The Complete Guide to Using OnALot's SmarterMail

What is SmarterMail?

OnALot's SmarterMail program is a web-based email program. "Web-based" means you can read or send emails from any computer, anywhere! If you are on a business trip, at a friend or relative's home, or using a portable device, you can still send and receive emails.

When someone sends you an email, it arrives on OnALot's email server and sits there waiting for you. SmarterMail allows you to "peek" at our server and see your emails. Your emails will still be on our server after you close SmarterMail.

And, since SmarterMail is web-based, you can still download your emails to your main home or office computer when you return there.

Note that once you download your emails to your main computer, they will no longer be available to view using SmarterMail. They've been taken off our server and downloaded onto your main computer, so SmarterMail can no longer find them on our server.

Why Would I Want To Use SmarterMail?

There are several good reasons to use SmarterMail instead of another email program, as follows:

1. You are away from home and want to view your email without downloading it
2. You're visiting a friend's home and want to view your email. You don't want to download it on their computer
3. You have several computers at home, and don't want to download your email on the wrong one.
4. You're using a mobile device, like a cell phone, and can't download it to that device
5. You need to send an email when you're away from home and using another computer
6. Click HERE for an in-depth explanation of why to use SmarterMail

How Do I Get To SmarterMail?

There are 2 easy ways to get to SmarterMail, as follows:

1. If you are on the road or away from home, open a browser (like Internet Explorer) and type in http://webmail.onalot.com and hit Enter
2. You can go to our homepage, www.onalot.com and click on the SmarterMail icon on the right side of the page. It looks like this:
   
   
   Just click on it to go directly to the SmarterMail login screen.
   

The SmarterMail Login Screen

You are now on this page:

1. Enter your full email address, such as john@onalot.com
2. Enter your password
3. IMPORTANT - Do NOT click the Remember me button if you are away from home. You don't want others to have access to your email account! This is especially important if you are using a public computer, like at the library.
4. Click on Login
   

The First Time You Log Into SmarterMail

Important, you must click on the Save Button at the top left side on the initial setup screen, which looks like this:

Once done, you'll go directly to the Folders Screen and you won't see the above screen again. This is just an initial setup page.

Now That You're Logged In

You can click on the Folder section on the left, then on Inbox, and there's your email!

To send an email, click on New Message (under the Folders tab) and fill in the To, Subject and your message in the text areas, then click on Send.

When You're Done

You can simply close the page or click on the Logout statement at the top left. Make sure to logout or close the page so that others can't use your email account. This is especially important if you are using a public computer, like at the library.