Frequently Asked Questions

SpiderMail is the Web interface to student e-mail. It is highly customizable and supports a variety of new features. New features can be added anytime through the use of plug-ins.

After selecting "Compose" to create a new message, you can press the "Addresses" button, located between the "Signature" and "Send" buttons. This will bring up a search page that displays your personal address book along with a search form. If you enter a person's last name and hit the "Search" button, you will see a list of faculty, staff, and students that meet your criteria. You can then check off the "To" column for the appropriate address and click the "Use Address" button.

Your browser must be configured to accept cookies in order for SpiderMail to function properly. In Internet Explorer, cookie settings can be found by selecting "Tools" > "Internet Options" and then clicking on the "Security" or "Privacy" tab, depending on the browser software version. Make sure that cookies are enabled and that security is set to "Medium-Low" or below. The exact settings vary from browser to browser. Please contact the Help Desk if you need assistance.

By default, a SpiderMail session will time out after 12 minutes. When this happens, you will be logged out and any message that you have not saved as a draft will be lost. This timeout can be completely prevented by setting the "Auto Refresh Folder List" time under "Options" > "Folder Preferences."

We have set this value to five minutes for all users. Therefore, any timeout issues that you have experienced in the past should no long occur.

You will see these words in an e-mail if the message contains images that are actually loaded from remote sites instead of being attached to the e-mail itself. These types of images are considered unsafe for a number of reasons. Spammers can abuse this to validate your e-mail address; the sender can know instantly if you have read their e-mail or not (privacy concern); or information can be revealed about your browser, operating system, and your mail server (security concern). If you would like to view the images anyway, despite the risks, simply scroll to the bottom of the message and click on the "View Unsafe Images" link.

These are a remnant of the old e-mail system where mail was stored in an entirely different format. Despite the subject, it is perfectly safe to delete these messages.

In the transition to SpiderMail, we were unable to preserve the read/unread state of messages. As a result, all messages will appear to be unread (they are listed in bold type.) You may mark your messages as read by selecting them individually or by selecting the "Toggle All" link and then clicking the "Read" button to the right of the interface.

Clicking on the "Toggle All" link will place a check mark next to all of the messages in your current view. Then simply click on the "Delete" button to delete the selected messages or select the destination folder from the drop-down box and click on the "Move" button. If you would like to select all of your messages, instead of just those in the current view, click on the "Show All" link before selecting Toggle All.

Select the "Options" link. Click on "Display Preferences." Under "Mailbox Display Options" change the value in the "Number of Messages to Index" text box.

SpiderMail has a new feature called Message Filters. Configure this feature by selecting the "Options" link and clicking on "Message Filters." By using the drop-down you can choose to process all of your messages or just those that are unread. Click on the "New" link, configure your rule, and then select "save." Messages can be sorted based on text in the From line, the To line, the Subject, or the Internet header. When you return to your inbox the rules will be applied. Be aware that there may be a delay the first time depending on the size of your inbox and the number of rules you have configured.

• Click "Edit Address Groups"
• Click "Add/Update Groups"
• In the "Search For" box, type the last name of the person you are looking for. Click "Search."
• Check the box of the person who you are looking for. In the box next to the button that says "Add to New Group," type the name of the group you are creating (i.e., law students, faculty, etc.). Now click the "Add to New Group" button.
• In the "Search For" box above, type the next name of the person you are looking for. Once you have found the person, check the box next to their name and click the "Add to Group" button.
• If you have more than one group created, use the drop down menu to choose the correct group.
• To use the group, click on the "Compose New Message" button, and choose "Groups." Click the "To" button of the group that you would like to use.

The University of Richmond provides the capability for alumni to set up a forwarding of their Richmond email account to another outside e-mail address. Alumni can manage this forwarding through the e-mail forwarding Web interface.

The Office of Alumni Affairs has a free, password-protected online community for Richmond alumni. Uronline.net provides many ways for you to keep in touch with your classmates, other alumni, and the University. One option being offered is an e-mail forwarding service where you may choose your e-mail address at uronline.net and have that e-mail forwarded to an account of your choosing. Other features include a searchable alumni directory, the alumni career network, and the capability for you to instantly update your own information and designate what information you want to make available to others through the online community. Future services will include discussion boards and a class connections feature. To find out more, visit uronline.net.