How to customize your CenturyLink email

Here, we'll review the ways you can customize your inbox:

• Switch from modern (new) to classic (original) webmail
• Find your contacts in modern webmail

For the classic webmail: 

• Switch from standard to advanced email (and vice versa)
• Control spam and unsolicited emails (in advanced version only)
• Change the reading pane for your comfort
• Show images 
• View by message or by conversation
• Automatic spell check prior to sending a message 
• Add a personalized signature to your emails
• Remove ads from your inbox 
• Change text size

You might prefer the look and functionality of the classic, original webmail. If so, you can still use it — for one session or permanently.

There are two versions of the classic CenturyLink webmail:

Advanced (recommended) — This version includes dynamic features that run best in modern browsers. Choose this option if you have a high-speed internet connection and are using an up-to-date browser.

Standard — Choose this option if you are using a dial-up internet connection, an older browser or have an older computer.

To change from one to the other, click the Preferences tab at the top of your CenturyLink inbox. In the Login Options section, select which version you'd like to use. Then click the "Save" button, located at the top left.

CenturyLink email contains a powerful spam filter to help you take control of your inbox. When a message is being received, it is either identified as spam, and discarded, or clean mail, and delivered to your inbox.

Most spam filtering is handled by the spam filter before those email messages reach your inbox. If you do not see any, or many unwanted messages in your inbox, that's a sign that the spam filter is working.

Messages that are suspected to be junk or spam, but could be valid, are placed in your Junk folder. You can review these messages and either move them out of the Junk folder or delete them. If you do not move or delete the messages, they are purged after a number of days.

If you are finding a large number of unwanted email messages in you Junk folder, contact us. Reporting email as spam helps us to improve the spam filtering.

None — This option turns off advanced spam filters. Messages suspected as spam will be delivered to your inbox.  This is the option with the highest risk.

Low — Only the most obvious spam messages are identified and routed to your spam folder. Some spam messages may be delivered to your Inbox.

Medium (recommended) — Almost all spam will be identified and delivered to your spam folder. Check your spam folder every few days to make sure wanted email was not accidentally delivered there.

High — Virtually all spam will be identified and delivered to your spam folder. This high level of filtering may inadvertently send wanted messages to your spam folder. Check your spam folder regularly to make sure wanted email was not accidentally delivered there.

1. Select the message in your inbox
2. On the toolbar, select Spam
3. You can also right-click the message and select "Mark as Spam"
4. The email is moved to your junk folder

Sometimes messages that are not junk are placed in the junk folder. You can move the messages to the appropriate folder by dragging it or right-click the message and select "Mark as Not Spam". The message will then be moved to your inbox.

If you notice that certain email addresses are always being incorrectly delivered to either your inbox or junk folder, you can flag those addresses to be blocked or not blocked.

1. Go to Preferences > Mail.
2. Scroll to the Spam Mail Options section.
3. In the Block messages from text box, enter email addresses that should always be treated as junk. You can list up to 100 addresses.
4. In the Allow messages from text box, enter email addresses you trust that are mistakenly being delivered to your junk folder. Messages from these email addresses will now be unblocked and delivered to your inbox. You can list up to 100 addresses.
5. Click Save.

You can turn the reading pane on or off. In the advanced version of webmail, you can choose between displaying the reading pane on the right or on the bottom of the screen. If you choose to turn the reading pane off entirely, double click on the email subject line in the list to view your email message.

In the advanced version: 
Click the "View" drop down in the top navigation. From there you can choose to have your email messages shown at the bottom, on the right or turned off entirely.

In the standard version: 
You can turn the reading pane on or off by clicking on the "Preferences" tab at top of the page, then click the "Mail" tab at the top. Uncheck the box next to "Reading Pane" to remove it, or check the box to add it.

When the reading pane is on, it will appear on right side of the page.

By default, images sent in HTML emails are not shown automatically. Instead you need to click on the Display Images link at the top of the email you're viewing.

You can select to have images display automatically in HTML emails:

1. Click the "Preferences" tab.
2. Then click on "Mail" in the left navigation.
3. In the "Displaying Messages" section, next to "Images," check the box next to "Download pictures automatically in HTML Email."

You can choose to have your inbox organized by message or by conversation by clicking on the "View" drop down in the top navigation.

By Message
When you organize your email by message, emails are displayed with the most recent message listed first.

By Conversation
When you organize your email by conversation, your messages are grouped by the subject.  

The subject displays only once in the conversation view pane. The number of messages in the conversation is displayed in parentheses after the subject. When new email comes in, the conversation is moved to the top of your email messages. Conversations containing unread messages are shown in bold.

Double click the conversation to display the messages within the conversation. Click a message to display its contents.

All messages related to the conversation are displayed, even if the messages are stored in other folders. Look to the "Folder" column to see where the message is stored.

Conversations do not continue indefinitely. If the last message in the conversation is 30 days old or older, new messages or replies sent with the same subject begin a new conversation.

You can automatically check the spelling of the messages you compose:
 

1. Go to the "Preferences" tab in the top navigation
   
2. Click on "Composing" on the left side of the page
   
3. Check the box next to "Mandatory spell check before sending a message."
   

You can automatically add a signature to your outgoing emails, so you don't have to copy or type it every time.

For example, your signature could read:

John Smith
Vice President of Engineering
Widgets Division
Acme Corporation, Inc.
303-555-1212 x111
john.smith@example.com

To add a signature:

1. Click on the "Preferences" tab at the top of your inbox
   
2. "Signatures" on left
   
3. Add a signature (be sure to give it a name or it will not save) and choose whether you want it to appear above or below your messages
   
4. Click the "Save" button at the top left

We realize that some CenturyLink customers don't want to see third-party advertisements while checking their CenturyLink email.

To remove the banner advertisements from your email reader:

1. Go to the AdChoices page.
2. Log in with your username and password, if you haven't already.
3. Then, select off in the Email Ad Controls section.
4. Click on the "Save" button.

You can also get to the AdChoices page by clicking on the AdChoices icon (above the ad) when viewing your CenturyLink email online.

That's it!  By choosing off, third-party ads will NOT appear on the left side of the page when viewing your email online.  

The easiest way to change the font size in most popular browsers is to hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, and then press the plus (+) key to make on-screen text larger, or the minus/hyphen (-) key to make on-screen text smaller. You can continue to press either of the two keys to adjust the text size to your liking.

Or, if you have a mouse with a wheel you may be able to increase and decrease the size of your fonts in your browser by holding down the Ctrl key, and while continuing to hold down the key, move the mouse wheel up or down.