Will my email address change? 
No. You will not have to change your email address to use email on FirstClass. You will, however, have an additional email address that is shorter following a new naming convention but both addresses will send your email to your FirstClass account when a user is fully migrated.

Does FirstClass have a calendar? 
Yes. FirstClass does feature a calendar that you can set up for your personal use, and you can create any number of calendars to use for specific projects you are working on, including shared calendars that members of a work group can view and/or edit. Calendar features include setting up events and tasks (to do lists); meeting planning (showing available times for members); reminders, repeating events and invitations to members to accept planned meeting times.

Is FirstClass compatible with Macintosh computers?
Yes. Fully functioning FirstClass clients are available for all major platforms, including Macintosh, Unix, Linux, in addition to Windows operating systems.

Will I be able to access my FirstClass account via the Web? 
Definitely. All features of mail, calendaring, address books, conferences and virtually all features of unified messaging are available through a web browser. You may access your FirstClass account via the web at http://fcweb.uams.edu

Does FirstClass offer secure communications? especially encryption that meets HIPAA standards?
Yes. FirstClass' 128 bit encryption means that UAMS email communications will be secure enough to meet regulatory standards set out by HIPAA. This important feature was one of the most important reasons in support of the conversion from Exchange to FirstClass.

Is FirstClass virus protection as good as that of Exchange? 
Probably better. Virus scanning software scans mail from both the FirstClass and Exchange mail systems. Also, virus outbreaks that have infected hundreds of computers at UAMS over the last two years were designed to target Microsoft Exchange networks because they are more easily infected than other systems. With this in mind, we expect fewer incidents of virus attacks using the FirstClass system.

Will I still be restricted to accessing my email on my own computer/workstation? 
No. You can use any computer that has the FirstClass client installed on it (and that will be all personal computers on campus), to check your email mailbox. In fact, more than one person can be signed on to their FirstClass accounts on the same computer at the same time. It will not be necessary to log in or out of Windows, or to restart the computer in order to do so. So FirstClass offers device-independent access to UAMS users.

What are conferences ... and why should I use a conference instead of a distribution list? 
Conferences are a bulletin board for groups who need to communicate and/or work together. Inside a conference, owners can post shared messages; create project calendars; subscribe to list servers relevant to the groups' work; and post documents for shared access.

The conference feature in FirstClass offers much of the functionality of the personal folder+rules features of Exchange. If you have a conference instead of a personal folder, emails for that conference (that project) arrive in a separate location from your mailbox and are thus automatically sorted into the correct location. The result is neater mailboxes that require less time to sort to various project folders, and fewer network resources to send and store multiple copies of messages to everyone on a distribution list.

Is FirstClass compatible with my Palm Pilot? 
Yes. FirstClass supports Palm products. Unfortunately, other wireless PDA's are not currently supported, although Centrinity does plan to offer a broader range of wireless compatibility in future releases.

What does the white flag icon beside a message mean? 
A white flag means you created a message but did not send it. To send it, simply perform the "send" command as usual.

I have several folders set up, some containing sub-folders. Can I view sub folders like in Outlook, where they are organized with the expand and collapse (indicated by the + sign)?
Yes, by using the Explore view. Go to view menu and select "explore".

To set this to your default view, go to edit -->preferences-->view and select the explore option as opposed to classic.

There are also a number of view properties that can be set by going to View Menu --> set view properties.

How do I organize my messages in my mailbox to be listed most recent to oldest, and for incoming messages to always be together at the top of the mailbox?
Set your view properties by going to the View Menu --> set view properties. Then:
Select the sort tab
For display format, select "list"
For sort on field, select "last modified"
Check reverse sort
Group items on: select "none"
Do not check "collapse all groups"
You can resort your mailbox at any time, by selecting the field header at the top of your mailbox. Clicking once sorts, then clicking again reverse sorts. 

How do I attach a file to a message?
Go to the File menu, and select "attach" and then select the file from your computer, or press CNTL+T from the keyboard, or you can simply drag and drop the file into the message. You can also save attachments that you receive by dragging and dropping from the message onto your computer. 

Can I select all messages from the same person or same subject all at once?
CTRL+SHIFT and click on the part of the message information that you want to select. For example, to select all emails from "John Doe", CNTL+SHIFT while clicking on the name in one message; FirstClass will select all messages from John Doe. To select all messages with a certain subject, perform the same operation while clicking on the message's subject field, or on the date to select all with that same date. After selecting the messages, you can drag them into a folder, or perform any other type of edit (print, summarize, delete).

I downloaded an attached file, edited it, and then downloaded another copy. Where did my changes go? 
By default, downloaded files (saved attachments) are saved in the FirstClass Download folder. To specify a different location on your hard disk, you can: right click on the attachment and choose "save file", or choose "save attachment" from the File Menu. While double clicking a file to open it is a convenient feature, you must exercise caution not to initiate a download a new version of a file over a previously saved version of the same name that is residing in the FirstClass Download folder.

Does FirstClass support application-specific mail functions, e.g., the SAP mail feature?
SAP and other information systems which feature internal mailing features (automated mailing sequences, for example), are compatible with FirstClass MAPI design and functionality. These processes will be the last to convert to operate on the FirstClass system, after user email accounts, institutional email accounts, and organizational mailing lists and conferences. One exchange server will remain operational indefinitely until fully tested conversion is attained through the FirstClass system.

How will converting to FirstClass mail affect our other Microsoft Office products like Word, Excel, Power Point, and Access? 
Not at all. Files from all these applications can be sent and received with messages as attachments, and uploaded and downloaded from within your FirstClass mailbox. Portions of documents and files can be pasted into the body of a message, even as an object (paste special --> PNG format), to preserve formatting. 

Can more than one person use the same computer to sign on at the same time? 
Yes. This is a benefit to the device independence of the FirstClass client. For Example, students and residents will no longer need a profile set up on a computer in order to check their email. Once the FirstClass client is installed on a machine, anyone with an account can use that client to sign on to their mail account. FirstClass is totally client-server - so it doesn't care who "owns" the machine. 

What happens if I forget to log off my account at work and then try to sign on at home? 
Another side benefit of FirstClass being device independent is that a user can have his/her account open on more than one machine. In fact, a user may open and use an account on up to four different computers at the same time - even on different platforms. So no one will be locked out of their account because it is "in use" or timed out without logging off. 

How can I share addresses with other FirstClass users?
This can be done a number of ways, the easiest of which is to drag an alias of your address book to a conference. Users with access to the conference can then copy (ctrl-drag) address book entries into their own address book. This is also a great way to create shared phone lists. Dragging an alias of an address book to a conference creates a read-only, shared address book. Users can find phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information, and they can copy entries to their personal address book if they so choose. It is also possible to create a limited CSV file of your address book. To do this, right-click on the column tile bar and display as many fields as possible. Now go to File>Save As, and this will save the "list view" of the address book as a tab delimited file called address book.txt. The reason that this is only a limited copy of the address book is that it can only include fields that can be displayed in the list view. So things like "Address" cannot be included in the text file. The text file can then be saved as a CSV to be used for importing purposes, to FirstClass or other systems.

How do you send mail over the Internet? 
The same as any other mail, except that of course the address won't be in the FirstClass directory, so you have to supply the email address. Simply type the full email address into the "to" field in the message header. To save the address, add it to your personal address book, and thereafter all you have to do is type in the name of the person (as you wrote it in your address book) and hit enter.

When can you use the Upload and Download feature? 
Upload and Download refer to file transfer - you use them to transfer files by themselves, without being contained in the body of a message. This is most convenient to use when you want to post a file in your mailbox so that you can have access to it elsewhere. For example, to work on a file at home, upload the file to your FirstClass account, then download it to your home computer to work on it (since editing a file that resides in your FirstClass mailbox will not save the changes - the file must reside on other media to be edited).

How can I limit the number of users to a conference? 
If you have privileges to create a conference, you can make a new conference inside a public conference (to which many others have access), then restrict access to your new conference. Set the permissions so that "All Users" are disallowed - see Conference Permissions - then selectively add the individual members that you want to participate. (Remember to add them to permissions AND to add them to the list of subscribers, in order for the conference icon to show up on their desktops). 

How do I call into my mailbox to hear my voice and text messages (using Unified Communications)?
To retrieve your messages remotely by phone, call the FirstClass universal access number, 686-8800, and when prompted for mailbox number, enter your full 10 digit phone number including the area code. If your FirstClass account has been set up with the phone number you will only have to enter # and not the whole number.

How do I get out of an open, blank message I started?
If you're trying to close an email that is not addressed, and you decided not to send, you have to put the cursor in some field other than the "to" field; otherwise FC will continue to ask you to enter a name. Click inside the subject field for example, and then close the window.

Can I have the message window close upon sending a message?
Yes, select the Close+Send button on the toolbar (you may have to add it to your toolbar by customizing (View --> toolbar --> customize), or by selecting it in the menu: Message --> Send special --> Send and close.

What happens if while setting up mailbox permissions the user enters his own name and chooses disallowed?
The user won't be able to send himself mail in FirstClass. The user will still be able to open the mailbox and change the permissions.

Can users use mailbox permissions to filter unwanted internet mail?
Users can stop all internet mail by entering Internet -> Disallowed or by adding All Users -> Disallowed, but users cannot specify an email address, address book entry, or mail list to be filtered out of incoming mail.

Will a user be able to edit incoming mail by turning on Edit Read Only items?
No, this permission is ignored. FirstClass will not allow a received email to be edited unless it is forwarded and there is documentation (history), of the person who forwarded the messaging.

Is there a way to get rid of a misspelled word in a user's dictionary? 
Yes. Open and edit the file user.fct in the Tools folder in the client folder. Use a plain text editor like notepad or simple text. You can add, delete or correct entries, just don't change the first line that starts with #LID**. 

Is there a way to export or import mailing lists?
Yes. You can just drag and drop a list of names from a text file. e.g., open a word or text file document and tile it next to a personal address list that you are creating. Drag over the whole set of names (or select all), then drag the selection from the document into the members list field of a list. This can also be used to set up membership and subscribers in a conference.

First Class won't let me rename an object. Why?
Some objects are protected from being edited or deleted by default (e.g., your mailbox), because to edit its name would make it inoperable. Other objects - such as conferences - for which you are not the owner will also not allow you to change their names. However, other objects for which you are the owner or creator can be changed by right clicking on the object, selecting properties, and changing the name in the "name" field. 

I put a task on my calendar and I can't make it go away.
While in the list view, you can click on the icon to the right of the task to complete it (indicated by the red line drawn through the task), or open the task's settings and enter the current or past date in the "date completed" field.

I entered a calendar event, but it did not store the date and time correctly.
When you open the date/time window inside the event, and scroll to choose the correct date and time, you must click the "OK" button to apply the settings. If you only hit enter or return, your selection is not saved.

Will the FirstClass system allow students to create their own list serves? 
FirstClass has a conferencing feature that is much more powerful than simple lists. Students will have the capability to create their own conferences for group communications. list serves will still be necessary however, when off campus addresses are part of the group and are supported by a Communigate server that features powerful serve capabilities, even beyond majordomo.

Can I convert a comma delimited file into a table after I've uploaded it to FirstClass?
Yes - through an undocumented feature: shift-click on a text file attachment that is either comma or Tab delimited and you will get a table. Click on a column header and watch it sort.

How can I extract a group of messages into a single .RTF file? 
There is a feature called "Summarize Selected Messages." It will paste selected messages together, and will create a printable or locally savable .rtf file. This function is perfect for documenting the entire thread of the conversation, which can be printed, saved or deleted all in one step. Select the messages to summarize by using the thread messages command, or pressing CTRL+SHIFT and click on the part of the message information that you want to select. For example, to select all emails from "John Doe", CNTL+SHIFT while clicking on the name in one message; FirstClass will select all messages from John Doe. To select all messages with a certain subject, perform the same operation while clicking on the message's subject field, or on the date to select all with that same date. After selecting the messages, go to the Message menu and select Summarize messages. This file can be saved, printed or deleted, or pasted into a message and sent to another user.

I've tried the Summarize feature, but I can't make it save the internet header information.
If you select Show Internet Headers on a message, any subsequent Summarize will include the Internet Header information in the summary.

If I send an event to someone's calendar and they have their calendar open, will they immediately see the event (in real time?). 
No, when you give someone else access to your personal calendar, if they add an event in your calendar while you have your calendar open, it won't show until you close your calendar and open it again.

Can I set FirstClass to set meetings on 4th week of the month, even when there are 5 weeks in that month? 
No. If you need to plan a recurring meeting for the 4th Monday of the month it will not work. If you pick Monthly-same weekday, it puts it on the 5th Monday on months like September 2002 which have 5 weeks. This comes up every once in a while for a few years now - the rules for monthly repeats are basically as follows: repeating events placed on the last xday of a month are placed on the last week of all subsequent months - otherwise there'd be no way of saying "Last xday of the month". If an event isn't placed on the last xday of the month (but instead placed on the nth xday), then it is placed on the nth xday of all subsequent months. In other words, if you want to say the 4th, you need to start the event in a month that has 5 xday's and place it on the 4th such day. It's a tradeoff that allows the "last week of the month" to work.

The work around for this problem is when a month with 5 weeks comes up, reset that occurrence of the event only, which won't affect remaining events on the schedule. (open event; select repeat tab and select appropriate choice - then when closing, select the "current event only" option so that the change only applies to this one event and not those in all following months.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 4301 W. Markham Street • Little Rock, AR 72205 • USA (501) 686-5000 (tel.) • 501-686-5067 (fax) Copyright © 2002 - All rights reserved