Balsa User's Guide
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# The Message Composer

Figure 3. Message Composition Window

When the New Message or Reply or Forward action is selected, the message to be sent is brought up in the Message Composer. This window is where you can type the text of the message, attach files, and specify recipients. In the near future, it will also be possible to spell check the message, as well as perform signing and encryption of messages using GnuPG or PGP.

When the message window first opens, you will see the several main sections:

- The menu bar

- Toolbar

- Mail headers

- The attachment box

- The message body

These will each be covered in depth below:

## Menu Bar

This contains all of the available commands for acting on the message, from selecting the headers to display to changing the character set of the message. Some of the menu items are not always available, depending on what state the message is currently in.

File

  The file menu contains commands for manipulating the message as a whole.

  - File->Include File... — Include a text file in the body of the message; only works for plain text files.

  - File->Attach File... — Attach any kind of file to the message.

  - File->Send — Send the message. (Using the method specified in the Preferences dialog)

  - File->Postpone — Save the message in the Draftbox for later revision and sending. You will be unable to postpone a message that is not currently valid.

  - File->Print — Print a hard-copy of the current message out using the command specified in the Preferences window.

  - File->Close — Close and discard the current message.

Edit

  The Edit menu contains commands which are used to modify the body of the message.

  - Edit->Wrap Body (Ctrl-Z) — Cause all the lines in the message to be wrapped to the specified outgoing mail wrap column.

  - Edit->Reflow Paragraph (Ctrl-R) — Cause all the lines in the paragraph the cursor is in to be wrapped to the specified outgoing mail wrap column.

  - Edit->Reflow Message (Ctrl-Shift-R) — Cause all the lines in the message to be wrapped to the specified outgoing mail wrap column.

Show

  The Show menu is used to control which headers are displayed in the composer window for editing.

  - Show->From — Display the `From` header.

  - Show->To — Display the `To` header.

  - Show->Subject — Display the `Subject` header.

  - Show->Cc — Display the `Cc` header.

  - Show->Bcc — Display the `Bcc` header.

  - Show->Fcc — Display the `Fcc` header.

  - Show->Reply To — Display the `Reply-To` header.

  - Show->Attachments — Display the `Attachments` box.

  - Show->Comments — Display the `Comments` header.

  - Show->Keywords — Display the `Keywords` header.

ISO Charset

  This menu provides a number of available character sets to use when composing and sending the message. Currently Balsa does not support multiple character sets in a single message.

## Toolbar

The toolbar contains buttons for the most commonly used functions when sending messages, including Send, Attach File..., and Save. As with the menu bar, some buttons are disabled if the message is not correctly setup to be sent.

Figure 4. Toolbar

Send

  Send the current message. Only available if the message is legal to be sent (i.e. proper email addresses)

Attach

  Open a dialog to attach a file to the current message.

Postpone

  Postpone the message to the Draftbox for later revision and sending.

Spelling

  Run the message through a spell-checker, not implemented in the current version (0.8.0)

Print

  Print out the draft of the message, using the print command specified in the Preferences dialog.

Cancel

  Close the composition window without saving or sending the message within.

## Headers

The headers area is where the information regarding where the message is being sent to and from, as well as comments and keywords can be entered. All of the available headers are not shown by default, but they can be turned on and off very quickly using the menu.

From

  `From` is used to indicate the origin of the message, Balsa automatically fills this in for you if you have entered your name and email address in the Preferences window.

To

  The `To` header is used to indicate the intended recipient of the message; Balsa automatically fills this in for you if you are replying to a message.

Subject

  The `Subject` header is used to summarize the topic of the message.

Cc

  The "Carbon Copy" header. A comma separated list of recipients other than the main recipient should go here.

Bcc

  The `Bcc`, or "Blind Carbon Copy" header. Similar to the Cc header, except that email addresses placed in this header will not appear as recipients to readers of the message. Also known as a "silent" carbon copy.

Fcc

  The `Fcc` header stands for "Folder Carbon Copy", and it is used to specify any folders that you want the message copied to after being sent. It is presented as a drop-down combo box with a list of all available mailboxes, simply select the destination.

Reply-To

  The `Reply-To` header is for specifying what email address you want any replies to go to.

Comments

  Although not widely used, the `Comments` header can be used to specify short comments for email's.

Keywords

  Again, not a very widely used header, this can be used to embed general information about the content of the message in the email, to allow for easier searching or filtering at a later date.

### Specifying Addresses

Balsa supports many different methods of selecting email addresss. All of the headers that can contain addresses have a small coloured book to the right of them that will open up Balsa's address book.

However, Balsa will also attempt to guess what the headers should contain depending on what context the composition window is opened in, so it may not be neccessary to fill them in most of the time.

> Tip: Also, the composition window supports drag-and-drop of addresses from the GnomeCard application.

## Attachments

Figure 5. List of Attachments

At the base of the message composer window may be a large box displaying attachments; this view can be toggled in the Show menu. They show up as small icons that look like a piece of paper, with the name of the file displayed beneath them.

When there are attachments displayed, it is possible to right-click on the icon to access a menu to manipulate the menu. Currently it is only possible to remove it from the message.

## Message Body

Finally, below the attachment list is the main area of the window where the text of the message is displayed. The text editing capabilities are very basic, but it supports cut, copy, and paste so it is possible to write a message in your favorite editor and simply paste it in.

If the message is a reply or forward, the referenced message will be displayed in the body text widget, with the prefix specified in the Preferences dialog.

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