TEST GROUP

If you send to TEST GROUP you will be sending a message to the programmer Chris Salter and Jim Munday only. This meams that you will not get a copy unless you cc yourself as well.

Has it been sent?

If you send to a group that you are not a member off you do not get a copy. So CC yourself if you are not a member and you will get a copy.

If you send to a group which you are a member of you will get a copy.

If you send to a group which you are a member of and do not get a copy you have done something wrong. Look in your send folder and check the outgoing mail. Computers are pedantic, have you spelt the name of the group correctly eg using PRINCIPLE rather than PRiNCIPAL, have you sent from your imtfa account?

Do not give Address lists of IFA members to suppliers

It is always better to have one location for Email addresses, so do not give a list to a supplier. It will soon become out of date.The Product manager should be sending info from suppliers not the supplier. Using the group facility does make this easier.

Replying to Group Emails

If you reply to a group Email you reply to the group! Maybe not everyone wants your reply. You need to reply to the individual who sent the Email. To do this just double click on the senders name and it will fire up an email with the senders address to whom you are directing the reply, entered.

DIY

It has become the practice of some members to ask Head Office to forward emails to the members. This is a very inefficient practice when you can now Do It Yourself

Multiple Attachments

Hi

We have had an occurrence of multiple attachments from head office. This has been caused the version of outlook used by head office - Outlook 2002 (which is not common) and the fact that it had been transferred twice. It is being looked into

Firewalls

Some members have firewalls set up. In order to access this blohg you need to set up in the firewall permission to allow this blog

Attachments - Definitely now working!

2 issues emerged whilst working with Richard Small on sending attachments. One was the use of the imtfa account. In discussion with Templar it emerged that some members were trying to send imtfa emails but not from the imtfa account.

If you send an email with an attachment using GROUPS but send it from your non IMTFA account the system does not allow the attachment through. This is done for security reasons.

This will prohibit suppliers and others from sending attachments to us.

The other issues was a bug that corrupted the attachment. This was fixed today.

Torquoise Emails

It is suggested that these occur when the sender is using an old version of the software to send the email.

Adverts and logos

Many members have as part of a their signature logos. The GROUP system cannot handle these so they are removed.

Attachments

AS far as I am aware there are no current issues with attachments. They work

You cannot reply to a GROUP email

You cannot reply to a group email because the details of the group are not on your computer - they are on the Templar computer - but you can forward to the same group or another group or an individual member - with your reply.

GROUPS currently available

The current groups are:-

Admin

Activant Users

MAM Users

CV Members

General

IFA Directors

IFA Principal

Product Managers

Test Group

The members of all of these groups are managed by head office

Sending GROUP Emails

Do not put a space within the square brackets before the GROUP name

Response from sending Email to groups@imtfa.co.uk subject HELP

If you send a message to groups@imtfa.co.uk

 

with the subject HELP you get this reply

 

IFA Automated Email System.

---------------------------

 

Getting Group Names.

 

1. In the subject field add the word groups followed by your imtfa password

eg. groups mypassword

 

The system will then respond with a list of groups to which you can send mail

 

 

 

Sending a Group email.

 

1. In the subject field add the group name in braces after your subject

 

eg. This is a subject example [groupname]

 

2. Write your message

 

3. Add any required attachments

 

4. Send

 

Your email will then be forwarded to all members of the group specified

 

When you send to a GROUP - has it worked?

If you send an email to a group that you belong to and you receive an email - it has worked.

If you are not a member of the group CC yourself

Setting up GROUPS

The GROUP facility is  operational and AMY at Head Office has set up some GROUPS.

 

Amy will be responsible for maintaining the GROUPS and will confirm

when a GROUP has been set up.

 

If you want to add a group ie Activant Users or a Steve Parker

committee please send to AMY a list of the members of that group. But

please accept responsibility for ensuring that the list is kept

uptodate and deleted if no longer applicable.

 

If you want to know how to send an Email to a GROUP please send a

message to groups@imtfa.co.uk and put in the subject line the word

HELP. You will get an Email back which contains the instructions.

 

If you want to know which GROUPS exist then send an Email to groups@imtfa.co.uk

with the word GROUPS in the subject line followed by YOUR password

eg, GROUPS abc123 (put a space between GROUPS and password)

 

The mail system is in three PARTS

The Email system is made up of three parts:-

The sending of Emails member to member

The Web Mail System

The GROUP system

The first 2 parts are off the shelf products and are fully functional the GROUP system is a bespoke system. The GROUP system has been problematic but is now fully functional

It's being used by HEAD Office

You will note that head office are sending out Emails using the IMTFA addresses. There is nothing stopping you copying these address lists and using them as your oen and using them as your own

Sending an Email to a IFA colleague

One advantage of the new system is that you can easily determine IFA members email address. So you do not have to struggle to look it up or remember it. It is alway FIRST NAME. SURNAME@imtfa.co.uk

You can use web mail

Webmail Method

To access webmail go to -  http://webmail.imtfa.co.uk

Use your imtfa email address, and your IFA Forum Password to gain access

This has the same functionality as Microsoft Outlook and can be used from any computer anywhere in the world

How to set up your IMTFA account on your computer

To start using the new imtfa.co.uk  Email system via your MAIL CLIENT  
- Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Apple Mail, Googlemail, Hotmail  
etc, etc - you have to set up a new Email Account.  


You also have the option to access your Emails via webmail, however I suggest that you use your mail client in the office and web mail when you cannot access your office.

Using Mail Client

Create a New Email Account and follow the onscreen prompts.  These  
vary from version to version but you will need the following basic  
information:

Email Address:     firstname.surname@imtfa.co.uk
User Name firstname.surname@imtfa.co.uk
Password:    Your current IFA Forum Password

Your imtfa email address is in the format.

firstname.surname@imtfa.co.uk

e.g. jim.munday@imtfa.co.uk

Incoming Mail Server (POP3)          mail.imtfa.co.uk

Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) mail.imtfa.co.uk

You must then make sure you have enabled the username and password for outgoing mail.  This is normally located under "More Settings" or "Advanced Settings" depending on the type and version of software you are using.

You will need to enable"Outgoing SMTPAuthentication" and use the same user name and password given above.  On some software there's a simple tick box to do this, on other versions you'll need to type them in again.

You can then use the Test Email Settings option to verify that you have the details correct.  Once the test has completed you have confirmed that your account is set up


Changing Outlook's Default Mail account
If you have more than one email account, and the chances are you'll have your old and new IFA accounts if not more, then you need set the Default Mail Account.  This defines the account you normally want to  
use when sending mail.   It'll be the address people reply to you on.  
This should only be actioned when we are all ready to start using the system.

To set this go back into where you created the email account, and when the list appears showing the accounts you have, look for the option to make your new IMTFA.CO.UK Email account the "default".  You may have to click on it in order to be given the option of making it the 'default"

Why an IMTFA Email account

The Email system is set up on an IMTFA(at TEMPLAR) server(computer) your identity is on this server. Your identity is your email address eg.fred.bloggs@imtfa.co.uk  In order to use the system you have to be recognised by the server and you have to send your messages using an imtfa account on your computer. Identities are set up on the server using the IFA Forum. IMTFA accounts are set up on the your computer by you.