Frequently Asked Questions

Problems, Known Issues and Workarounds

I can't see all of the calendar sharing and notification options when clicking Settings > Calendars > Shared: Edit Settings in Google Calendar.

This appears to be an issue with the way this particular options screen renders in Internet Explorer 7.0 and 8.0 on certain monitor resolutions (1024 x 768 and smaller). We suggest you configure these settings within Google Calendar in an alternate web browser, such as Firefox.

When using Google Apps, I frequently receive the following message in Internet Explorer: "Security Information: This page contains both secure and nonsecure items. Do you want to display the nonsecure items?"

Our Google Apps domain utilizes security encryption, but Google Apps sometimes references links or other code that begins with http:// rather than https:// within Gmail. Internet Explorer sees what's happening and decides to notify you there appear to be mixed security settings within Google Apps applications. Nothing nefarious is going on.

To eliminate this notification in the future, call the OIT Help Desk at 426-4357 to make a small configuration change to Internet Explorer.

Printing Calendar cuts off much of the day on the printed page.

Don't click File > Print from within your web browser to print Calendars (or other items within Google Apps). Use Google's print tools instead. When printing a Calendar, click the "Print" link next to the Calendar view options (see screenshot below):

Calendar Printing

Why can't I see the Labs feature in Gmail?

Gmail labs are only compatible with modern web browsers. Labs are available using:

Please note if you're currently using Internet Explorer 6.0, you will not see Gmail Labs.

Labs are great! Learn more about them in Gmail by clicking Settings > Labs at the top-right of your inbox.

How do I view student BroncoMail email addresses?

BroncoMail addresses are not available via Google Apps for Employees. Instructors should use BroncoWeb or BlackBoard to locate student email addresses.

Mass e-mail messages to students should be sent via the Office of the Vice-President for Student Affairs.

The Offline Google Calendar Sync tool does not allow me to view my calendar while offline. I am directed to a login page.

OIT is aware of this is and is working with Google to resolve the issue.

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General Questions

What is the file attachment size for Gmail file attachments?

The file attachment size is 25 megabytes.

Does my Boise State email still go through the Boise State spam filtering service?

No. Google's own spam filters will handle this for you.

Learn more about dealing with spam in Gmail.

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"How To" Questions

How Can I Learn to Use Google Apps?

The OIT Help Desk has published a wide variety of training and how-to info:

How do I configure a Vacation Auto-Reply (Out-of-Office Reply) in Google Apps?

Use the "Vacation responder" feature in Gmail. Instructions are on Google's website.

How do I configure Google Calendar event acceptance?

You can choose how Google Calendar handles calendar items. Options are:

  1. Google Calendar will automatically accept all calendar invitations;
  2. Google Calendar will automatically accept all calendar invitations, but will not prompt with event reminders (notifications) unless you have responded to an invitation; or,
  3. Google Calendar will only accept calendar invitations to which you have responded.

To configure how Google Calendar handles invitations, open Google Calendar and Settings at upper-right, then click the "General" tab. Scroll down to "Automatically add invitations to my calendar:" and choose from the three options available:

Calendar Invites

Use caution if selecting the option for "No, only show invitations to which I have responded." This means you'll have to respond to each appointment invite; you'll need to open the email notification you receive (assuming the sender sends you an email invite), and respond to the invite, before it will appear on your calendar.

How can I retract a message?

You can enable a 10 second window to cancel a message after clicking "Send."

Within Gmail, go to Settings > Labs and enable the “Undo Send” lab. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen and Click "Save Changes."

Now, after sending a message, you’ll see text at the top of the screen that gives you the option to "Undo" the sending of the message. If you want to cancel that message, click the “Undo” link within number of seconds specified.

If you don’t click “Undo” the message will be sent and cannot be recalled.

If I reply to one individual in a conversation, does everyone in that conversation receive my reply?

No. If you click "Reply to All" from within a conversation, you'll definitely reply to everyone who is a part of that conversation. But if you simply click "Reply," you'll only reply to the individual who sent you the previous message in the conversation. If you want to expand the conversation to include someone else, click "Forward" from the drop-down box at upper-right and population the To: field with one or more email addresses. You can also edit your email message before sending it.

Read more about conversations on our website.

I've heard if I delete an entire conversation, and then the next day someone sends me an email as part of that conversation, that new message will stay in my Trash and I'll never see it?

If a conversation is only between you and one other person, and you delete that conversation, a further reply from the person you were emailing will show up in your inbox as a new message, without the other messages in your previous conversation.

However, if you delete an conversation involving more than one individual, and someone decides later to add to the conversation, the entire conversation will appear once again in your inbox, and you can see there will be one or more new messages waiting to read based on the number of bolded recipient names.

I don't always have access to the internet on my computer, and need to download my email in one batch, work on it offline, then have it sent automatically the next time I'm online. How can I do this with Google Apps?

You've just described Offline Gmail, which you can enable through Google Labs in Gmail (Click Settings > Labs in Gmail, and enable "Offline"). More information can be found on Google's website.

Note that Google Calendar also has an "Offline" feature; however, due to our custom secure authentication software to encrypt login information, the Offline Calendar feature doesn't work for Google Apps at Boise State at this time.

Can I open more than one message at a time?

Yes! With a message open, click "New window" at upper-right within the message to pop the message into its own window. You can have as many messages as you want opened simultaneously .

When composing a message, simply click the pop-out icon at upper-right within the message to pop it into its own window. You can compose several messages simultaneously.

Why doesn't Gmail show me both the time and date stamp on email messages?

It does!

Hover your mouse over the day/date in your inbox or any folder to view the time stamp. Or, open a message and click the Details link in the message header to view both the exact date and time of any email message.

Is there any way to color-code specific appointments in Google Calendar?

There is not an option at this time to identify different appointments on the same calendar with different colors, but an alternative is to create multiple calendars with different colors.

Instead of thinking of multiple calendars as separate calendars belonging to different accounts, thinking of them instead as "categories." Here's how to create a new calendar:

  1. In Google Calendar, click Settings located at upper-right. Then choose the "Calendars" tab.
  2. Under "My Calendars" you should see a "Create new calendar" button. Click that button and type in a name for the new calendar such as Personal. There are other settings that may be changed, such as the location, time zone and sharing options.
  3. When finished, click the "Create Calendar" button located at the bottom of the page.
  4. Once the calendar is created, the Google Calendar view will refresh. On the left side of the page, under the ‘My Calendars’ heading, you should see the new calendar listed. The calendar color can be changed by selecting the drop-down box just to the right of the calendar name.

How can I proxy to different email accounts?

Yes. Any email account can be configured to allow "proxy" by up to 10 other accounts. See information on BroncoBytes.

How can I change my Google Apps for Employees account username?

Formal requests for name changes must begin with the OIT User Account Request process.

How do I forward mail from my Hotmail/Google Apps for Employees/Yahoo, etc. account to my Google Apps for Employees account?

To transfer information from one account to another, you can forward messages to Google Apps for Employees accounts.

Please refer to the documentation provided by your email provider for instructions on how to forward email.

Can I import contacts I already have in another email program into my Google Apps for Employees account?

Yes. See Importing Contacts on Google's website for details.

How do I configure my web browser to automatically use Gmail as my default email client when I click on an email link on a web page?

See our solutions on BroncoBytes.

How can I configure Gmail to prompt me when I have a new email message?

If you have an Apple Mac computer, you can install Google Notifier for Mac.

Windows users can install and configure Google Talk to notify you of incoming messages. Contact the OIT Help Desk at 426-4357, or email us at helpdesk@boisestate.edu for assistance.

I don't like the threaded "Conversation" manner which Gmail uses to organize message threads. Can I turn it off?

Google organizes email messages with the same subject header as threaded "conversations." This feature is a crucial tool in helping to keep your email organized. It cannot be modified.

The most recent email message in a conversation will always appear on "top" of your conversations; by opening the conversation you can view full details as to who the message is from and when it was sent.

You can expand or collapse all of the messages in a conversation, and can delete invididual messages in a conversation without deleting the entire conversation.

Additionally, you can choose who to reply to in a conversation (instead of replying to all of the members of a conversation), or forward a message (and edit it if necessary) in a conversation to someone outside of that conversation.

For more details about using Conversations in Gmail, see our custom documentation.

How do I send mass email messages to campus using Gmail?

See our information on the University's new Institutional Messaging Policy.

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Security and Privacy

Are there any security and privacy issues with Google Apps for Employees? What happens with our email when it sits on Google’s servers? Is Google reading my mail?

Google’s most salient feature is its fantastic searching ability. Google Apps for Employees makes all of its components (Gmail, Calendar, etc.) searchable by the end-user.

In order to deliver this feature, Google scans all email and calendar data and indexes the information to make it searchable by the end-user and only the end-user.

During searching and indexing processes, Google accumulates aggregate, non-personal information in order to provide better services.

Is my data private with Google Apps for Employees?

Yes:

For further reference, see http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html

For a clearly-worded explanation of Google's privacy and security policies, see http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=60762

How do we respond to those that have questions about the security of our data being hosted off-site?

Google dedicates a signficant portion of their resources to protecting the data that they store. They also have no incentive to put themselves in a position that tarnishes their image as one of the world's most recognized brand names.

In addition, migrating to Google Apps positions us to take advantage of Google Apps Security Services such as email encryption.

For specific questions about data security, contact the OIT Information Security Officer.

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Of course, the OIT Help Desk is available for any questions you may have about Google Apps. We're open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Monday - Friday, and you can reach us at 426-4357, or via e-mail at helpdesk@boisestate.edu