Balsa User's Guide
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# The Main Window

Figure 2. Main Window

`Balsa`'s main window has three major areas. To the left is the mailbox list. This displays all the mailboxes `Balsa` knows about; it will scan for ones in your local mail directory. (This means `Balsa` works well with `procmail`.) It will also list IMAP or POP3 mailboxes that you have configured. If the `Show Mailbox Info` preference is set, two columns will also be displayed next to the mailbox names containing the number of unread and total messages in each mailbox that has unread messages. (The other mailboxes will not have their contents probed.) Also, any mailboxes that contain unread messages will be shown in a different font and colour.

At the top-right is a view of the currently open mailbox. You can browse messages and manipulate them here.

At the bottom-right of `Balsa`'s main window is the message view. This displays the message selected in the message listing. You can save attachments, view attachments, and read incoming email here.

## Menu & Toolbar

Figure 3. Main Window Toolbar

The menu bar, located at the top of the Main Window provides the following commands:

File

  This menu contains basic commands.

  - File->New

      - File->New->Message... (M) — Create a new message, and display a new window to type the message in.

      - File->New->Mailbox... — Open a dialog box to create a new mailbox. There are various items like this, corresponding to the different types of mailbox that Balsa supports. See the discussion of different mailbox formats and their advantages and disadvantages.

      - File->New->Remote IMAP folder... — Open a dialog box to create a folder for an account on an IMAP server. This IMAP folder properties dialog can also be used to change the details of the account.

      - File->New->Remote IMAP subfolder... — Open a dialog box to create a new subfolder in an existing IMAP folder tree. This IMAP subfolder properties dialog can also be used to rename or move a subfolder.

  - File->Continue (C) — Continue a postponed message.

  - File->Get New Mail (Ctrl-M) — This causes `Balsa` to attempt to retrieve any new messages from the POP3 server.

  - File->Send Queued Mail (Ctrl-A) — Send all mail waiting in the Outbox mailbox to the mail server now.

  - File->Print — Print the currently selected message (displayed in the preview pane.)

  - File->Address Book (B) — Open `Balsa`'s address book.

  - File->Exit — Exit the program.

Edit

  - Edit->Copy — Copy selected text to the clipboard.

  - Edit->Select All — Select all text in the currently displayed message.

View

  Menu for changing how messages are viewed.

  - View->Show Mailbox Tree — Toggle the display of the mailbox tree in the main window.

  - View->Show Mailbox Tabs — Toggle the display of tabs for all open mailboxes.

  - View->Wrap — Toggle the display of messages using word wrap. The column to which the message is wrapped is set in the Preferences window.

  - View->No Headers, Selected Headers, All Headers — Select the headers to display in the message pane.

Message

  This menu has commands for manipulating messages.

  - Message->Reply... (R) — Reply to the currently selected message(s).

  - Message->Reply To All... (A) — Reply to the currently selected message(s), sending the reply to all senders and recipients of the message.

  - Message->Forward... (F) — Forward the currently selected message(s).

  - Message->Next Part (Ctrl-.) — View the next part of the message (if the message is multi-part).

  - Message->Previous Part (Ctrl-,) — View the previous part of the message.

  - Message->Save Current Part... (Ctrl-S) — Save the currently selected part of the message to disk.

  - Message->Delete (D) — Delete the currently selected message(s).

  - Message->Undelete (U) — Undelete the currently selected message (currently non-functional).

  - Message->Toggle Flagged (X) — Toggle the flag on the currently selected message(s). This is shown as an exclamation mark next in the message index.

  - Message->Store Address... (S) — Add the sender of the currently selected message to your address book.

Mailbox

  For manipulating mailboxes.

  - Mailbox->Next (N) — Select the next message in the current mailbox.

  - Mailbox->Previous (P) — Select the previous message in the current mailbox.

  - Mailbox->Next Unread (Ctrl-N) — Select the next unread message in the current mailbox.

  - Mailbox->Edit... — Edit mailbox properties.

  - Mailbox->Delete... — Delete the currently selected mailbox.

  - Mailbox->Commit Current — Synchronize changes between the currently selected mailbox and the mailbox file on disk.

  - Mailbox->Close — Close the currently selected mailbox.

  - Mailbox->Empty Trash — Delete all messages from the Trash mailbox.

Settings

  Menu for changing `Balsa`'s configuration.

  - Settings->Preferences... — Open the Preferences window to change the settings of `Balsa`.

## The Mailbox List

The mailbox list in the main window lists all of your mailboxes. `Balsa` will automatically detect your local mailboxes by searching for mailboxes under your local mail directory (probably ~/mail). This lets `Balsa` coexist with `pine` and `procmail` without causing problems.

Your mailboxes will be displayed as a tree view, with mailboxes in subdirectories of your local mail directory initially hidden but accessible by expanding the tree. IMAP mailboxes will also be displayed as being at the top level of the tree. POP3 mailboxes are not displayed.

## The Message Index

The message index displays the messages in the current folder, and lets you choose which folders messages to view. Click on the notebook tabs, or click on a folder in the mailbox list to bring it to the front.

From the message index you can do a lot. Clicking on a message will cause it to be displayed in the message view. Right-clicking on it will give a pop-up menu letting you reply to the message (or forward it, etc.) and move it to another folder (using the Transfer menu item). Double-clicking on a message will open it in a separate window. Also, it is possible to drag and drop messages from the index to other mailboxes in the mailbox list and open mailbox tabs.

The pop-up (context) menu contains the following items:

Reply

  Reply to the currently selected message(s).

Reply To All

  Reply to the currently selected message(s), sending the reply to all the recipients and senders of the message.

Forward

  Forward the currently selected message(s).

Move To Trash

  Deletes the currently message(s).

Store Address...

  Store the sender of the current address in the address book.

Toggle Flagged

  Toggle the priority flag on the currently selected message(s). This is shown as an exclamation mark in the message index.

Transfer

  Transfer currently selected message(s) to another mailbox. When this menu item is selected a list of available mailboxes is displayed from which the destination should be selected.

## The Message View

The message view displays the message that is selected in mailbox index. Message headers are displayed above the main text of the message, unless they have been disabled. The text of the message is shown below the headers.

If the message is multipart the different sections will be shown below the main message text. Each part can be selected and `Balsa` will attempt to display it. If it is unable to it will display a screen allowing you to save the attachment to a file.

| Currently `Balsa` only supports viewing HTML messages when compiled with `gtkhtml` support. gtkhtml support is fairly stable nowadays and will be compiled in if gtkhtml-devel files is found.

You are not restricted to that pane either. Double-clicking on a message in the message index will open it in a separate window.

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Getting Started with `Balsa` |  | The Message Composer