Chapter 8 Using Mailer

Mailer is a desktop application for sending, receiving, and managing your electronic mail (email) messages.

• "Starting Mailer"

• "Logging In to Your IMAP Inbox"

• "Using the Mailer Main Window"

• "Viewing Your Mail Messages"

• "Acting on Your Mail Messages"

• "Sending Mail Messages"

• "Editing and Formatting Outgoing Messages"

• "Creating and Using Mailboxes"

• "Printing Mail Messages"

• "Working with Attachments"

• "Customizing Mailer"

• "Using the File Selection Dialog Box"

• "Using Mailer Mnemonics and Keyboard Shortcuts "

The instructions in this chapter assume you are familiar with basic desktop skills and keyboard navigation.

For more information, see Chapter 1, Basic Skills and Appendix A, Keyboard Shortcuts for the Desktop. Many of the tasks you do in Mailer can be done using drag and drop.

Starting Mailer

Click the Mailer control in the Front Panel.

Figure 8-1 Mailer icons showing new, read, and no mail

When you start Mailer for the first time on your system, it looks for a local or remote Internet Messaging Access Protocol (IMAP) mailbox in your email setup.

• If the setup does not indicate the type of mailbox you have, Mailer prompts you to specify the mailbox type.

• If the setup indicates that your mailbox is local, Mailer opens your Inbox (which usually resides in the directory /var/mail/username).

• If the setup indicates that your mailbox is remote, Mailer opens the Mailer Login dialog box so you can log in to the IMAP server.

After Mailer starts, the mailbox is displayed, along with message headers and a view of the selected message.

Logging In to Your IMAP Inbox

With the Login dialog box displayed, do the following:

1. Type the server name in the IMAP Server field.

   The name that you type in this field becomes the default. Next time you log in, Mailer displays it in the IMAP Server field.

   To change this default, see "To Change the Default Mailbox Directory".

2. Type your login name in the Login field.

3. Type your password in the Password field.

4. Determine when you want Mailer to load attachment contents when it loads messages.

   To have Mailer load both the message text and attachment contents when it retrieves a message, select Always under Retrieve attachments.

   To have Mailer load the message text but not the attachment contents when it retrieves a message, select When Open under Retrieve attachments. Mailer will retrieve the contents of the attachment when you double-click the attachment icon.

5. Click Login.

   Your IMAP Inbox opens.

Using the Mailer Main Window

The Mailer main window is shown in Figure 8-2.

Figure 8-2 Mailer main window

The main window contains the following areas:

Viewing Your Mail Messages

Once you've started Mailer and begun to collect email messages, you'll want to read and perhaps sort them.

To Read a Mail Message

1. Choose Check for New Mail from the Mailbox menu to retrieve any new messages that have been delivered to your mailbox.

2. Click to select the message to be viewed from the Message Header List.

   The text of the message is displayed in the message view area.

   Use the Next and Previous buttons on the Toolbar or options on the View menu to continue to select and read messages in the message view area.

   To open a message into a separate window for reading:

Select the message and choose Open from the Message menu. From this window, the Edit and Attachments menus become available.

The message remains in the separate window even when you select another message in your Message Header List. You can then view two messages at the same time.

To Change the Character Set of an Incoming Message

On occasion, you may receive an email message from a machine that uses an encoding that is different from the default encoding for your machine. To be able to read the message, change the character set for your machine to one that matches the message's encoding (for example, US-ASCII).

1. Select the message in the Message Header List.

2. Choose Change Char Set from the View menu or press Control+Y, the keyboard accelerator.

   Mailer displays the name of a character set (for example, US-ASCII) in the footer immediately below the Toolbar icons.

3. Choose the Change Char Set menu item or press Control+Y again to cycle through the choices until the correct one is displayed.

   Selecting Default Char Set displays your message in the default encoding for your machine.

   Mailer converts the text of the message to the character set that you selected, not its header or attachments.

Sorting Mail Messages

You can use the options on the View menu to order your messages.

The message headers are rearranged and redisplayed in the mailbox in the new order.

Acting on Your Mail Messages

After reading your email, you may want to reply to, search for, delete, and (possibly) undelete some messages.

To Reply to a Message

1. Select the message to which you want to reply.

2. Decide on the type of reply:

   • To reply to the sender, choose Reply from the Compose menu.

     A Compose window is displayed with the email address of the recipient and the message subject filled in.

   • To reply to the sender and all recipients, choose Reply to All from the Compose menu.

     A Compose window is displayed with the email addresses of the recipients and the subject of the message filled in.

   • To reply to the sender or all recipients and include a copy of the message, choose Reply, Include Message or Reply to All, Include Message from the Compose menu.

     A Compose window is displayed that includes the text of the message with the email addresses of the recipients and the subject filled in. Attachments are not included in the reply.

3. Type your reply and click Send.

   For more information, see "To Address, Compose, and Send a Mail Message".

To Forward a Message

1. Select the message you want to forward.

2. Choose Forward from the Compose menu, or click the Forward button on the Toolbar.

   The text of the message to be forwarded is displayed within a new message, as well as its attachments, if any.

   If you do not want to forward the attachments, choose Forward, no Attachments.

3. Type the addresses of the message recipients in the To or Cc fields, or use the To or Cc button menus to access any aliases that you have set up.

4. Add any additional text and click Send.

   See "To Address, Compose, and Send a Mail Message" for more information.

To Edit an Incoming Message

1. Select the message you want to change.

2. Choose Forward from the Compose menu.

3. Address the message to yourself.

4. Edit the message in the Compose window and send it.

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   Note -

   You may want to create a separate mailbox for these edited messages as they can add to the size of your Inbox.

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To Save an Incoming or an Outgoing Message as Text

1. For an incoming message: Select the message, then choose Save As Text from the Message menu.

   For an outgoing message: Choose Text from the Save As submenu of the File menu in a Compose window.

2. Type a file name and location in the File Selection dialog box that appears, then click Save or Append to either save the message to a new file or append it to an existing file.

   If you click Save and a file by that name already exists, you are asked whether you want to overwrite the file or cancel the operation.

To Delete a Mail Message

To remove a message from the Message Header List:

1. Select the message for deletion.

   You can drag to select multiple messages. Shift+Click selects several messages in a row by moving the highlight up or down the Message Header List. Control+Click selects discontiguous messages from the list, one at a time.

2. Choose Delete from the Message menu, or click the Delete button in the Toolbar.

   The messages are deleted from the list.

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   Note -

   Even if a message has been deleted, you can get it back unless you made your deletions permanent by choosing Destroy Deleted Messages from the Mailbox menu. See the following section.

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To Undelete a Mail Message

Do one of the following to undelete a mail message:

• To restore a message you just deleted, choose Undelete Last from the Message menu.

• To restore an earlier message, choose Undelete from List from the Message menu, then select one or more messages from the list of deleted messages, and click the Undelete button.

To make the deletions in the list permanent, choose Destroy Deleted Messages from the Mailbox menu.

To Destroy Deleted Messages When Closing the Mailbox

You can set your options so that when you close your mailbox, the messages you deleted will be permanently destroyed. Doing so means that once you close your mailbox, you cannot restore the messages that you deleted.

1. Choose Basic from the Options menu.

   The Basic Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Select "When I close the mailbox" under Destroy Deleted Messages.

   To remove the confirmation notice that appears each time you close the mailbox and asks if you want to destroy deleted messages, deselect "Show confirmation notice."

3. Click OK or Apply to make your changes take effect.

Searching for Mail Messages Within a Mailbox

You can search for mail messages within a mailbox according to the search criteria that you define. Basic search criteria fields in the Basic window of the Search dialog box include: the addressees (To), the sender (From), the subject (Subject), the carbon copy recipients (Cc), and the message text, including the headers (Entire Message).

By creating a search script in the Advanced window of the Search dialog box with keywords and arguments, you can define more sophisticated search criteria for finding messages.

The tables that follow show the keywords you can use in search scripts, grouped under the following categories:

• Headers - Keywords that denote the headers or the text part of the messages (Table 8-1)

• Dates - Keywords that indicate when the messages were sent (Table 8-2)

• States - Keywords that describe the status of the messages (Table 8-3)

• Operators - Keywords that join together other keywords to form a search criterion (Table 8-4)

Those keywords you can type manually but are not available through the menus in the Advanced window of the Search dialog box are marked with an asterisk (*).

Table 8-2 lists and describes the Dates keywords.

The date format is dd-mmm-yyyy (for example, 02-Apr-1996).

Table 8-3 lists and describes the States keywords.

Table 8-4 lists and describes the search operators.

not

Search scripts are not case sensitive.

Here are some examples:

To search for messages that were sent from john in April with either "urgent" or "important" in the subject line:

from john and (subject urgent or subject important) and during april

To search for messages that were sent from bill with no carbon copy to tigerteam and not yet read:

from bill and ~(cc tigerteam) and unread

To search for messages that were addressed to bill or sent with a carbon copy to bill, with "monthly report" in the message, including the headers and attachments:

(to bill or cc bill) and text "monthly report"

To Find a Mail Message Within a Mailbox

1. Choose Search from the Message menu.

   The Search dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 8-3 Mailer Search dialog box

   
   

2. Type the text you want to search for in the appropriate field.

   You can search for a match on one or more of the To, From, Subject, or Cc fields. If you type the criteria in multiple fields, Mailer searches for messages that match all of the criteria.

   Within each field, Mailer considers the input as one criterion even if there are multiple strings separated by spaces or commas. For example, if you type wood smith in the To field, Mailer looks for a message that is addressed to wood smith, not wood or smith.

   The fields are not case-sensitive.

3. Click Search Down or Search Up to find the next or previous matching message in your mailbox. To find all the matches, click Select All.

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   Note -

   To remove all the text in the fields in the Search dialog box, click Clear.

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To Create Advanced Search Scripts

1. Choose Advanced from the Search Type menu.

   The Advanced Search dialog box is displayed.

   

2. Type your script in the text area.

   Choose keywords from the menus to help you create the script.

   The keywords are not case sensitive.

Using Views

Occasionally, you may want to display only the messages in your mailbox that match one or more search criteria, such as messages to or from a certain individual. You can do so by defining the criteria and saving them as a view.

To Create a View

1. Choose Search from the Message menu.

   The Mailer Search dialog box is displayed.

2. Specify your search criteria.

3. Click Save As View.

   The Mailer Save As View dialog box is displayed.

4. Type a name in the Enter View Name field.

   You cannot use All or New as a view name; they are listed under Default Views. You may want to use a name that reflects the search criteria.

5. Click OK.

   Mailer creates a new view and places it in the Custom Views list in the Views dialog box. To see the list, click Show Views in the Search dialog box or choose Show Views from the Mailbox menu.

To Display, Delete, or Update Views

1. Choose Show Views from the Mailbox menu.

   If the Search dialog box is open, you can also click Show Views in that dialog box.

   The Views dialog box is displayed.

   

   Listed are:

   • Default Views: Message statistics for the entire mailbox (All) and messages that you have not yet read (New)

   • Custom Views: Message statistics for the views that you have created. Mailer displays the name of the view being loaded in the title bar of the main window.

2. To display a view, double-click the view in the list, or select it and click Load.

   The messages that match the search criteria for that view are displayed in the mailbox.

3. Optional. To update views, click Update.

   Mailer revises the message statistics for all of the views for the mailbox.

4. Optional. To delete a view, select it and click Delete.

5. Click Close to close the dialog box.

To Edit a View

1. Select a view in the Custom Views list.

2. Click Edit.

   The Search dialog box is displayed with the fields filled in with the search criteria for that view.

3. Edit the fields.

   If Mailer cannot display the search criteria in the Basic window, then it loads the search script in a text area in the Advanced window for you to edit.

4. Click Save as View.

   Mailer displays the view name in the Enter View Name field.

5. Click OK to save the view with the same name.

   Alternately, type a new name for the view and click OK to save it.

To Rearrange the Order of the List Under Custom Views:

Select a view under Custom Views. Click the up or down arrow button to move the view up or down the list.

Sending Mail Messages

An email address is like your personal address for receiving electronic mail messages. This is also the way you send messages to other email users. The format used for email addresses is username@hostname. Your system administrator uses this format to set up email addresses.

This section gives you most of the information you need to address, compose, and send a message to another user.

Using Aliases

An alias is a private name for one or more user names (or user addresses). By creating a distribution list of user addresses to which you frequently send mail and giving the list a name, you can just type the name of the alias instead of typing each address in the To or Cc field every time you send messages.

The name you give to your alias can be descriptive of a group of users, or just a name you will remember.

To Create, Modify, or Delete an Alias

1. Choose Aliases from the Options menu in the main window, from the Format menu in a Compose window, or from the To or Cc button menu in the Compose window.

The Aliases Options dialog box is displayed.

1. Type the name for your alias in the Alias field.

2. Type the user addresses that will make up the alias in the Addresses field.

   Each of these addresses should be in the form username@hostname, separated by a comma, space, or both.

3. Click Add to add the information in the Alias and Addresses fields to the scrolling list.

4. Optional. To change an alias, select it and edit the Alias or Addresses field, as appropriate, then click Change.

5. Optional. To remove an alias, select it and click Delete.

6. Click OK or Apply to make the settings take effect.

To Address, Compose, and Send a Mail Message

Once you have the receiving party's email address, you can send a message.

If this is the first time you are using email and if you know your own email address, you can use these procedures to send a test message to yourself.

1. If Mailer is not already started, click the Mailer control in the Front Panel.

   The Inbox is displayed.

2. Choose New Message from the Compose menu.

   The (New Message) Compose window is displayed.

   Figure 8-4 Mailer Compose window

   
   

3. Type the email address of the recipient in the To field and press Return.

   You can address a message to one or more people, or to an alias.

   If one or more of the email addresses contains a space, then separate the email addresses with commas; otherwise, separate them with commas or spaces.

   Alternatively, if you have created aliases, use the To button menu to access them.

   For information on aliases, see "Using Aliases".

4. Optional. Type the topic or title of the message in the Subject field and press Return.

5. Optional. Type the email addresses of users you want to be carbon copy recipients of this message in the Cc field, or, if you have created aliases, use the Cc button menu to access any aliases that you have set up.

6. Once your message is addressed, press Return to go to the text area and compose the message.

   To insert a text file, see "To Include a Text File in a Mail Message". Also see "Using a Template to Compose a Mail Message" and "Using a Draft to Compose a Mail Message".

   To find out about editing text in your message, see "Editing Text" or "Formatting Text".

   You can save the message you are composing at any time by choosing Text from the Save As submenu of the File menu or from the Save As button menu at the bottom of a Compose window.

7. Optional. Choose Include Signature from the Compose Format menu to place your signature in the text area if you have deselected "Include signature in every message" in the Signature Options dialog box.

   See "Using a Signature" for details.

8. Optional. To format the text to the width of your Compose window, select the text and choose Word Wrap from the Compose Format menu.

9. Optional. Add files to the message as attachments, if necessary.

   To find out how to do so, see "To Add an Attachment".

10. Optional. Choose Save Outgoing Mail from the Compose File menu to save a copy of the message to the file that stores your outgoing messages (HomeDirectory/Mail/sent.mail by default).

    To change the default file name, choose Basic from the Options menu and edit the "Save a copy of outgoing mail in" field.

11. Click the Send button, choose Send from the Compose File menu, or press F3.

    The Compose window closes, and the message is sent.

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    Note -

    Clicking Close removes the Compose window and discards your message. Be sure to save any text you might want later before closing a Compose window.

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To Change the Character Set of an Outgoing Message

If you need to send an email message to a machine that uses a different encoding from the one for your machine, you can convert its text to your recipient's encoding.

1. After typing your message in the Compose window, choose Change Char Set from the Format menu or press Control+Y, the keyboard accelerator.

   Mailer displays the name of a character set (for example, ISO-2022-JP) in the footer of the Compose window.

2. Choose the Change Char Set menu item or press Control+Y again to cycle through the choices until the correct one is displayed.

   Selecting Default Char Set means that your message is sent in the default encoding for your machine.

   The display of the message in your Compose window does not change; however, Mailer delivers it in the selected character set when you click Send.

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   Note -

   Mailer converts only the text of the outgoing message, not its header or attachments.

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Using a Template to Compose a Mail Message

You can save a message as a template for use repeatedly, such as a template for a status report that you send out monthly. The status report template might contain, for example, the addresses, subject, and headings for the message body. You could use that template and fill in the contents before emailing it as a status report every month.

To Create a Template

1. Choose Templates from the Options menu of the Mail Options dialog box.

   The Templates Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Click the New Template button.

   A Compose window is displayed.

3. Type the headers and template body.

4. Choose Template from the Save As button menu at the bottom of the window, or from the Save As submenu of the File menu.

   The Mailer Save As Template dialog box is displayed.

5. Type the template name in the text field, and click Save.

   The template is saved in the default directory HomeDirectory/MailTemplates. Its name and path are displayed in the Templates scrolling list.

   You can save an attachment as part of a template. Doing so is equivalent to copying the attachment there. Editing or moving the source of the attachment after it has been included in the template does not affect the attachment in the template.

To Use a Template

1. From the main window, choose New, Use Template from the Compose menu, then choose the template you would like to use from the submenu.

   The Compose window opens with the template loaded.

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   Note -

   If the Compose window is already open, you can load the template by choosing its name from the Use Template submenu of the Format menu in the Compose window.

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2. Edit the headers and body, as necessary, and send the message as usual.

   For more details, See "Editing and Formatting Outgoing Messages".

Using a Draft to Compose a Mail Message

Occasionally, while composing a message, you may want to save it as a draft, then continue to work on it later before sending it as a message. A draft is intended for one-time use only. Once you click Send after working on a draft in the Compose window, Mailer deletes it from your file system.

To Create a Draft

1. Choose New Message from the Compose menu.

   A Compose window is displayed.

2. Compose the message as you normally would.

3. Choose Draft Message from the Save As button at the bottom of the window, or from the Save As submenu of the File menu.

   The Mailer Save As Draft dialog box is displayed.

4. Type a file name under Draft Name.

5. Click Save.

   Mailer saves the draft in the default mailbox HomeDirectory/MailDrafts.

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   Note -

   You can also save the message body only as text by choosing Text from the Save As button.

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To Use a Draft

1. Choose Continue Composing Draft from the Compose menu, then choose the draft you would like to work on from the submenu.

   The Compose window opens with the draft loaded.

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   Note -

   If the Compose window is already open, you can load the draft by choosing its name from the Use Draft submenu of the Format menu.

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2. Continue with your edits and send the message as usual.

   After you have clicked Send, Mailer posts a message that asks if you want to delete that draft from the file system once the message is sent.

To Include Multiple Messages in a New Message

1. From the Message Header List, select the email messages to be included in your new message.

   Shift+Click selects several messages in a row by moving the highlight up or down the Message Header List. Control+Click selects discontiguous messages from the list, one at a time.

2. Choose Forward from the Compose menu.

3. Compose and send your message as usual.

To Include a Text File in a Mail Message

You can drag and drop a text file from File Manager to a Compose window or follow these steps:

1. Choose New Message from the Compose menu.

   A Compose window is displayed.

2. Choose Include from the File menu in the Compose window.

3. Select the text file to be included in your email message.

4. Click Include.

   The file is included in the text area of your message.

5. Compose and send your message as usual.

Using a Signature

A signature is text you can include with each mail message that you send. For example, a typical signature might include your name, job title, company name, and so on:

John Person
Marketing Manager
ABC Products, Inc.
Email: john.person@mymachine
Phone: (100) 555-1234

You can either include this signature with each email message, or choose to include it on an individual message basis.

To Create a Signature

1. Choose Signature from the Options menu in the main window or the Format menu in a Compose window.

   The Signature Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Type the text for the signature in the Signature text pane.

3. Click OK or Apply.

   Your signature is saved in the default file HomeDirectory/.signature. You can change this default location by typing a new path in the Save signature to Path/File field.

To Include a Signature in All Messages

1. Choose Signature from the Options menu in the main window or the Format menu in a Compose window.

   The Signature Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Select the "Include signature in every message" option.

3. Click OK or Apply.

To Include a Signature Only in Specific Messages

1. Choose Signature from the Options menu in the main window or the Format menu in a Compose window.

   The Signature Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Deselect the "Include signature in every message" option.

3. Click OK or Apply.

4. In the Compose window for the message in which you want to include your signature, choose Include Signature from the Format menu.

To Create an Automatic Reply (Vacation Message)

If you plan to be away from your mail for a period of time, such as during a vacation, you can set up an automatic reply to alert the senders of your incoming mail about your absence.

1. Choose Vacation Message from the Options menu.

   The Vacation Message Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Select On next to Vacation.

3. Type the date you want the vacation reply to start under Start Date.

   The default is today's date.

4. Type the End Date.

   Your vacation message takes effect at 12:01 a.m. or later of the Start Date, and ends at 12:01 a.m. of the End Date. If the start and end dates are the same, then the vacation notifier ends at midnight of the End Date.

5. Optional. Under "Interval between replies to repeat senders," set a number for the interval during which the sender will receive one automatic reply from you.

   The default is seven days. which means the senders of your incoming mail will receive only one automatic reply from you within seven days of your absence, regardless of how many messages they send you during that period.

6. Type a subject and the text for your vacation message.

   The default for this field is "Out of the office." If you use the variable $SUBJECT in your message, the subject of the incoming mail will be quoted in your vacation message. For example:

   I am on vacation, and will read your message regarding "$SUBJECT" when I return.

7. Click OK or Apply.

   Once your vacation message is on, Mailer adds [Vacation] to the mailbox name on the title bars of your Inbox and other mailboxes until your vacation message is off.

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   Note -

   To stop sending your vacation message before the End Date, select Off next to Vacation, then click OK or Apply.

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Sending Mail Messages in MIME or Sun Mail Tool Format

Mailer sends messages in MIME format (a published standard officially known as RFC 1521 or RFC-MIME). If your email recipients see confusing codes like =20 or =09 in the messages that you send, their mail applications are not MIME-compliant.

You can solve this problem by having your email recipients use a MIME-compliant mail application. If that is not possible, then send your email in Sun Mail Tool format. However, most MIME-compliant mail readers do not understand this proprietary format.

To Send Mail Messages in MIME or Sun Mail Tool Format

1. Choose Send As from the Compose File menu.

2. Choose either Internet MIME or Sun Mail Tool from the submenu.

   Your message is sent in the selected format.

   If you do not specify a format, the default is Internet MIME. To change this default:

1. Choose Advanced from the Options menu.

   The Advanced Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Deselect the option, "Send mail in MIME format."

3. Click OK.

Editing and Formatting Outgoing Messages

While composing an outgoing message, you can use Mailer to edit and format your text, as well as check the spelling.

Editing Text

You can use the Edit menu options in a Compose window to change the message text you are composing.

For more information on editing functions, see Chapter 10, Using Text Editor .

Formatting Text

You can use two of the Format menu options in the Compose window to make formatting changes to the message you are composing.

For more information on editing functions, see Chapter 10, Using Text Editor .

To Find or Change Text

1. Choose Find/Change from the Compose Edit menu.

   The Find/Change dialog box is displayed.

   Figure 8-5 Mailer Find/Change dialog box

   
   

2. Type (or copy and paste) the text you want to locate in the Find field.

3. Optional. To automatically change the located text to replacement text, type the replacement text in the Change To field.

4. Select the appropriate option:

   • Click Find to find and select the text.

   • Click Change to change the first instance.

   • Click Change All to change all instances.

5. Click Close to dismiss the dialog box.

To Check Spelling

You can use the spelling checker in Mailer to verify and correct the spelling in the message you are composing.

1. Choose Check Spelling from the Edit menu in the Compose window.

   The Spell dialog box is displayed, showing the first instance of a potentially misspelled word under Word. Suggestions for the correct spelling are displayed in a scrolling list. For details, see "To Correct Misspelled Words " in Chapter 10, Using Text Editor .

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   Note -

   The spelling checker is case sensitive.

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2. Click Close to exit the Spell dialog box.

Creating and Using Mailboxes

You may want to file certain mail messages for safekeeping. All your messages are received by default in the mailbox (Inbox). Since keeping all your mail messages in your Inbox probably is not practical, you may want to set up other mailboxes to store groups of messages together.

Mailboxes help you organize your mail. You can create mailboxes by project, by user, by email list, or any other system that works for you. You should place these mailboxes in the default mailbox directory HomeDirectory/Mail.

To find out how to change the default mailbox directory, see "To Change the Default Mailbox Directory".

To Create a Mailbox

1. Choose New Mailbox from the Mailbox menu.

   The File Selection dialog box is displayed.

2. Specify the mailbox name and location.

   See "Using the File Selection Dialog Box" for details.

3. Click New.

   The new mailbox is created in HomeDirectory/Mail, the default mailbox directory, and opened.

   To find out how to change this directory, see "To Change the Default Mailbox Directory".

To Rename a Mailbox

1. Choose Rename Mailbox from the Mailbox menu.

   The File Selection dialog box is displayed.

2. Select or type the name and location of the mailbox you want to rename, then click Rename.

   The Rename Mailbox dialog box is displayed.

3. Type the mailbox name in the New mailbox name field.

4. Click Rename.

To Open a Mailbox

1. Choose Open Mailbox from the Mailbox menu.

2. Choose one of the following items in the submenu:

   • Inbox - The mailbox where you receive email by default

   • Sent Mail - The file that contains your outgoing messages (HomeDirectory/Mail/sent.mail by default). This item is active only if you have saved outgoing messages in this file.

   • Select Mailbox - A mailbox that you specify from the File Selection dialog box

   • Other Mailboxes - One of the mailboxes in the default mailbox directory

   • The mailboxes that you opened, or moved or copied messages to previously in this Mailer session

To Close a Mailbox

To close a mailbox:

Choose Close from the Mailbox menu or Window menu, or press Alt+F4.

When the last open mailbox is closed, Mailer exits.

Filing Messages in Other Mailboxes

You can file some incoming messages by manually moving or copying them into specific mailboxes.

To Manually File Messages in Other Mailboxes

Select the messages that you want to file and do one of the following:

• Choose Select Mailbox from the Move menu (or the Copy To submenu of the Message menu) and select the desired mailbox in the File Selection dialog box.

• Choose Other Mailboxes from the Move menu (or the Copy To submenu of the Message menu) and indicate the desired mailbox.

• Drag and drop messages to other mailboxes.

  See "To Drag and Drop Messages to Other Mailboxes" for more information.

  For convenience, you can:

• Add mailboxes where you frequently file messages to your Move menu (and the Copy To submenu of the Message menu).

  For information on adding mailboxes to your Move menu, refer to "Customizing the Open, Move, and Copy To Menus".

• Set your Move menu to display the most recently visited mailboxes.

  For details, refer to "To Change the Number of Mailboxes Displayed in the Move Menu and Copy To Mailbox Submenu".

To Drag and Drop Messages to Other Mailboxes

1. Make sure Mailer is open on the desktop and its Message Header List is visible.

2. Open the mailbox to which you want to move the message and make sure you can see the Message Header List.

3. Select the message to be moved.

4. Drag the message and drop it onto the appropriate mailbox Message Header List.

   The message is moved to the end of the target mailbox.

   You can also drag and drop a message to the file icon of the target mailbox in File Manager. With this method, Mailer places a copy of the message in the target mailbox instead of moving it.

To Delete a Mailbox

1. Choose Delete Mailbox from the Mailbox menu.

   The File Selection dialog box is displayed.

2. Select or type the mailbox name and location of the mailbox you want to delete, then click Delete.

   The mailbox is deleted.

To Change the Default Mailbox Directory

1. Choose Move Menu Setup from the Options menu.

   The Move Menu Setup Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Type the directory name in the Default Mailbox Folder field.

3. Optional. Type the IMAP server name in the IMAP Filing Server field.

   You can also specify the default mailbox folder for your IMAP server by editing the Default IMAP Folder field; the default is HomeDirectory/Mail.

4. Click OK or Apply.

Customizing the Open, Move, and Copy To Menus

Once you have set up a number of mailboxes, you may discover that there are several mailboxes you use frequently. You can customize your Move menu, the Open Mailbox submenu of the Mailbox menu, and the Copy To Mailbox submenu of the Message menu to show these key mailboxes. Opening and filing to mailboxes is much more efficient this way.

Adding the names of the mailboxes that you recently opened to the Move Menu and Copy To Mailbox submenu of the Message menu can save you time when you next move or copy messages to these mailboxes.

To Add Mailboxes to the Open, Move, and Copy To Menus

1. Choose Move Menu Setup from the Options menu.

   The Move Menu Setup Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Select Local or IMAP Server to specify the server where the mailboxes are located.

   If you select IMAP Server, type the server name in the text field.

3. Type the path to the mailbox under Path/Mailbox Name, then click Add.

   The mailbox is added to the Move menu, as well as the Open Mailbox submenu of the Mailbox menu and the Copy To Mailbox submenu of the Message menu.

4. Optional. Make further customizations:

   • To alter what is in the Path/Mailbox Name field once a mailbox name is selected, edit that field and click Change.

   • To delete a mailbox name from the scrolling list, select it and click Delete.

   • To display the mailboxes in alphabetical order, click Alphabetize.

   • To change the position of a selected mailbox in the scrolling list, click Move Up or Move Down.

5. Click OK or Apply.

To Change the Number of Mailboxes Displayed in the Move Menu and Copy To Mailbox Submenu

To change the number of mailboxes that are displayed on these menus:

1. Choose Move Menu Setup from the Options menu.

   The Move Menu Setup Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Increase or decrease the number of mailboxes you have recently opened in the "Display up to: Recently visited mailboxes" field.

3. Click OK or Apply to make the change take effect.

   Up to the desired number of mailboxes now appear on the Move menu and the Copy To Mailbox submenu of the Message menu.

Printing Mail Messages

You can print messages with the default options, or set different print options before starting the print job.

To Print a Copy of a Message with Default Options

1. Select the message to be printed in the Message Header List.

   Shift+Click selects several messages in a row by moving the highlight up or down the Message Header List. Control+Click selects discontiguous messages from the list, one at a time.

2. Choose Print One from the Message menu.

To Print a Message with Specific Options

1. Select the message to be printed.

   Shift+Click selects several messages in a row by moving the highlight up or down the Message Header List. Control+Click selects discontiguous messages from the list, one at a time.

2. Choose Print from the Message menu.

3. Set the options you want to change:

   • Type a new printer name in the Printer field.

   • Indicate the number of copies in the Copies field.

   • Type a banner page title in the Banner Page Title field.

   • Select Print Page Numbers to print page numbers in your document.

   • Type print command options in the Print Command Options field.

4. Click Print.

To Print a Message Using Drag and Drop

1. Select the message to be printed.

2. Drag the message onto the Printer control in the Front Panel.

   The Print dialog box is displayed.

3. Set the print options as desired and click Print.

   For more information, see "To Print a Message with Specific Options".

For information on how to change the print action, see the section, "Customizing Mail Printing," in Common Desktop Environment: Help System Author's and Programmer's Guide

Working with Attachments

An attachment is an image, document, or executable file that you send or receive with your email.

To View an Attachment

1. Select the attachment icon in the attachment list.

   Figure 8-6 Example of an attachment icon

   
   

2. Choose Open from the Attachments submenu in the Message menu, or double-click the attachment icon.

   ---

   Note -

   If Open does not appear on the Attachments submenu, you cannot open the attachment.

   ---

To Print an Attachment

1. Select the attachment.

2. Choose Print from the Attachments submenu in the Message menu.

   ---

   Note -

   If your system does not provide the ability to print attachments, or if the attachment cannot be printed, the Print item will not be available.

   ---

To Add an Attachment

1. Compose your email message.

2. Choose Add File from the Attachments menu in the Compose window.

   The Mailer - Attachments - Add dialog box is displayed. See "Using the File Selection Dialog Box" for more information.

3. Select a file to attach and click Add.

   The attachment is added to the attachment list in the lower portion of the Compose window.

   To remove an attachment you just added, select its icon and choose Delete from the Attachments menu.

   To restore a deleted attachment, choose Undelete from the Attachments menu.

4. Optional. Choose Rename from the Attachments menu to change the name of a selected attachment.

   If you drag and drop messages from the Message Header List in the main window to the attachment list, Mailer creates one mailbox that contains all of the messages.

To Save an Attachment to Your File System

1. Select the attachment you want to save.

2. Choose Save As from the Attachments menu.

3. In the File Selection dialog box, indicate where you want to save the attachment.

4. Type a new name, if desired, for the file.

5. Click Save.

   The file is saved to the selected location.

   ---

   Note -

   You can also drag and drop an attachment to File Manager. See Chapter 5, Managing Files with File Manager for more information.

   ---

To Attach a File from File Manager

1. Select the file within File Manager.

2. Optional. If the attachment list is not displayed, choose Show List from the Attachments menu in a Compose window.

3. Drag the file from File Manager and drop it onto the attachment list in a Compose window.

4. Send the message as usual.

   ---

   Note -

   You can also drag an attachment from the attachment list to File Manager. See Chapter 5, Managing Files with File Manager .

   ---

To Attach a Calendar Appointment

1. Create the calendar appointment in Calendar.

2. Drag the appointment from the Calendar Appointment Editor dialog box and drop it onto the attachment list in the Compose window.

3. Send the message as usual.

   ---

   Note -

   You can also drag a calendar appointment attachment from the attachment list to Calendar. See "To Drag an Appointment from Another Application to Calendar" in Chapter 11, Using Calendar.

   ---

Customizing Mailer

Once you have used Mailer for some time, you may want to change some of its defaults. The Options menu provides you with these choices:

• Basic

• Aliases

• Compose Window

• Message View

• Move Menu Setup

• Notification

• Signature

• Templates

• Toolbar

• Vacation Message

• Advanced

  The following sections describe some of the customizations you can do using the options in these dialog boxes.

To Display Message Numbers in Your Mailbox

1. Choose Basic from the Options menu.

   The Basic Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Select the Display message numbers option.

3. Click OK or Apply to make your changes take effect.

   The numbering appears on the left side of your Message Header List.

To Change the Character Marker for Included Text in a Reply

Having a marker for text you include when you reply to a message sets it off from the text you want to add. Mailer provides a right-angle bracket (>) as the default. You can customize this marker to a character of your choice.

1. Choose Compose Window from the Options menu.

   The Compose Window Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Type the character you want to use under Indent Characters For Included Message.

3. Click OK or Apply to make your changes take effect.

To Set How Often Mailer Checks for Messages

1. Choose Basic from the Options menu.

   The Basic Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Increase or decrease the setting in the "Check for new mail every" field.

3. Click OK or Apply to make your changes take effect.

To Add Custom Fields to the Format Menu

Besides the To, Subject, Cc, and Bcc fields in the Format menu of a Compose window, you may want to add your own fields, such as Reply-To, Return-Receipt-To, and so on.

1. Choose Compose Window from the Options menu.

   The Compose Window Options dialog box is displayed.

2. Type a name in the Header Name field as it will appear in the Compose window header (for example, Return-Receipt-To).

3. Optional. Type a default entry for the defined header field in the Default Value field (for example, your email address).

4. Click Add to add the values to the scrolling list.

   To change a custom field, select it and edit the Header Name or Default Value field, as appropriate, then click Change.

   To remove a custom field, select it and click Delete.

5. Click OK or Apply to make your changes take effect.

To Customize Mail Notification

To determine how Mailer signals the arrival of new mail:

1. Choose Notification from the Options menu.

2. Under "Signal new mail with," specify whether you want Mailer to beep, the Header window to flash, or Mailer to play an audio file when new mail arrives. You can choose to have all three signals if you desire.

   Set the number of beeps and flashes by clicking on the up or down arrow under Beeps and Flashes.

   To play an audio file, either type the full path name of the file in the Sound File text field, or click Select to specify that file in a File Selection dialog box.

Configuring the Appearance of the Toolbar

From the settings in the Toolbar Options dialog box, you can change the appearance of the Toolbar buttons (as icons or with text), determine which buttons display, and set the order in which they are displayed.

By default, the following commands appear as icons: Delete; Next; Previous; Reply, Include Message; Forward; New Message; and Print One.

To Customize the Toolbar

1. Choose Toolbar from the Options menu.

   The Toolbar Options dialog box is displayed. Under Commands is a list of the commands you can choose to be displayed in the Toolbar, either as icons or with text. Those commands you have chosen to be displayed in the Toolbar are shown in the Toolbar scrolling list.

2. Select Icons or Text as your preference for the display.

3. Optional. Click Add or Remove to add or remove a selected command from the Toolbar.

4. Optional. Click Move Up or Move down to change the order in which the buttons are displayed.

5. Click OK or Apply to make your changes take effect.

Using the File Selection Dialog Box

When you perform certain functions (like opening a mailbox or saving a message), there is a standard method to access your file system. From a File Selection dialog box, you are presented with a place to enter a path or folder name or a place to select from the folders and files in your file system.

Figure 8-7 File Selection dialog box

The title bar and the buttons of the dialog box vary, depending on the operation you wish to perform.

The fields are:

• Local or IMAP Server - Specifies the mail server type. If you select IMAP Server, type its name in the text field.

• Enter path or folder name - Indicates the path to the item. It can be a location anywhere in your file system. If folders or file names are selected, the path appears here.

• Filter - Shows the filter criteria; an asterisk (*) shows all files. You can enter wildcard characters to display only those files that match a suffix. For example, *.doc lists only those files with a .doc suffix.

• Folders - Lists the folders in the current directory.

• Files - Lists the files within the current folder.

• Enter file name - Shows the name of the mailbox. You can either type in the name or select it from the list.

  You can:

• Click Open Mailbox (or whatever action is specified in the leftmost button) to perform the operation and dismiss the dialog box.

• Click Update to display a new list of files after changing the filter key or changing to a new folder.

• Click Cancel to halt the operation without applying the changes and dismiss the dialog box.

• Click Help to display information about this dialog box.

Using Mailer Mnemonics and Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use keyboard alternatives to the mouse, called mnemonics, to navigate and perform some functions in Mailer. The mnemonics and shortcuts in Table 8-6 apply to Mailer only. Letters shown in uppercase should be typed as lowercase.

For more information on keyboard shortcuts, see Appendix A, Keyboard Shortcuts for the Desktop.

Some Mailer shortcuts may interfere with UNIX key bindings. For more information on these bindings, see Chapter 10, Using Text Editor .