Email: Sending, Replying & Forwarding
✓ CompletedThis lesson is about the buttons and boxes: who goes in To, Cc or Bcc, when to use Reply, Reply all or Forward, and how to send a file. What to write in the email is covered in Stage 3, in Communication & Professionalism.
To, Cc and Bcc
Click Compose to start a new email. In Gmail, Cc and Bcc appear at the right end of the To line; click them to open those fields.
| Field | Who goes here |
|---|---|
| To | The people the email is for. They're expected to read it and usually do something. |
| Cc | People who should see it but don't need to act. Everyone can see who's in To and Cc. |
| Bcc | People who get a copy without the others seeing their address. Use it when you email many people who don't know each other. |
As you type a name, Gmail suggests addresses. Read the suggestion before you pick it: two contacts called Mark look the same until you check the address.
Reply, Reply All or Forward
These buttons are at the bottom of an open email.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reply | Only the sender gets your answer. The original attachments are not included. |
| Reply all | The sender and everyone else in To and Cc get your answer. Use it when all of them need to know. |
| Forward | Sends the email, including its attachments, to someone new. You type their address. |
When you forward, the earlier messages in the conversation go along too. Scroll down before you send and remove anything the new person shouldn't see.
If you were in Bcc, don't use Reply all. The others would find out you received a copy.
Attach a File or Send a Link?
At the bottom of the compose window, the paperclip attaches a file from your computer. The Drive icon inserts a file from your Google Drive.
- Attach a file when it's small, finished and won't change: an invoice, a final PDF, a signed form.
- Send a Drive link when the file is large, when people will keep working on it, or when it's already in Drive. Gmail attachments are limited to 25 MB; above that, Gmail turns the file into a Drive link for you.
A link only works for someone with access. If you insert a Drive file and a recipient can't open it, Gmail asks whether to share it with them before sending. Read that box and pick the right access; don't just click past it. Lesson 6 covers sharing.
Before You Press Send
- Recipients: the right people, with the right addresses, in the right field.
- Attachment: actually attached, and the right version. Click the file box to check it.
- Link: the people you're sending it to can open it.
Gmail warns you if you mention an attachment and there isn't one, but it doesn't catch the wrong file. If you notice a mistake right after sending, click Undo in the message at the bottom-left. You have about 5 seconds. After that, the email has gone, and deleting it from your Sent folder doesn't remove it from anyone else's inbox.
Bago mag-send, basahin ulit ang To, Cc at ang pangalan ng attachment. Limang segundo lang 'yan, pero doon madalas nahuhuli ang maling file o maling tao.
Which Button?
Choose the action, or find the problem in the draft. None of these are about how the email is worded.
Grace emails you and Mark together: "Can one of you confirm tomorrow's courier pickup time?" You're the one who knows it. Which button do you use?
The courier emailed you the pickup schedule as an attachment. Grace wants a copy. Which button do you use?
You're sending Harbor & Hill's holiday schedule to eight suppliers who don't know each other. Here's your draft. Click the line that needs fixing before you send.
Grace asked you to send back the April price list with your changes. Here's your reply before sending. Click the line that needs fixing.
The product photo folder is 180 MB, and Grace's designer needs all of it. What do you send?
You insert a Drive link, and before sending, Gmail warns that the people you're emailing don't have access to the file. What do you do?
You just pressed Send and immediately notice you attached the wrong file. What do you do?
- To for the people who act, Cc for people who should know, Bcc for many people who don't know each other.
- Reply answers only the sender. Reply all answers everyone. Forward sends the email and its attachments to someone new.
- Attach small, finished files. Send a Drive link for large files or files people keep working on, and check they can open it.
- Check recipients and attachments before sending. Undo only lasts a few seconds.