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IT Services > Students > Google Apps > Frequently Asked Questions

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Google Applications

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I start using the service?

2. How do I use the service?

3. I'm having problems finding an e-mail message. What can I do?

4. I have unread e-mail messages that I can't find. How can I find them?

5. I want to access Google Mail / Calendar with a client such as Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook. How do I do this?

6. How do I search for staff or student e-mail addresses?

7. What happens to my Google account when I leave the University?

8. Having trouble connecting to the Google Service?

9. How do I share Google Documents?

10. How do I get Help or give Feedback?

1. How do I start using the service?

   Go to the Start Page at http://start.student.lboro.ac.uk/ and you can click through to read your e-mail and access the other services.

   As an alternative you can visit:

   • The Google Mail service at http://mail.student.lboro.ac.uk/

   • The Google Calendar service at http://calendar.student.lboro.ac.uk/

   • The Google Docs service at http://docs.student.lboro.ac.uk/

   • The Google Sites at http://sites.student.lboro.ac.uk/

   You then need to click Sign In and will then be asked to log in, as shown below. Use your normal University user name and password for this.

   

   After logging in you will be redirected to the Google service. Please note that the first time you connect you will be asked to accept Google's Terms of Service.

2. How do I use the service?

   When you log in to Google you will see the Start Page. This contains quick links to Google services including your e-mail and calendar, news and information from the University and the Students Union, and quick links to other IT services such as Learn and the Library Catalogue:

   

   This is your page - you can customise it by moving the blocks around and putting new services onto it. Click on the Add stuff button to find additional services. Google call these "Gadgets".

   From the Start Page at http://start.student.lboro.ac.uk/ you can click through to read your e-mail. The main page for the Google Mail service at http://mail.student.lboro.ac.uk/ looks like this:

   

   The Start Page also takes you to the Google Calendar service at http://calendar.student.lboro.ac.uk/:

   

   And the Google Docs service at http://docs.student.lboro.ac.uk/:

   

   And Google Sites at http://sites.student.lboro.ac.uk/. You can find further information on getting started with these and other Google services on our documentation page.

3. I'm having problems finding an e-mail message. What can I do?

   By default the Google Mail search facility does not search in your deleted messages and suspected junk mail ("spam"). Add in:anywhere to your search and these will be included too.

4. I have unread e-mail messages that I can't find. How can I find them?

   Use the Google Mail search facility to look for is:unread which will show you just the unread messages. You might also want to consider bookmarking this search for convenience.

5. I want to access Google Mail / Calendar with a client such as Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook. How do I do this?

   While our statistics show that most of you read your e-mail using a Web browser such as Firefox or Safari, we recognise that many of you will prefer to use a dedicated e-mail program such as Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook, or from a mobile phone. Google provide connection information.

   Use the following:

   Incoming (IMAP) server: imap.gmail.com
   Port: 993 (Use SSL)

   Outgoing (SMTP) server: smtp.gmail.com
   Port: 587 (Use TLS) or 465 (Use SSL)

   Please note that for IMAP and POP access your Google user name is your University e-mail address (e.g. F.Bloggs-12@student.lboro.ac.uk) rather than your University user name, and your password is your University password.

   Note that you must log in via the Web interface and enable IMAP.

6. How do I search for staff or student e-mail addresses?

   We have enabled the Google Apps built-in e-mail directory facility. This lets you search for other users by name. The Google system will also attempt to automatically complete e-mail addresses as you enter them.

   If you do not wish to appear in the e-mail directory, please contact the IT.Services@lboro.ac.uk.

7. What happens to my Google account when I leave the University?

   We have worked closely with Google and the University's Development and Alumni Relations Office to create an Alumni service. On completion of your course at Loughborough we will convert your Google Apps account automatically into an alumus account. This will let you keep your e-mail, contacts, documents etc. from Google Apps. Your old University student e-mail address will forward to the new Alumnus account for several months. More information on this service.

8. Having trouble connecting to the Google Service?

   Please try the following link to go directly to your Loughborough University Google Mail: https://mail.google.com/a/student.lboro.ac.uk.

   If you are still having trouble connecting to the Google service from your Web browser, e.g. due to corporate firewall restrictions, please try connecting via Anyconnect.

   If you are unable to run AnyConnect you may also wish to try our Remote Working Portal. After logging in to the site, click on the Student Email and Groupware link on the list of web bookmarks. Please note that you may need to select Load basic HTML to view your e-mail via the Remote Working Portal.

   

9. How do I share Google Documents?

   See the Google Help on Sharing Documents.

10. How do I Get Help or give Feedback?

    Please contact the Service Desk as usual if you have any feedback, queries or problems.