User Guide Table of Contents - e

User Guide
Table of Contents
What is e-bluey? ............................................................................................. 2
What is Photo-Bluey? ...................................................................................... 2
What size photos can I insert in my e-bluey? ..................................................... 2
Who is entitled to use the service? .................................................................... 2
What is Fax-bluey? ......................................................................................... 2
What is Fax2email? ......................................................................................... 3
Getting Help ................................................................................................... 3
Creating an e-bluey Account ........................................................................... 4
Adding a Recipient to your Address Book ....................................................... 8
Civilian and BFPO Addresses ............................................................................ 8
Adding a BFPO Address ................................................................................... 8
Adding a Civilian Address ................................................................................. 9
Checking Your Profile ................................................................................... 11
Composing and Sending e-blueys ................................................................. 13
Selecting a Recipient ..................................................................................... 13
Composing an e-bluey ................................................................................... 13
Reviewing a Letter ........................................................................................ 14
Confirming an Order ..................................................................................... 14
Sending an e-bluey by email .......................................................................... 15
Saving Draft e-blueys .................................................................................... 16
Tracking a Letter .......................................................................................... 18
Saving an e-bluey to your PC ......................................................................... 19
Viewing and Printing an e-bluey...................................................................... 20
Deleting an e-bluey ....................................................................................... 21
Managing Your Address Book ....................................................................... 22
Adding Address Book Entries .......................................................................... 22
Editing Address Book Entries .......................................................................... 22
Deleting Address Book Entries ........................................................................ 24
Auto-Creating an e-bluey Account ................................................................... 24
Adding a Photo to an e-bluey........................................................................ 27
Downloading the Desktop Application .......................................................... 31
Abusing the System and User Blacklisting .................................................... 31
E-bluey Threshold Limits .............................................................................. 31
Contacting Customer Service ........................................................................ 33
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What is e-bluey?
When the British Forces are deployed on operations they are entitled to free aerogrammes (colloquially known as
"blueys" because of their colour) to and from their families and friends. This service has been in place for a
considerable time. blueys as we know them today were issued for the first time during the early days of the Northern
Ireland deployment. More recently, BFPO working in conjunction with SuperLetter.com has pioneered an electronic
form of the bluey known as ' e-bluey '.
The e-bluey is a Hybrid mail system that allows service personnel, relatives and friends to maintain a personal and
private contact with each other while serving on operations or exercise for more than 60 days duration.
You can compose your letter online or offline (using a word processor or the Desktop Application, refer to the “Desktop
Application” section). When you send your letter, it is delivered to the e-bluey server, where it is stored prior to being
down-loaded by the Regional Post Office (RPO) in the appropriate operational theatre, or by BFPO Northolt and
Defence Mail Centres for e-blueys addressed to the UK.
At the RPO, the letter is printed and sealed before being passed into the local RPO/Royal Mail mailstream. The system
is private and personal as the text is only seen by the originator and the recipient. The specialist machinery prints and
seals it automatically without the e-bluey being seen by the operator. The service is free to the user, although the
MOD pays a fee for each letter transmitted. By downloading the letters at the RPOS, the time of transmission of a
letter to the addressee can be dramatically reduced, as it is not necessary to physically transport the letter through the
military mail system between theatres.
What is Photo-Bluey?
Photo-bluey is an feature within e-bluey that allows you to insert a colour or black & white photo at the top of an ebluey. The maximum photo print area is 7 ¼” w x 4 ½ ”h. All e-bluey accounts are automatically enabled for PhotoBluey.
Note: During the first phase all photos (colour or b&w) will be printed in black & white only. The long term goal is to
deploy color printers to select BFPO locations to allow colour printing of your e-blueys and photos.
What size photos can I insert in my e-bluey?
You can browse your PC and insert any photo of any size. The photo print area on your e-bluey is a maximum of 7 ¼”
w x 4 ½ ”h. Photos less than 7 ¼” w x 4 ½ ”h will be printed in the actual size. Photos larger than 7 ¼” w x 4 ½ ”h will
be reduced proportionately to fit as closely as possible to 7 ¼” w x 4 ½ ”h.
Who is entitled to use the service?
Family and friends of HM Forces or MOD civilians, serving at an operational location or exercise overseas, are entitled
to use the e-bluey service.
What is Fax-bluey?
A fax-bluey is basically the same as an e-bluey, however it allows you to create a hand written e-bluey without the use
of a computer.
Where on-line access is not available, you may send e-blueys via fax. You can obtain a fax-bluey form from the Unit
Post Orderly, RPO or HIVE personnel. You will then compose the letter by hand on the fax-bluey form and at the
bottom of the form in the “to” box you need to CLEARLY specify the name and address of the person to whom you are
writing. In the “from” box you must write your own name and address.
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When you have completed your letter, take it to a HIVEs office, Welfare office or RPO to be scanned in (using a
special e-bluey fax scanner) and sent to the e-bluey server.
Once loaded onto the server your letter then follows the same procedure as a normal e-bluey.
What is Fax2email?
Fax2email is virtually the same as the fax-bluey, except that in the “to” box you must write CLEARLY AND IN LARGE
PRINT the e-mail address of the person to whom you are writing.
Getting Help
Please note that online Help is available on the e-bluey site in multiple forms:
1) Context Sensitive Help is available by simply clicking on the
icon found on most pages.
2) Help on many topics is available on the Menu Bar under the “Help” tab.
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Creating an e-bluey Account
Go to www.ebluey.com and click the [New e-bluey Account] link.
On the next screen, enter the Verification Code (not case sensitive) in the box provided, then enter YOUR email
address and click [Continue to Next Step].
Read the Disclaimer and the Terms and Conditions and click [Accept] to continue. Clicking [Decline] will terminate the
Registration process.
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READ THE INSTRUCTION ON THE NEXT SCREEN CAREFULLY! Your choice on the next page is EXTREMELY
important as it determines how your account is created and the BFPO locations to which you can send letters. If YOU
are deployed on an Operational Exercise and wish to send e-blueys back to Friends and Family in the UK or to other
Operational locations then select “Yes”. If YOU reside in the UK or another Country and wish to send e-blueys to
soldiers deployed at Operational locations then select “No”. (this manual illustrates the “No” option.)
Next, select YOUR country of residence from the drop-down list and click [Continue].
Fill in YOUR (the account holder’s) name, address, and password details. When done, click [Continue]. Notes: The
Password is a password of your choice and will be used along with your email address to login into your new account.
The password may be any combination of letters and numbers. Only the fields preceded by
are mandatory. Other
fields are optional.
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Select the [Continue] button and an activation email will be sent to your email account.
If the email does not arrive within a few minutes, check your Spam or Junk folders. Ensure that your mail settings will
accept emails from [email protected]. You may also resend the email by attempting to login to e-bluey site,
and selecting the “Resend Email” button.
Select the link in the activation email in order to complete the registration process.
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Once you have successfully registered your account, you will be logged into e-bluey. Upon your first login, you are
presented with a Welcome message. After reading the notice, select [Delete the notice (Below) and Proceed to
Address Book] in order to begin using the application. Future notifications may be presented in the same space as the
Welcome message, when you log into your account.
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Adding a Recipient to your Address Book
In order to send e-blueys, you must add recipients to your address book (the person to whom you wish to send eblueys). To do this, select [Add New Contact] from the Address book interface.
Civilian and BFPO Addresses
If you are serving at a BFPO location you may set up recipients at civilian addresses or at other BFPO locations and
will be presented with the option for which you would like to set up (following screen shot). Civilian users may only set
up recipients at BFPO locations and will proceed directly to the BFPO Location interface.
Adding a BFPO Address
Fill in your Recipient’s information, including Rank, First Name, Last Name, Dept/Sub Unit, Ship Name/Unit, BFPO
Group, and BFPO No. Note: selecting a BFPO group will narrow the options available in the BFPO No. menu. When
complete, select the [Save] button. Note: Only the fields preceded by
are mandatory. Other fields, like the Middle
Name and Email Address are optional.
Entering an email address will allow you to send e-blueys to your recipient by email. To do so, after entering in the
recipient’s email address, select “Email” as the “Delivery Method.”
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After selecting save, the system displays the address book with your newly added recipient. This is the default screen
from which you can access all available functions of the application.
Below is an example and some additional information on how to complete the information required to set up a BFPO
recipient.
Service Number: 123456789
Rank: Maj (Other examples: CPO/Pte/LCpl/ Maj/SAC/Flt Lt )
First Name: John
Middle Name: (not mandatory)
Last Name: Smith
Department \ Sub Unit: Battery (Other examples: Troop, Company, Squadron or any Sub Unit)
Ship Name \ Unit: (Include the Name of Ship, Naval Party, Regiment, RAF Squadron)
Email Address: [email protected] (not mandatory)
BFPO Group: In order to help you find a specific BFPO, they are organized by region/group. Selecting a BFPO group
will constrain the BFPO No. menu to only display those BFPOs in that region.
BFPO No.: Select the BFPO where your recipient is serving.
Adding a Civilian Address
If you are serving at a BFPO location, you may add civilian recipients to your address book. To do so, select “Civilian”
from for question “Are you writing to a Civilian or BFPO location?”
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Fill in your Recipient’s information, including First Name, Last Name, Address, City, and Postcode. When complete,
select the [Save] button. Note: Only the fields preceded by
are mandatory. Other fields, like the Middle Name and
Email Address are optional.
Entering an email address will allow you to send e-blueys to your recipient by email. To do so, after entering in the
recipient’s email address, select “Email” as the “Delivery Method.” If you fill in your Recipient’s email address you will
have the ability to Auto-Create an e-bluey account for your Recipient to send e-bluey back to you. (See the section
“Auto-Creating an e-bluey Account” for additional details.)
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Select [Save] to add the new civilian recipient and return to your address book.
Checking Your Profile
In order to verify that your account details were entered correctly, you may view your profile information. On the Menu
Bar select “Main”, then select “Update Your Profile”. Once you have verified and/or updated your account information,
click [Save] to save your updates or the Back button to return to your Address Book.
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Your Address Book will once again be displayed.
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Composing and Sending e-blueys
Selecting a Recipient
In your Address Book check the box next to the desired Recipient(s) and select the “Send to selected” button.
Alternatively, select the mail icon in the “Send Mail” column next to the recipient’s name.
Composing an e-bluey
To compose your e-bluey, simply type or cut & paste your letter text into the Letter Body area.
Note: The default Time & Date Stamp on the “Subject” line may be overwritten with your own text. When done, click
[Continue].
NOTE: For instructions on Adding a Photo to your e-bluey see the section titled “Adding a Photo to an e-bluey”. For
instructions on saving a draft and returning to the letter later, see the section on “Saving Draft e-blueys.”
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Reviewing a Letter
On the Letter Review page, review your letter. If changes are required, click your Browser’s [Back] button to return to
the Letter Create page. When you are satisfied with the letter, click [Send E-Bluey].
Confirming an Order
An e-bluey Confirmation page will then be displayed. It is highly recommended that you Print this page for your
records, or at the very least, record the Tracking Number. When done, you can click the “Return to Address book” link
to return to your Address Book, click the “Log off” link to log off the site, or click the “Delivery Status” to go to the
Delivery Status Report.
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Sending an e-bluey by email
Service members may send correspondence (e-bluey or photo-bluey) to civilian addresses by e-mail. To do so, users
must set up recipients to receive e-mail e-blueys.
When entering recipient information, include an e-mail address in the “Email Address” field and indicate “Email” is the
preferred “Delivery Method.” The onus is on the Service Member to ensure that it is a valid (and correct) e-mail
address. (The system cannot determine if the e-mail was successfully received at the recipient’s email account.) Note
that e-mail e-blueys cannot be sent to an Operational Location.
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When an e-bluey is sent to a recipient with e-mail as their preferred delivery method, the e-bluey will be sent by e-mail.
The e-bluey will arrive as an e-mail sent form [email protected] as a pdf attachment.
Saving Draft e-blueys
When composing an e-bluey, you may save what you have written and return to it later. This section covers the
process for saving and returning to draft correspondence.
When in the letter composition interface, select the [Save Draft] button to save a draft copy of the letter. You will be
returned to the address book interface and a copy of your letter will be saved.
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To return to your draft correspondence, from your address book select the recipient you were writing to when you
saved the draft and the [Compose E-Bluey] option. In the letter composition interface, there will be an option to [Select
Draft] available.
Click the [Select Draft] option to be shown a list of the draft correspondences that have been saved. To return to your
draft correspondence, click the [Select] option next to the item you would like to select. You may also delete drafts by
selecting the [Delete] option.
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Tracking a Letter
On the Delivery Status Report page, check the box to the left of “Stage 1” to view the letter you just sent or check all of
the Stages to view the Status of all letters sent within the last 60 days. Then click [View Report].
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Saving an e-bluey to your PC
On the Delivery Status Report, click the
following screens.
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to Save a copy of your letter to your PC follow the prompts through the
Viewing and Printing an e-bluey
Click the
icon to View and/or Print a copy of your letter. This will open a new window displaying a copy of your
letter formatted as it will be printed. To print a copy of the letter, use the browser’s “Print” functionality (typically the
“Print” command under the “File” menu). Close the window to return to the Delivery Status Report.
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Deleting an e-bluey
On the Delivery Status Report, click the
letter in Stage 1.
icon on the row of the desired letter and follow the Prompts to Delete any
At any point you may select the “Logout” on the navigation bar to log out of the application.
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Managing Your Address Book
Adding Address Book Entries
See the section Adding a Recipient to your Address Book for details on adding new address book entries. To begin the
process, click the [Add New Contact] button below your address book.
Once complete, your new Recipient will be displayed in your Address Book.
Editing Address Book Entries
To Edit an Address Book entry, click the [
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] icon to the right of the Recipient you wish to edit.
On the recipient details page, change the desired fields and click [Save] when finished or the Back button to return to
your Address Book without saving.
You will be returned to your Address Book and the recipient’s information will be updated.
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Deleting Address Book Entries
To Delete an Address Book entry, click the [
] icon to the left of the Recipient entry to be deleted.
You will be presented with a confirmation page. To cancel the deletion, click [No]. To delete the recipient from your
address book, select [Yes].
After selecting [Yes], you will be returned to your Address Book and the Deleted entry will be gone.
Auto-Creating an e-bluey Account
If you are serving at a BFPO location, the Auto-Create functionality allows you to automatically create an e-bluey
account for any Civilian Recipient in your Address Book.
To begin, select the [
] icon to the right of the Recipient you wish to create an account for.
Ensure that you have added the Recipient’s email address to their Address Book entry. To add an email address,
Update the Recipient’s email address in the indicated field – see the section above titled “Editing Address Book
Entries”.
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You will be asked to confirm that you want to create an account:
Click [YES} to Auto-Create and account for the Recipient. The following Confirmation Message will be displayed
indicating that a new account has been created for your selected Recipient.
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.
To return to the address book, select the [Delete this Message and Proceed to Address Book] button.
Your Recipient will be sent an e-bluey informing them that you have created a new e-bluey account for them and how
to get started:
“An E-Bluey Account was automatically Created for you by Mary Smith.
Your Member Login is [[email protected]] and temporary password is [password].
To log in to your account using this username and password please go to http://www.ebluey.com -!
You can then go to Update Your Profile to change your temporary password. Please read the many
Help routines located on every page to assist you in sending your first letter.”
They may log into their new e-bluey account using the username (their email address) and password provided in the
email.
Their Address Book will already contain your Name and Address details and so they can immediately send you an ebluey:
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Adding a Photo to an e-bluey
After selecting a Recipient from your Address Book and clicking [Send to selected] you will be advanced to the letter
composition page. To add a photo to your e-bluey click the “Add photo” link.
The following series of dialog boxes will guide you through browsing your PC, selecting a photo file, and uploading the
photo to the server. On the first screen, click the [Browse] option to open the navigation screen.
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Locate the desired photo on your local computer and select “Open”. Note that you must select a GIF, JPEG, or BMP
file formatted image.
Your picture will be displayed when the upload has completed. Click [Close] to close the window and return to the
letter composition page.
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Type or cut & paste your letter into the “Create Letter” box then click [Continue].
On the Letter Review page you will have the opportunity to review your letter. If changes are required use your
browser’s “Back” button to return to the Letter Composition page. When you are satisfied with your letter, click
[Continue] to return to the Letter Review page.
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To see how your letter will look when it is printed click the [Print Preview] button. This will display the letter in a new
window; click the “X” in the upper right hand corner of the browser window to close the Preview window and return to
the Letter Review screen. Select the [Send E-bluey] button to send the e-bluey. You will be presented with a
Confirmation page. For additional information on the confirmation, see the “Order Confirmation” and “Tracking an ebluey” subsections under “Composing and Sending an e-bluey”.
Downloading the Desktop Application
If you would like to create letter content offline and send them when you later have access to the internet, the e-bluey
desktop application will allow you to do so. With the Desktop Application, you may compose your letters and save
them on your local computer. When you have access to the internet, you may send the letters. (You will be asked to
choose the recipients of the letter at the time of sending.)
The application may be downloaded from the Software Downloads option under the Help menu:
Abusing the System and User Blacklisting
In the case that a user has abused the system, system administrators may put the user’s account on the “blacklist”.
Accounts on the blacklist cannot access the e-bluey system. If your account has been blacklisted you will see a
warning message when you attempt to logon to your account: “Your account has been deactivated. Please contact
BFPO System Administrator at +44 (0) 208 589 3499”. If you are in active service, your account will be removed from
the blacklist after 6 months.
E-bluey Threshold Limits
Each BFPO location is limited in the number of pages of e-blueys that it may send and receive in a given day. If the
number of pages at your location or that of one of your recipients is changed, you will see notification of the update the
next time you log into the system.
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If you attempt to send an e-bluey to a location that has exceeded its threshold limit or if your location has exceeded its
daily limit, you will be notified before that e-bluey cannot be sent when you attempt to send it:
Selecting [OK] from the notification will be return you to the “Send e-bluey” interface where the user for which the letter
cannot be delivered is identified in red and a message is displayed indicating that the user has exceeded their daily
limit.
In the case that you were sending an e-bluey to multiple recipients, the recipient whose BFPO has exceeded the limit
(or that put your BFPO over the limit) is identified in red:
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Contacting Customer Service
If you would like to contact customer service, you may do so through the e-bluey application. To begin, select the
Contact Customer Care option from the Help menu. This will display the interface for logging and sending requests to
customer service.
Enter the required information in the fields provided (Your name, email, the request type, e.g., “Help” Request or
“Suggestion”, a summary, and any information you would like to send to Customer Service-in the Comments section).
Select [Send Request] to send the item to customer service. You will receive a confirmation message which includes a
Unique Reference Identification Number (URID#) for the request. An email confirming the request will be sent to the
email address entered with the request.
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