File It, Print It, or Dump It

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After you've read a message, then what? If you have an e-mail program other than America Online, you can just leave the message in your Inbox and take a few days (or more) to decide how to dispose of it. The message isn't going anywhere.

Note:

With some e-mail programs, after you read a new message, it disappears from your Inbox. (America Online is like that.) To refer to the message later, you look for it in a different folder (such as "Messages You've Read"). With most e-mail programs, however, already-read messages stay until you move them to a different folder for filing. In programs like this, you can tell the unread messages because they're bold or a different color.

When you're ready to do something with the message, you can do the following:

• Print it�Print a hard copy on your printer. There is usually a Print icon or a File, Print command.
• File it�Move it to a different folder for storage. If there is a folder tree, like the one in Figure 3.6, drag the message into the folder you want. If there isn't, use the File, Save As command to save the message as a text file to a folder on your hard disk.
• Delete it�Remove the message from your e-mail program. There is usually a Delete button or an Edit, Delete Message command.