# Compose

The Compose screen looks something like this:-

To: |  |
Cc: |  |
Subject: |  |

This is for the body of the message.

|  |  |  |  |  | Save copy

This works similarly to other mail clients. To compose a message enter the address of the recipient in the To: field and the address of anyone who should also get a copy in the Cc: field. If you want more than one address in a field put a comma between the addresses. You can use addresses from your addressbook either by typing the nickname (alias) or by selecting the Addressbook icon from the main toolbar and then choosing the recipients you want. Enter the subject of the message into the Subject: field. Then type your message into the main message box. You can also cut-and-paste text into the message box. Once you have finished your message, select the Send button.

Description of the options obtained by using the buttons on the screen follows.

## The buttons

This section describes the buttons on the default page. If you have enabled Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose -> Enable manual line wrap options there will be some extra buttons on the bottom row. These are described at the bottom of this page.

- By the headers:-
  - Expand - if you have typed a nickname (alias) from your addressbook you can check that you have chosen the correct one by using this. When you select this button the full address is substituted for the alias. If the alias does not exist in your address book then the default domain (typically @cam.ac.uk, depending on your setting in Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose) will be added instead. The status line will change to reflect the result of the action, for example after Expand-ing the To: field:-

    <tr__STATUS__>
    Status:Header To Lookup Complete

  - Rich Headers - the standard header fields are To:, Cc: and Subject:. Selecting the Rich Headers button gives other header fields. These are
    - Bcc: - for use if you wish to send a copy of the message to someone but do not wish the other recipients to see that you have sent a copy to that person
    - Fcc: - in which you can enter the name of a mail folder to which you want the message copied (the default is sent-mail)
    - Reply-To: - by default a reply will come to your address as it appears in the From: field. You can use this if you wish any reply to come to a different address.
- Above the message body part:
  - Large - takes you to another screen with a larger form area for the body part. The size of this form area is defined in Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose.
  - Clear Headers - Clears all message headers.
  - Clear Body - Clears all text entered in the body of the message.
  - Undo - Undoes the last action.
  - Import - takes you to a screen from which you can browse your local file system and choose a text file to include in the body of the message. Files produced by an application such as a word processor cannot be included in the body of a message, but should be attached to the message using the Attachments button.
  - Attachments (0) - takes you to a screen from which you can browse your local file system and choose a file to send as an attachment to the message. Once you have done this the button changes to show the number of attachments that will be sent with the message.
- Below the message body part:-
  - Check Spelling - this will check the body of the message and allow you to accept suggested alterations, leave the word unchanged or add the word to your personal dictionary. Once the spell check has completed the status field will summarise, for example:-

    <tr__STATUS__>
    Status: Spell Check finished (0 changes made)

  - Cancel - cancels the message and returns you to the Webmail page you came from. The status line will change to reflect the action:-

    <tr__STATUS__>
    Status:Draft message cancelled

  - Postpone - the draft is saved to the mail folder defined to hold these messages (default postponed-messages) and you are returned to the Webmail page you came from. The status line will change to reflect the action:-

    <tr__STATUS__>
    Status:Draft message postponed

    If you have messages in the postponed messages folder then when you select Compose you get the option to continue with a postponed message or start a new one.
  - Send - triggers an immediate send and returns you to the Webmail page you came from.
  - Save copy - This check box controls whether a copy is automatically saved. The default for this, saving a copy to sent-mail, is set in Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose.

Other aspects, such as the size of the text area for the body part, the use of a personal name, and whether a signature is included or not, depend on choices made under Manage -> Preferences -> Compose and Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose.

If you have enabled Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose -> Enable manual line wrap options then there will be two extra options on the line below the message body part:

- Line Wrap - wraps the message to a line length defined in Manage -> Preferences -> Extra Compose -> Line Wrap at. The default is 76 characters.
- Line Wrap on Send - wraps the text of the message as part of the action of sending the message.