Advanced email tips CC and BCC fields

Hide who else you're sending to with BCC

As well as the To field, most email programs have CC (carbon copy) and BCC (blind carbon copy) fields that allow you to copy your email to others. Say you're sending an email inviting your father out for an evening. By adding two addresses to the CC field, you can ensure your wife and mother know all about it. When you use the CC field, all recipients are aware of who has been copied in on the email.

The BCC field, on the other hand, can be used when you don't want the recipient to know who else has received a copy of your email or to help protect your email contacts from receiving spam. To activate the BCC field in Outlook Express:

Open a new message then click All headers.

If the contacts you wish to BCC are in your address book:

Write your message as normal, add a contact to the To field then click the CC button below. Highlight the people you wish to BCC, then click the BCC button. Click OK. A new BCC field will appear for you to fill in.

When you send an email using the BCC field, all the recipients listed in it will receive the email, but see only names or addresses listed in the To, CC and From fields.