Problems, Known Issues and Workarounds
Q: The “Download All Attachments” button doesn’t work for me. When I click it, it takes me back to my inbox.
This is a known issue caused by the # sign appearing within the subject of an email message. Remove the # sign from the subject line and then attempt to use the “Download All Attachment” feature.
Q: 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.
Q: 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.
Q: 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.
General Questions
Q: What is the file attachment size limit for Gmail file attachments?
The file attachment size limit is 25 megabytes.
Q: How Can I Learn to Use Google Apps?
- The Google Apps Support features online, self-paced tutorials providing Google Apps instruction in an educational context.
- New Google Apps features are released often (sometimes more than once a week); learn about these enhancements in BroncoBytes.
- Can’t find an answer to your question? Contact the OIT Help Desk by phone at 426-4357, by email at helpdesk@boisestate.edu, or submit a request to us 24/7 at Help Desk Self Service.
Q: 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.
Q: How do I configure Google Calendar event acceptance?
You can choose how Google Calendar handles calendar items. Options are:
- Google Calendar will automatically accept all calendar invitations;
- Google Calendar will automatically accept all calendar invitations, but will not prompt with event reminders (notifications) unless you have responded to an invitation; or,
- 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.
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.
Q: How can I retract a message?
You can enable a 10 second window to cancel a message after clicking “Send.”
Within Gmail, go to Gear > 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.
Q: 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.
Learn more about Google’s Conversation View on Google’s website.
Q: 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.
Q: 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, available using Google Chrome. Learn more on Google’s website.
Q: 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.
Q: Can I log in to more than one Google account from my internet browser?
One option for accessing multiple Google Apps or Gmail accounts in the same web browser is to use the incognito mode feature of the Google Chrome web browser. Incognito mode opens a separate session that does not share any of the cookies or data with other running Google Chrome windows.
To open a page in Incognito mode, click the wrench icon in the top right of the Chrome Browser and select New incognito window. Use this window to go to the Gmail or Google Apps sign in page and log in with the desired account.
More information on managing multiple Google accounts can be found on Google’s site.
Q: 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.
Q: 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.
Q: How do I send mass email messages to campus using Gmail?
See our information on the University’s Institutional Messaging Policy.
Security and Privacy
Q: 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.
Q: Is my data private with Google Apps for Employees?
Yes:
- Google does not own your data.
- Google does not share your data. There are a few exceptions in the Privacy Policy (court order, imminent threat to life).
- Google keeps the data as long as you want.
- Google deletes the data when you ask.
- Google allows you to take the data out of its system.
For further reference, see http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html
For a clearly-worded explanation of Google’s privacy and security policies, seehttp://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=60762
Q: How secure is our data if it is 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.
Of course, the OIT Help Desk is available for any questions you may have about Google Apps. We’re open 7:00 am – 10:00 pm Monday – Thursday, and 7:00 am – 6:00 pm Friday. Contact us at 426-4357, or via e-mail at helpdesk@boisestate.edu.
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