Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can skip the initial WebMail login page by going directly to your mail server's login page. Direct access to WebMail on Northwestern's four mail servers can be found here:

• Merle - https://merle.it.northwestern.edu
• Lulu - https://lulu.it.northwestern.edu
• Casbah - https://casbah.it.northwestern.edu
• Hecky - https://hecky.it.northwestern.edu

Additionally, you can bookmark this page in your Web browser for easy access in the future.

You can find out which mail server your account is on by typing the following command into ph, which is accessible at http://directory.northwestern.edu/:

First Name Last Name return mailbox

For example, if your name was John Doe, you would type in:

John Doe return mailbox

WebMail includes a searchable help section which also includes links to several help topics. You can also call 847-491-HELP (4357) for any difficulties you experience with WebMail.

You can save a copy of an outgoing message you have sent in WebMail by clicking the cc: option in the header and inserting your email address. This will carbon copy you on the outgoing message.

If you want to postpone the message you are composing, click on Save Draft. The message will then be saved until you want to return to it. Return to the message by clicking on Compose Message from the side menu and clicking on Open Draft. Clicking on Open Draft will bring up a small window with a list of all your postponed messages. Select the one you want to continue. You will then be able to finish writing the message or postpone it again.

It's likely that your Web browser does not have Javascript enabled. Javascript is required to use this software. To enable Javascript, please follow these directions:

For Netscape:

1. Select Edit => Preferences.
2. Click Advanced:.
3. Check Enable Java & Enable Javascript.
4. Click OK.

For Internet Explorer:

1. Select Tools => Internet Options.
2. Click Security.
3. Click Custom Level.
4. Select Scripting.
5. Click Enable.
6. Click OK.

This usually means that your WebMail settings need to be changed to allow for certain attachments to be viewed. To do so:

1. Click Options.
2. Click Account Info.
3. Check When reading email, automatically display attachments.
4. Click Save.

It is likely that your Web browser is not accepting cookies. To fix this:

In Netscape:

1. Select Edit => Preferences.
2. Click Privacy & Security => Cookies:.
3. Check Enable All Cookies.
4. Click OK.

In Internet Explorer:

1. Select Tools => Internet Options.
2. Click Privacy.
3. Move the slider down to Medium High or lower.
4. Click OK.

By default, Eudora is set to delete messages from the mail server when accessed via POP. WebMail is configured to leave messages on the server when accessed via POP. If you were to check for new mail in Eudora and then immediately check for new mail in WebMail, you would not see any mail (unless you received some in between logging out of Eudora and logging into WebMail) because it would have been downloaded to your local machine. Conversely, if you were to check for new mail in WebMail and then immediately check for new mail in Eudora, you would see the same messages you saw in WebMail because they were left on the server. The messages would be downloaded to your local machine and would not be accessible through WebMail.

You can always change the Eudora setting to allow for leaving mail on the server. Below are the instructions for both Macintosh and Windows:

Note: If you turn on this setting, you run the risk of filling up your inbox on the server. Please use this setting with caution.

Configuring Eudora Settings for Macintosh

1. Select Special => Settings….
2. Select Checking Mail from the left-hand portion of the window.
3. Check the Leave mail on server for __ days checkbox.

Configuring Eudora Settings for Windows

1. Select Tools => Options….
2. Select Incoming Mail from the left-hand portion of the window.
3. Check Leave mail on server checkbox.

This usually means SSL is not enabled in your browser. To fix this, you will need to enable SSL.

For Internet Explorer:

• Select Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Security.
• Make sure Use SSL 2.0 and Use SSL 3.0 are checked.

For Netscape:

• Select Edit > Preferences > Privacy & Security > SSL.
• Make sure Enable SSL version 2 and Enable SSL version 3 are checked.

Note: If SSL is enabled on your browser, but you are still receiving the Page cannot be displayed error.

There have been a small amount of instances where these errors were reported when using Internet Explorer 5.0, even with SSL enabled. The recommended fix for this problem is to upgrade your browser to Internet Explorer 5.5 or Internet Explorer 6.0.

Additional features are currently being integrated into WebMail. These features will be announced in the future as they become available.

The limit on mail server attachments is 10MB, but due to the fact that WebMail attachments are hex encoded for processing, attachment limits are effectively 6MB.