FirstClass Email:

Connect From Home & Away

Introduction
Using Web Browsers
Using FirstClass Software on Your Laptop
Using FirstClass Software on a Home Computer

Introduction

You can connect to FirstClass not only while you are at Pike School, but also from home or while you are traveling. You can use 2 different software packages to connect.

• Web browser (Safari, Internet Explorer). You can use a Web browser from any computer that is connected to the Internet -- for example, in a library, hotel, or Internet cafe. See Using Web Browsers, below.
• FirstClass software. Alternatively, if you have an Internet connection at home, then you can use FirstClass software in the same way that you do at Pike School. See Using FirstClass Software on Your Laptop or Using FirstClass Software on Your Home Computer, below.

Using Web Browsers

Before you begin, you must request the internet address of our email system from a member of the Technology Department. We do not post this address publicly.

After you have the internet address of our email system, go to any Internet-connected computer (including your laptop) and start a Web browser (e.g., start Internet Explorer or Safari).

Type the internet address provided by the Technology Department.

When prompted, enter your FirstClass User ID and Password, and then click Login.

Using FirstClass Software on Your Laptop

If you can connect your laptop to the Internet at home or at any other location (Starbuck's cafe, hotel, and so forth), you can use FirstClass software in the same way you do at school.

Wired/Ethernet

If the network is wired, simply connect an Ethernet cable between your laptop and a wall port, cable/DSL modem, or router. (A router is a small box that connects the computers on a network to the Internet), whichever is appropriate for your network.

Then start FirstClass software and login as usual.

Wireless

If the network is wireless, then...

After starting your laptop and logging in as usual, look at the Airport icon at the upper right. Make sure that you see 3-4 black bars (not gray bars):

If you do not see 3-4 black bars, follow the trouble-shooting procedures below. If you do see 3-4 black bars, skip to the next step.

• To trouble-shoot, click again on the Airport icon. Then select Turn Airport Off. Wait a few seconds. Then click the Airport icon again and select Turn Airport On. If you still do not see 3-4 black bars, go to the next bullet.
• Click again on the Airport icon. Look for the name of your network (for example, linksys or Netgear) about halfway down the menu.
  
  You should see a check mark to the left of the network name. If you do not see the check mark, click the network name to force a connection and produce a check mark. Depending on how the network was set up, you may need a password. You will need to consult the person who set up the network or another system administrator to determine the password.
  
  If you do not see a network name but you do see 3-4 black bars, your connection is OK and you can skip the remainder of the trouble-shooting steps.
  
  If you do not see a network name and the Airport icon bars are still gray, skip to the next bullet.
• If the Airport icon still does not display 3-4 black bars, restart your computer. If restarting doesn't help, call the Technology Department for assistance.

When your Airport icon shows 3-4 black bars, you can start FirstClass software and login as usual.

Using FirstClass Software on a Home Computer

To use FirstClass on your personal, home computer, you must first download and install a free copy of FirstClass client software.

Go to: http://www.firstclass.com/ClientDownloads/

You will see the following links. Click the link appropriate for your computer:

	Link	Explanation
	Windows	Windows 98 or later
	Mac OS	Older versions of Macintosh (System 9 or earlier)
	Mac OSX	Macintosh OS X

On the next screen, click the link entitled Step 1…click here.

When prompted, click Save to begin downloading the software to your hard disk. Then in the next window, navigate to a folder on your hard disk where you wish to save the software, and click Save again. Please note the name of the file being downloaded (for example, FC8047US.exe) and the folder where you are saving it. You should see an indicator showing the progress of the software download.

When the download is complete, open the folder where you saved the downloaded software. Double-click the file you downloaded to begin installation. Click Next or Yes repeatedly, following the prompts shown by the installer. When the installation is complete, click Finish.

After the installation is complete, you must configure FirstClass to look for Pike's email server, as follows.

If the installer did not start FirstClass for you, double-click the FirstClass application icon to open FirstClass now.

On the initial FirstClass screen, click Setup.

On the following screen, locate the Server field and enter: fc.pikeschool.org

Click Save to return to the login screen.

You're done! Login as usual.