I have some questions about Mail. When composing an email there are several email fields that one can use (e.g. “To”, “Cc”, “Bcc”, and “Reply To”). I know that “Cc stands for Carbon Copy and “Bcc” stands for Blank Carbon Copy. I know “Bcc” sends a copy of the email to someone else without disclosing their email for everyone to see. I also know that “CC” simply is a copy of the email. In what circumstances would these fields be used? Why not just address everyone in the “To” field instead of “Cc”? I think this question would actually make for a great video (if it isn’t already), because I feel that most people do not know exactly when and how to use all the address fields in Mail.
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Matt
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How to appropriately use address fields in Mail
Comments: 3 Responses to “How to appropriately use address fields in Mail”
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BCC stands for "Blind" carbon copy. Blind, because the person getting the email as a BCC doesn't know who else received it.
So you would use CC in a case where you are sending a message to someone, and you want to also send a copy of that email to someone else who the message is not directed to.
For instance, I email my friend Bill to say "Lets meet at the bar to watch the game tomorrow night." I might CC my wife on that email to let her know that I will be out tomorrow night. The message is meant for Bill, but the I want to make sure my wife gets a copy.
BCC is used when you want a lot of people to get the same message, but not know who else got it. For instance, I may email 20 friends to see who wants to watch the game tomorrow, but I don't want everyone getting a long list of "to" or "cc" email addresses and then being able to see who I invited and who I didn't.
There is also a "Reply To" field. When is that necessary?
That is used when the person hits a "reply" button to send you a reply. For instance, you may send your email using one account (the "from") but you want them to reply to another account (the "reply-to"). In most cases these will be the same. But sometimes it is easier to send from one account (perhaps while traveling or using a phone) and you still want to get their response later on in your main account.