Your email via a web browser
Your Bath Spa University email account from home
Use the 'webmail' interface to connect to your email account via a web browser. Also, here's how to forward your University email to another account, and also connect from an iPhone / iPod Touch.
Also, student email is changing - here's info on '@bathspa.org' Email for students.
Bath Spa University email server addresses
- University Staff
- Use https://webmail.bathspa.ac.uk/
Note that in early December 2009 this setting changed.
If webmail's no longer working for you, retry using this address. - Students
- You'll be one of the following:
- Use '@bathspa.org'. Here's a login page.
- If you're one of the people using the University webmail server, you'll need this link: https://npwin-exchstud1.bathspa.ac.uk/exchange/
Using University Webmail
When you log in, you'll be asked for your user name and password, a dialogue will appear, with either two or three text fields.
- ... with two fields
- The text boxes need academic\your_user_name in the first box, and your password in the second.
- ... with three fields
- The first text box needs your user name, the second your password and the third academic.
If things don't work the first time, it's probably that passwords are meant to be tricky - check that you're using the domain\user name correctly - follow that green link for more on this.
Warning! Once you've logged in, you're in until you log out once more (use 'Log off' from the column at the left hand side of the browser window) - remember to do this before leaving the machine - close the browser too and if you are using an open access machine, log out of your account ...
Webmail - what's available
Webmail offers you access to your Bath Spa University email, contacts, calendar - and allows you to do things such as:
- Change your Bath Spa University password
- Log into webmail and look under 'Options' on the Navigation bar on the left.
- Set an 'Out of office' message
- Again, check 'Options' ...
- Other stuff
- Things such as alarms, public folders - now also work. You can also forward email to another account - see below
You may notice that 'Webmail' looks different in different web browsers - depending on the browser you're using it will run in two modes, basic and premium
- Basic
- You can use your email, you might find things are a bit clunky though, many enhanced features from 'Outlook' are missing.
'Calendar view' will not show you more than one day at a time - an forthcoming update to the Exchange server will sort this, allegedly. - Premium
- The email window behaves much like an 'Ordinary' email client, you'll find useful context or right-mouse-click menus, you'll be able to drag and drop email into folders, etc.
Webmail - Deleting messages
When you read new messages, you need to keep them, or delete them if they're not needed - otherwise they'll build up, overfill your account, and you won't be able to receive more.
If you're using the 'Premium' interface to Webmail, you can simply highlight messages and delete them. Otherwise, to delete messages, if you see a check box alongside each message, put a tick in the box and then use the 'Delete Items' icon to delete the ones you've selected.
When you delete email, it's stored in a 'deleted items' folder, in case you decide you need it back again. From time to time you need to empty this folder - look for the icon which does this, it's above the message window, or select the 'Deleted items' folder from the folder list ... if you don't empty your deleted items and your sent items folder from time to time, their contents are deleted automatically - after 30 (for students) or 90 days (for staff).
Webmail - Keeping Messages
As email in your inbox is deleted automatically after a set period, you'll need to take action if you need to keep a message. You'll find you can create email folders to store messages, and once you move the messages you need to keep away from the inbox, they'll be there until you delete them.
If you're using Webmail with Internet Explorer, you'll find you can drag and drop messages between folders - if not, in order to file messages, you'll need to select them by putting a tick against them and then filing them using the 'Copy' or 'Move' icon at the top of Webmail's page.
'Out of office' messages
Important: when you set one of these, remember to unsubscribe from mailing lists first, or you may be sending inadvertent messages to them. Note that the University system itself restricts 'Out of Office' messages to Bath Spa University email addresses - it can be a bad idea to send these to all and sundry.
- Outlook
- Using Outlook's menus, select 'Tools/Out of office assistant' - this allows you to set an 'Out of office' message.
- Webmail
- You can set one up from home by logging into your account using Webmail - 'Out of office replies' happen on the 'Exchange' server ...
Once you've logged in (See the top of this page) select 'Options' from the 'Navigation bar' on the left hand side of the page, and then you can set an automatic reply. This doesn't affect incoming email, which is still stored for you. Each caller will receive a single message to alert them that you are incommunicado. Remember that there are circumstances when all this is not a good idea
Pick up your mail using an iPhone / Ipod Touch
This isn't a step by step guide. Once you've found the device's 'Settings' menus you can set up the account using your personal details plus the following:
- Server: webmail.bathspa.ac.uk
- Domain: academic
- Use SSL: ON
Once you have those entered it's worth returning to the mail settings for all accounts, and checking your settings for 'Fetch new data' - you've a choice of push or pull, and an 'Advanced' setting that allows you to control this for mail, your calendar, your contacts.
Student or staff: Forward messages from your account to your personal email address
Many of us have more than one email address. Rather than check a series of accounts, set up rules to forward email from one to another. Here's how.
© Mark Annand. Updated May 5th 2010