
Mail Help

                                               version: 2.0b7
                                               created: 12/27/1995 {06:44:55 AM}
                                           last update: 01/13/2005 {01:02:27 PM}

	  	Abstract

This help file describes the "Mail Menu".  This package allows you to compose
e-mail messages in Alpha, and then send it using one of the various mail
handler services provided.  Some sophisticated AlphaTcl mail handlers also
allow you to read your e-mail in Alpha.


	  	Table Of Contents

"# Introduction"
"# Mail Menu"
"# Keyboard Shortcuts"
"# Mailbox Browser Windows"
"# Mail Viewing Windows"
"# Composing and Sending Mail"
"# Remembered E-mail Addresses"
"# Mail Attachments"
"# Summary"

<<floatNamedMarks>>


	  	Introduction

Alpha allows you to compose your email using Alpha and then send it using one
of the "Mail Handler" services provided.  This "Mail Example" hyperlink will
insert the Mail menu in the menu bar, and demonstrate the use of the "New
Message" menu item.

To turn on the Mail Menu, select the "Config > Global Setup > Menus" item and
click the checkbox next to "Mail Menu".

Preferences: Menus

The default Mail Handlers in Alpha's standard distribution include

	Eudora

If you use the Eudora mail client (MacOS only), Alpha provides a reasonably
complete mail handling system, communicating with Eudora by apple-events.
You can view messages previously downloaded by Eudora, transfer them to
different Eudora mailboxes, or delete them.

	OS Mailer

This is a very simple Mail Handler -- after you have composed a new Mail
message you can compile its contents and send it to your OS defined emailer
client, opening a new window.  You must use your client's UI to actually send
the new message.

	Tcl - smtp

This Mail Handler allows you to send your new e-mail internally from Alpha,
provided that you have an "smtp" server account available.


To obtain more information about these different Mail Handlers, select this
<<Mail::handlerHelp>> hyperlink.

You can also instruct Alpha to automatically open "mailto:..."  hyperlinks in
a new Mail Menu window.  These hyperlinks appear in many Help files.  Just
adjust your "Compose Email Using" preference that appears in the dialog
"Config > Preferences > Input - Output Preferences > WWW".


	  	Mail Menu

The Mail menu always includes the items listed below.  Some Mail Handlers
will add more commands, as described in their <<Mail::handlerHelp>> windows.
note that some of the Keyboard Shortcuts associated with these menu items can
be changed, select "Mail Menu > Mail Menu Prefs" to open a dialog that
includes the various options.

	New Message
	
Create a new message.  Use tabs to move between fields.

	New Message To

This menu includes all previously e-mail addresses that you've saved using
the "Mail Menu > New Message To > Add New E-mail" command.  Selecting any one
of them will open a new message window with the "To:" field filled in.

	Add Cc                          

Create a 'Cc:' line.

	Add Bcc

Create a 'Bcc:' line.

	Select Next Field

Use the Keyboard Shortcut for this item (the default is Tab) to navigate the
current Mail window fields, i.e. "To:" "Cc: "Subject:" and the body of the
message.
    
	Send

Send the message using the protocol defined by your Mail Handler.


	  	Keyboard Shortcuts

The Mail Menu includes a number of default Keyboard Shortcuts that you can
change via the "Mail Menu > Mail Menu Prefs > Menu Shortcuts" dialog pane.
All changes will take place immediately, without the need for a restart.

Important: These Keyboard Shortcuts are only available when the mode of the
active window is "Mail".  Even if the Mail Menu has been turned on "globally"
you will have to select menu items 'manually' using your mouse until the menu
command has opened a window in Mail mode.


	  	Mailbox Browser Windows

If your Mail Handler supports the reading of e-mail messages (and not just
the sending of new ones you have composed), summaries of mailboxes and
incoming messages are displayed in a Mailbox Browser Window, a read-only
window that displays the originator and subject of each messages.

Move down the list by using the Down-Arrow, Control-N, or Space.  Move up the
list by using the Up-Arrow, Control-P, or Delete.

View the entire message by pressing Return or Enter.

While viewing messages, Space scrolls down the message, closing the window
when the end is reached.  Delete scrolls up the message.

You can change the default window parameters (geometry) of Mailbox browsing
windows via the "Mail Menu > Mail Menu Prefs > Mail Windows" dialog pane.  If
the preference for "Remember Window Geometry" is turned on, then whenever you
re-size the browsing window 'manually' the new parameters will be used for
all future browsing windows.  Otherwise, the geometry preference is only
changed when you do so explicitly via the preferences dialog.


	  	Mail Viewing Windows

If your Mail Handler supports the reading of e-mail messages (and not just
the sending of new ones you have composed), pressing Return or Enter in the
"# Mailbox Browser Window" will open a new viewing window in Mail mode.  All
of the relevant e-mail header fields will be listed at the top of the window,
along with some handy hyperlinks to "Reply/Reply To All" and "Trash" the
message in the active window.  The body of the message is displayed beneath a
divider line that looks like this:

	>========================================<

You can change the default window parameters (geometry) of Mail viewing
windows via the "Mail Menu > Mail Menu Prefs > Mail Windows" dialog pane.  If
the preference for "Remember Window Geometry" is turned on, then whenever you
re-size the viewing window 'manually' the new parameters will be used for all
future browsing windows.  Otherwise, the geometry preference is only changed
when you do so explicitly via the preferences dialog.

You can also change the default Font and Font-size for viewing windows.


	  	Composing and Sending Mail

Select the "Mail Menu > New Message" menu item to open a "New Mail" window.
If you want to postpone the composition, select "Mail Menu > Save As Draft"
to place the contents in your "Drafts" folder and close the window.

If you attempt to close a New Mail window that has not been sent, you will
first be presented with the standard "Save Changes before closing?"  dialog.
If you press the "Save" button then you must select a folder in a local disk
in which to save the message as a new file.  If you press the "Don't Save"
button in this initial dialog, then another one will appear asking if you
want to save this message in your special "Drafts" folder.  (Yes, this
two-step dialog business is a bit awkward, we'll see if we can clean it up in
a future release.)

After composing a new e-mail message, select "Mail Menu > Send" to instruct
your current Mail Handler to send the message.  You have the option to save
all sent e-mail messages in your Mail Mode "Sent Folder" and to automatically
close the window.  

Use the "Mail Menu > Sent Mail" submenu to set any of the options associated
with sending mail, or to open a previously sent message in a new window.


	  	Remembered E-mail Addresses

The "Mail Menu > New Message To" menu contains a list of e-mail addresses 
that you can automatically include in the "To:" field for new messages.  You 
can assign a unique menu name for each address.

Turn on the "Remember Recipient Email" preference to add the sendee's address
to the "Mail Menu > New Message To" list of options whenever you send mail.

This list of remembered addresses will also be offered when you select the
"Mail Menu > Add Cc / Add Bcc / Forward" menu item.

Once you have created a list of remembered e-mail addresses, you can rename 
the menu item associated with them, edit the addresses, or delete them.

	  	Mail Attachments

As of this writing, it is not possible to send attachments with your e-mails.
When you receive e-mails that have attachments they will be displayed as a
one-line message, but it is not possible to download or view/save them.


	  	Summary

To send a message:

    ¥ "Mail Menu > New Message"
    ¥ Tab (to subject line), type "subject" of message
    ¥ Tab (to body), type "body" of message
    ¥ "Mail Menu > Send"

To reply to a message (assuming a message is open and your Mail Handler
supports the viewing of messages from your server):

    ¥ "Mail Menu > Reply"
    ¥ Continue as above.

	--------------------------------------------------------------------

Author: originally Pete Keleher, some additions by others.

