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Northern Illinois University

Information Technology Services

Using NIU Student Webmail (NetMail)

Students access their NIU e-mail at webmail.students.niu.edu . 

You will be prompted to enter your "User Name" (your Z-ID) and your Novell account password.  If you do not know your Z-ID, go to accountid.niu.edu.  If you do not know your password, see password.niu.edu.

NetMail Navigation and Function Buttons

Picture of the main mailbox window in NetMail

Navigation Buttons

  • Folders - Displays a list of all the folders in your account.  Also displays the mailbox utilization information.
  • Compose - Creates a new message.
  • Calendar - This option is not currently enabled.
  • Address Book - Here is where you can keep addresses you need to use again. Choose add to create a new address, check an address and choose delete to remove an address. Check an address and choose compose to send a message to that address.
  • Options - You can set the general settings, appearance, colors, forwarding, auto-reply/vacation message, proxy configurations, and automatic signature.
  • Logout - You should always log out before exiting the browser.

Function Buttons

  • Purge - Immediately deletes any selected message(s).  These are not recoverable.
  • Delete - Marks the selected message(s) for deletion.  The message will appear with a red "X"  next to it and a line will appear through the subject of the message.
  • Undelete - Undelete the selected message(s) that were previously deleted using the delete function.
  • Move - Moves the selected message(s) to the desired folder.  Select the desired folder and click "Apply" to move the message(s).
  • Copy - Copies the selected message(s) to the desired folder.  Select the desired folder for the copy and click "Apply" to copy the message(s).
  • Select All - Selects all the messages.
  • Clear All - Clears all the checks.
  • Mark Read - Marks the selected message(s) as read, even if they have not been previously opened.
  • Mark Unread - Marks the selected message(s) as unread (new), even if they have been previously opened.
  • Refresh - Refreshes the display.
  • Purge All - Removes the selected message(s) as well as any message that is currently marked for deletion.  Messages that are purged can not be recovered.

Enabling the Sent Item folder

By default, NIU's student NetMail does not store a copy of your sent messages.  Activate a sent items folder in your student NetMail account if you wish to keep a copy of  sent messages. The NetMail sent items folder will only store messages sent from the NetMail client (student webmail), and will only display messages that were sent after the feature is enabled.  Remember that sent items will count against your mailbox quota, and so periodically delete items that you do not wish to retain (especially messages you have sent with attachments) to free up space in your account.

Enabling a Sent Item Folder

  1. Log in to your NetMail account.
  2. Click on the "Folders" link.  (Figure 3)

    Figure 3: Picture showing where to click on the folders link. 
    Figure 3

  3. Click on the "Create Folder" button. (Figure 4)

    Figure 4: This picture shows the location of the 'Create Folder' button in the NetMail folders window. 
    Figure 4

  4. Create the folder by typing the desired name and clicking the apply button.  The message "Saved Settings" should appear near the top of the page. (Figure 5)

    Figure 5: This picture shows the create folder options and the location of the apply button. 
    Figure 5

  5. Your new folder should now appear in your folder list.
  6. Click on the options link. (Figure 6)

    Figure 6: This picture shows where to find the Options link on the mail NetMail window. 
    Figure 6

  7. Select your Sent Items folder (the folder you just created) from the drop-down list next to "Sent Folder". (Figure 7)
  8. Click "Apply" to save your settings, the message "Saved Settings" will appear near the top of the page. (Figure 7)

    Figure 7: This shows the location of the Sent Folder drop-down list on the General Settings window in NetMail. 
    Figure 7

  9. Log out of your account for the changes to take effect.

Set up a Forwarding Rule

  • Log in to your NetMail account
  • Click on the “Preferences” link at top of web page
  • Scroll down to Forwarding
    • Enable, click “Yes”
    • Keep Copy, click “Yes” or “No” student preference
    • Forward To: enter full email address you want messages forwarded to.
    • Click Apply
  • Log out to save preferences

Setting this rule in Student Webmail forwards all messages sent to either the alias address (jdoe@niu.edu) or full email address (z123456@students.niu.edu) to the new email address.

Checking your mailbox utilization

Your student NetMail e-mail box has a capacity of 25MB.  Once you reach this limit, your mailbox will no longer accept new messages until enough space is avaliable.

Check your Mailbox Space Utilization

  1. Select the "Folders" link form the main NetMail page. (Figure 8)

    Figure 8: Where to select the 'folders' link within the NetMail system. 
    Figure 8

  2. Note the Mailbox Utilization near the bottom of the page. (Figure 9)

    Figure 9: Picture showing where to find the current Mailbox Utilization 
    Figure 9

  3. Click on the "INBOX" to return to your inbox folder.