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Step 1: Installing the software |
Once you have downloaded GroupMail 5.0 you just need to double click on the downloaded file from Explorer to start the installation process.
Alternatively if you are using Internet Explorer or similar you may be prompted to open the file once the download is complete. This option is also acceptable. If you have an
existing copy of GroupMail running then you should close it down before starting the installation.
When you open the installation file you will be presented with the product installer:
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Figure 1
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When this appears you should click 'Next' button. This will bring you to the License Agreement which you should read carefully. When you are
satisfied with it you should click on the 'I accept the agreement' radio button (as below)
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Figure 2
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And then click 'Next'. At this stage you can review the Readme information file which shows you what changes etc. have been made in this
version of the software. Click ‘Next’ to continue to choose the installation folder.
The installer at this stage will check to see if GroupMail 5 has been installed previously. If it has it will select the existing GroupMail folder to
install to. If GroupMail wasn't installed previously a default option will be chosen. It is recommended that you accept this choice but you can change this to any other
location that suits you. Once you are satisfied that the software will be installed to a suitable place please click 'Next' to proceed to the 'Select Components' part.
The GroupMail installation is made up a few component parts. At present these are:
- GroupMail: This is comprised of the core application files and is always installed.
- Add-ons: These are extra pieces of software that provide additional integrated functionality to you such as Subscription
Management (via the Subscriber Add-on) or Email Address validation (via the Email Inspector Add-on).
- Templates: GroupMail comes with a set of designer templates that you can use for creating new messages.
- Outlook Toolbar: If you use Microsoft Outlook 2002 or higher then you can choose to install this option. The Outlook Toolbar
integrates some GroupMail features directly into your Outlook Client. If you choose this option please make sure that you close the Outlook client before proceeding.
Otherwise you may need to restart your system in order to complete the installation.
When you have selected the items you wish to install you should click the 'Next' button. Now you can select the name for the folder to store
the Start Menu shortcuts. We recommend that you use the default option here. Click 'Next' to create additional icons.
Click 'Next' again to review all of the installation options. If you are happy with these settings click on the 'Install' button. Otherwise click on the
'Back' button and make any required changes.
When all the required files are installed you may be asked to Restart your system. If this is the case you should otherwise the software may
not function correctly.
When the installation has completed successfully you will be presented with the following screen:
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Figure 3
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By default the Launch GroupMail 5 now check box is enabled. With this set GroupMail will start up automatically when you click on the 'Finish'
button.
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Step 2: Starting GroupMail 5 |
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To start the software regularly (as in not from the installer) click on the Start Menu, All Programs and GroupMail 5 folder
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Figure 4
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Click on the GroupMail 5 icon and this will start GroupMail.
If it is your first time to use GroupMail you will be presented with the Getting Started helper:
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Figure 5
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This will guide you through the steps required to get the software running. For the sake of this article we are going to assume that you didn't
complete this wizard. (Please note that this helper is available at anytime from the Help menu).
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Step 3: Configuring GroupMail |
GroupMail is designed to send messages to groups of recipients. In order to use GroupMail you will need to configure 3 basic things.
How to Send - (i.e. - Account Settings)
Who to Send to - (i.e. - Groups/Recipients)
and What to send - (i.e. - Messages)
There are lots of other options available but these three are essential if you are to use GroupMail successfully.
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Step 4: Setting up your Account details |
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By Account details we mean the details required to send your messages and identify the sender. This resembles the typical Email Account
settings dialog present in most email clients. To create an Account you need to go to the Account Manager. You can do this via the Home screen or Tools menu.
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Figure 6
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This picture shows you how to get to the Account Manager from the Home screen.
This is what you will be presented with when you click on Accounts (or Account Manager on the Tools menu).
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Figure 7
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To create a new account click on the 'New' button.
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Figure 8
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An Account is made up of 3 parts.
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| A Descriptive Unique Name - |
this is how you will recognize the Account later when you are sending a message. |
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| User Information - |
this describes the Sender (Name, Email Address etc.) |
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| Delivery Options - |
this determines how messages sent using this account will be delivered. |
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Fill in the User Information with the details you would like to use to identify each message sent (this information will appear in the 'From' header
in each message sent).
Click on the Delivery Options tab now to enter in the settings used to deliver the actual message.
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Figure 9
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There are 4 different ways to get GroupMail to deliver your messages (see the Delivery Options drop down list above):
- Standard - this sends the messages through your ISP's or corporate SMTP Email Server and it is typically the option we would
recommend to most users.
- Direct - this sends the messages directly from your system to each of your recipients. This option works well for users who
already run their own mail server or have a fixed IP address with a reverse DNS entry. For most dialup users we would not recommend this option as it can be considerably
slower to send with.
- Outlook - if you are using the Microsoft Outlook client for your email then by using this option GroupMail will route all your email
through Outlook. This is useful if you are using Microsoft Exchange with no SMTP support enabled.
- Pickup - this option is useful for those running GroupMail on a system which is running an SMTP delivery service (like the one
included with IIS or Quiksoft’s SMTP Express).
Fill in the User Information with the details you would like to use to identify each message sent (this information will appear in the 'From' header
in each message sent).
For this article we are going to configure the most common option - Standard. For this we will need to know the address of the SMTP Server we
are going to delivery though, and if we need Authentication or now. Your ISP can provide you with all of this information (they may even have articles on their website - check
out their support section).
Let's imagine that we've been in touch with our ISP and they have provided us with the following information:
SMTP Server address is 'mail.imaginaryisp.com'
SMTP Authentication is required. Use your ISP email address 'myname@imaginaryisp.com' and the password you use to check that account.
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Figure 10
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Enter this information (as above). For the mean time you can ignore the 'Connection options' (refer to the User Manual for more information on
them).
To enter the Authentication information click on the Setup button under where you have entered the SMTP Server address
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Figure 11
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Check the Use SMTP Authentication (outbound) and enter the username and password you were given by your ISP. Click OK to store this
information.
To make sure your settings are correct and working click on the Test button on the Account Properties screen.
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Figure 12
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If you are having any problems make sure that your Firewall is configured to let GroupMail send. If problems persist double check your settings,
check with your ISP and if you are still having problems contact GroupMail Support.
When you are happy with your 'Account Settings' click OK. On the Account Manager screen you can create as many accounts as you like.
This is useful if you wish to send different types of messages to different groups of recipients (Personal and Business for instance) or if you require different delivery options
based on location.
Close the Account Manager when you are ready and return to GroupMail. Now we are ready to create a group.
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Step 5: Creating a Group |
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A group is essentially a list of recipients who you want to send messages to. To create a group you need to go to the Groups area.
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Figure 13
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Click on the large Groups icon in the Toolbar or click on the Groups link on the Home page (as above). To create a new Group click on the
Create New Group item on the Action Menu or on the Task Pane on the left hand side of the screen.
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Figure 14
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This will start the 'Create a New Group' wizard. For the purpose of this article we will choose to create a GroupMail Format (default) group. If
you already have all your recipients in a database like SQL Server then you could choose to link to it. To do this you would use the External Database option.
With the GroupMail format option selected click next to proceed.
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Figure 15
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It is possible to create Groups that can be shared with other users. To do this you would click on the Custom item (above) and select where to
store the Group (for instance you might like to save it on a Network Share or File Server where others can access it). If you wish to use a Group that somebody else has
created then you would use the 'Link to an existing group' option. These options are explained in more detail in the User Manual.
For this article we will use the default option: 'Local - group is saved in the default GroupMail store'. Select this and click 'Next'.
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Figure 16
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Now you can setup how the group will be comprised. There is a default list of fields available but you can remove or alter these. Ideally you
should only have the fields you will use listed in order to save space and make the groups as quick as possible to work with. Click 'Next' when you are happy with the fields
that will make up the group.
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Figure 17
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Because you can setup a group anyway you like GroupMail needs to know which field will contain the email address for each record or
recipient in the Group. Select the appropriate field and click 'Next'
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Figure 18
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Enter a unique and descriptive name for the Group now and then click on the 'Create' button. Congratulations! You have successfully created
your first Group. Now it's time to add some recipients to it.
In the Groups area in GroupMail you should select the Group you have just created. You can add recipients one at a time to this by right
clicking on the Group and selecting the Add Recipient to Group menu item.
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Figure 19
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Enter in the desired details for the Recipient and click on the 'OK' button. Repeat this as necessary.
If you have all of your recipients in an existing list you can add them to your groups much faster by using the Import options:
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Figure 20
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Importing is beyond the scope of this article but is well documented in the Help file, User Manual and Articles.
Now you have a Group setup with some Recipients in it. Next all you need is a message to send.
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Step 6: Creating a Message |
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To create a message in GroupMail you can click on the File Menu and choose the New Message option - or you can click F2. This will start
the GroupMail Editor
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Figure 21
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The GroupMail Message Editor resembles most other email editors except that instead of typing in the Email Address to send to you choose a
Group of recipients (see Send To above). To show who the message is From choose an Account from the From list. This will also determine how the message will be sent.
Type in a Subject and Message.
By default all messages created by the Editor are HTML. If you wish to change this go to the Format menu or just click on the Message
Format drop down list as shown:
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Figure 22
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To personalize a message you should click on the Insert Menu and click on the Merge Fields item. For more advanced personalization you can
use Merge Scripts.
Use the Insert menu to embed images, hyperlinks or add attachments to your message as required.
When you are happy with the content of your message you should Preview it to see how it will look when you send it. To do this click on the
Preview tab available at the bottom of the message editor:
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Figure 23
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Using the Local Preview option and select the installed email client that you would like to use to preview the message. Then click on Preview
Message. This will 'Personalize' the message and open it in your regular Email software showing you how your message will look. If you want to carry out further testing you
can use the Test Send Preview option - just enter the email address you would like to send the message to and click Test Send. This is an ideal way to test how a message
will look in a Web Mail client like Hotmail.
Once you have reviewed your message you should save it. To do this click on the File Menu and choose Save. The message will now be saved
as a Draft and will be available from GroupMail at any time via the Messages/Drafts area.
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Step 7: Sending a Message |
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With the message saved you are now ready to send it. To do this click on the Send button in the Toolbar or the Send item on the File menu.
This will bring up the Prepare to Send dialog which allows you to set some additional delivery related options
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Figure 24
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On this screen you can review that you are sending to the correct group. If you are not you should cancel and return to the message editor and
select a different group. Then repeat the send process.
The Address To list on this screen allows you to determine what text will appear in the To header in the messages you send and if they will be
Personalized. By default the recipients email address will be shown here. You can select any fields you like here from the list though (or any combination of them. If you
wish to send the message in bulk mode then you should click on the button beside this option and select the Bulk Address type.
Check that the Account listed in Send From is the correct one. You can make changes to it here by clicking on the button beside it.
In the options area you can set filters which will allow you to control who gets messages using the contents of specific fields. With Exclusion
options can you do partial mailings to part of a group, and block recipients from being sent messages if they exist in other groups and or files. Scheduling Options allows
you to set a time or date in the future that the message should be sent. For more information on these options you should refer to the Help file or User manual.
To Send the message (or queue it if it is scheduled) click on the Continue button.
GroupMail will now start the Delivery Console. This is a separate piece of software which is used to manage the delivery of your GroupMail
messages.
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Figure 25
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When the Delivery Console is running there will be an Envelop icon in the system tray like this:
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Figure 26
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If you need to access the delivery console at any time just double click on this envelop or alternatively click on the Delivery Console icon on the
Main Toolbar in GroupMail.
The Delivery Console manages all queued messages in GroupMail. If you wish to see how a previous message was handled then you should go
to the Sent Messages area in GroupMail on the Messages Screen. Here you can choose a previously sent message and view the logs on it. You can also resend it or
resume it if the mailing was incomplete.
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To Recap: In GroupMail there are 3 essential things that you need to do in order to be able to use it.
- Create an account with all the identification and send details required.
- Create a group and add recipients to it.
- Create and send a message.
Everything else in GroupMail fits around these main items and we invite you to review the User Manual which is freely available with the
software for further information.
This guide is intended as a quick start guide. If you require further information or guidance on any of the topics discussed please refer to the
help file, the user manual or GroupMail support.
This guide is based on the complete Business Edition of GroupMail.
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