes and a description to any appointment.
Notification Preferences
You can create notifications to remind you of your most important appointments, which
can be especially helpful if you keep a busy schedule. For example, you might schedule a
reminder for an important meeting that would appear 30 minutes before the appointment.
Switching views
You can choose a variety of view options for your calendar, including a daily, weekly,
and monthly summary of your upcoming appointments.
Using multiple calendars
If you keep a lot of different appointments, you can create multiple calendars to help
organize your schedules. For example, you might use one calendar to keep track of your
personal tasks and another to manage your family's schedule. Each calendar is assigned
its own color, so it's easy to organize lots of different appointments. You can
even toggle calendars on and off to easily sort your appointments.
Sharing calendars
You can share your calendar with anyone who uses the same webmail provider. Once
you've shared a calendar, you'll be able to view and even edit a friend's calendar,
depending on your sharing preferences.
Continue
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