Chapter 3 - Composing and Sending Mail

Chapter 3 - Composing and Sending Mail

About Mail Messages

Mail messages consist of a subject, an address, and the message itself. Composing a mail message involves these steps:

1. Choosing the New Mail command or clicking the Compose icon

2. Entering a subject

3. Addressing the message

4. Composing the message text

Composing a Mail Message

There are three ways to begin composing a mail message:

Click the Compose icon in the Mail List window

Choose the New Mail command from the File menu on the menu bar

Press Cmd - N

A Subject dialog box appears over the Mail List window. Entering a subject is optional, though recommended because subjects are useful for both you and the person to whom you are sending a mail message.

Enter a short subject, and click OK. A Compose window appears, with the subject appearing in the title bar of the window:

Figure 3-1. Compose Window

Note: You can prevent the Enter Subject dialog box from appearing by choosing the Preferences command, described in Chapter 6.

You can open as many Compose windows at a time as memory allows. This lets you cut and paste text between messages using traditional Macintosh editing techniques. For example, you might want to send the same basic message to three different people, yet alter the message slightly for each recipient.

Compose Window

The Compose window is divided into an icon panel, an address panel, and a message text panel. Table 3-1 summarizes the functions of the Compose window icons:

Table 3-1. Compose Window Icons

Click	To
	Address your message. The Address window appears, letting you access the StreetTalk Directory Assistance service (STDA). This icon is explained in the next section of this chapter.
	Receive certification that your message was delivered. Certification is enabled when a check mark appears in the icon. Clicking the icon toggles certification on and off.
	Display the Attachment window to include attachments with your messages. Attachments are explained in "Managing Attachments" in Chapter 6.
	Indicate how important your message is. This icon is explained further in the section "Setting Message Priority" later in this chapter.
	Send your message. Note that you must enter at least one address in the To field. If you fail to do so, an error message appears.
	File your message in a folder. The File Mail window appears. Filing messages is explained in Chapter 5.
	Print your message. Printing messages is explained in "Printing Mail Messages" in Chapter 5.
	Delete messages. Click the Trash icon before or after you send a message: · If before, the message is neither sent nor filed. · If after, the message is sent but not filed. The message window clears and you return to the Mail List window.

When the Compose window appears, the insertion point is located in the To field. A scroll bar allows you to scroll through this field if the list of addresses grows too large to be viewed in entirety. You can address a message at any time before sending, but cannot send a message without an address. Messages without addresses cannot be saved.

The tab key cycles through the address fields, described in Table 3-2:

Table 3-2. Compose Window Address Fields

Address Field	Is the StreetTalk Name Of
To	The persons for whom the message is intended.
cc	The persons who receive electronic "carbon copies" (Cc) of the message. Optional.
bcc	The persons who receive electronic "blind carbon" copies (Bcc) of the message. The names of blind copy recipients are not seen by the To and Cc addressees. Optional.

Addressing a Message

There are three ways to enter an address into an address field:

Type the StreetTalk name directly into the address field

Click the Address icon in the Compose window to access StreetTalk Directory Assistance (STDA)

Choose the Address command from the Mail menu to access STDA

When you open the Compose window, the insertion point appears in the To field of the address area. If you know your recipient' s StreetTalk address, enter the address in the appropriate field. Use your mouse or arrow keys to move among the three addressing fields.

If you make any mistakes, correct them after selecting the text in one of the following ways:

Double-click to select the section of the StreetTalk address the insertion point is in

Command-double-click to select an entire StreetTalk address

Press Cmd - A to select an entire address field

Follow these guidelines when addressing a message:

When your message is sent to more than one StreetTalk user or list, separate each name with a comma, or press return after each StreetTalk name

You can include wildcard patterns in any of the address fields such as *@*@WCTUS

If you are unsure of the StreetTalk name of the user or users, use the Address icon or Address command to access STDA. This is described in Chapter 6.

Writing and Editing a Message

After you fill in the message address information, move the insertion point to the message text area by either:

Clicking in the message text area

Pressing return

The insertion point appears on the first line of the message text area.

Writing a message is similar to using a simple word processor, allowing you:

To enter sentences without pressing return at the end of each line.

To change the message width by choosing the Set Text Format command from the Edit menu. (Set Text Format is explained in Chapter 6.)

To select text and copy it to the Clipboard, and paste text from the Clipboard.

To copy and paste text from other open mail messages, or from other applications that support the Clipboard.

To import text files, as described in "Importing Files into Mail Messages" in Chapter 6.

A maximum of 32K bytes for each message (excluding attachments).

When you finish addressing and entering your message, you can either:

Close the message. It appears in the Mail List window as "unsent."

Send the message.

Sending a Mail Message

To send your current mail message, either:

Choose Send from the Mail menu

Click the Send icon at the top of the Compose window

You can also select any number of unsent mail messages from the Mail List window.

You distinguish sent from unsent mail by the icon to the left of the mail message. A mailbox with:

A raised flag means the associated mail message is "unsent"

Figure 3-2. Raised Flag

A lowered flag means the associated mail message is "sent"

Figure 3-3. Lowered Flag

You can delete or save a mail message after sending it.

To send and delete your mail message:

1. Send the mail message

2. Click the Trash icon

To send and save your mail message:

1. Send the mail message

2. Click the Close box in the Compose window:

- If you enabled the Auto Save option through the Enter Subject dialog box, the window closes and the mail
message is automatically saved in the folder specified

- If you disabled the Auto Save feature, a dialog box prompts you to save the mail message when you click the
Close box

The network mail service verifies the addresses of the recipients, then displays an informational mail message notifying you that the mail message is saved and sent.

You might want to certify that recipient received your mail message. This is explained in the next section.

Certifying a Mail Message

To confirm that a recipient received your mail message, certify the mail message before sending it. You certify a mail message by clicking the Certify icon at the top of the Compose window. A check mark appears in the icon. Click the icon again to clear the check mark.

Figure 3-4. Certify Icon

When a recipient reads a certified mail message, the mail service sends you a mail message:

Figure 3-5. Confirmation Message

Setting Message Priority

Indicate how important a mail message is with Message Priority. Follow these steps to set mail message priority:

1. From the Compose window, click the Message Priority icon. A Message Priority dialog box appears:

Figure 3-6. Message Priority Icon

Figure 3-7. Message Priority Dialog Box

2. Click one of the three radio buttons to indicate the mail message's relative importance. Table 3-3 shows which symbol the recipient sees in the Mail List window, depending on the priority set:

Table 3-3. Message Priorities

Mail Is Preceded By	If The Priority Is
(blank)	Low
!	Normal
!!	High

Note: Use the High priority setting sparingly so that your truly important mail messages stand out in the recipient's Mail List window.

When Messages Are Not Delivered

If the mail service cannot deliver your mail message, or if you entered an incorrect address, one of two alert boxes appear.

Unverifiable and Illegal Message Addresses

If you send a mail message and the mail service cannot verify a recipient' s address, an alert box appears:

Figure 3-8. Unverifiable Address Alert Box

This alert box appears if you type an incorrect address (note that WCTAS was typed instead of WCTUS).

Click Yes to edit the address or No to send the mail message without verifying the address.

Undeliverable Messages

If the mail service cannot deliver your mail message for any reason, the mail service sends you a mail message that the message was not delivered. You read this message like any other.

To recover the original mail message:

1. Select Recover Undelivered from the File menu. A dialog box appears:

Figure 3-9. Undelivered Mail Dialog Box

2. Click Yes in the Undelivered Mail dialog box. The original mail message returns to your Mail List.

	Click the Compose icon in the Mail List window
	Choose the New Mail command from the File menu on the menu bar
	Press Cmd - N

	Type the StreetTalk name directly into the address field
	Click the Address icon in the Compose window to access StreetTalk Directory Assistance (STDA)
	Choose the Address command from the Mail menu to access STDA

	Double-click to select the section of the StreetTalk address the insertion point is in
	Command-double-click to select an entire StreetTalk address
	Press Cmd - A to select an entire address field

	When your message is sent to more than one StreetTalk user or list, separate each name with a comma, or press return after each StreetTalk name
	You can include wildcard patterns in any of the address fields such as @@WCTUS

	To enter sentences without pressing return at the end of each line.
	To change the message width by choosing the Set Text Format command from the Edit menu. (Set Text Format is explained in Chapter 6.)
	To select text and copy it to the Clipboard, and paste text from the Clipboard.
	To copy and paste text from other open mail messages, or from other applications that support the Clipboard.
	To import text files, as described in "Importing Files into Mail Messages" in Chapter 6.
	A maximum of 32K bytes for each message (excluding attachments).

	Close the message. It appears in the Mail List window as "unsent."
	Send the message.

	Choose Send from the Mail menu
	Click the Send icon at the top of the Compose window