How to Use the Carbon Copy Function in E-mail

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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The carbon copy function in many e-mail programs lets you send a copy of your message to one or more people.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Open your e-mail software.
Step 2

From the Message or File menu, select New Message. A new message opens.
Step 3

Type the recipient's e-mail address in the To field. Enter a subject in the Subject field, and type in your message in the main field.
Step 4

Enter the addresses that you want to receive a copy in the CC field. Separate each address by a comma or a semicolon, depending on your e-mail program. For example, your CC field could look like this: mymail@sendit.com, betsy@something.com, tom@somethingelse.com.
Step 5

Click Send. The message will be sent to the first recipient, and each person in the CC field will receive a copy.

Tips & Warnings

There really isn't a practical difference between using the To or CC field. Everyone gets the same message. At work, though, the CC field is sometimes useful to merely inform colleagues of information they might be interested in, but shouldn't have to take action on.
Some e-mail programs have a BCC (blind carbon copy) function. Other recipients don't see the BCC addresses; the BCC recipient, on the other hand, sees all To and CC recipients. To add a BCC recipient, you usually have to click the CC button or find a CC command.
If you are using a software program that uses the Nickname function (such as Eudora), or if you have entered the person or group in your Address Book (like you would in Outlook Express), you can simply enter the Nickname in the field or use the Select Recipient function instead of manually adding each e-mail address. Some e-mail programs also let you set up "group addresses" that group together the addresses of people you send to frequently - for example, the programming department. Then you only need to add the group address.
When you use the CC function, everyone who receives the message will be able to see the e-mail addresses of the other people who were sent the CC. Some may object to having their e-mail addresses distributed this way. Also, if the CC list is long, the recipients will have to scroll through a long, unsightly list of e-mail recipients to read the message.