Composition Options

Compose New ...

Launches the Composition window, in which you compose a new mail message. The Composition window contains a subject field, recipient fields, and a composition field in which to enter your message.

Some of the recipient fields-the Cc: field, Bcc: field, and Other headers field, for example-are optional. You can add or remove them from the Composition window using options in the Composition window Options menu. (For more information about using the Composition window, see Composition Window.)

Reply ->

Replies to the current or selected message. When you click the Reply option, a cascading menu appears from which you choose one of four reply options.

Figure: Message Reply Cascading Menu

After selecting one of the reply options, the Composition window appears, in which to compose your reply. After sending your reply, the ">" symbol appears in the Main window status column next to the message indicating that you have sent a reply.

The four reply options are:

To sender

Reply to the originator of the message. Do not include the original message.

This selection launches the Composition window with the To: field already filled in with the address or alias of the message originator. The Subject: field is filled in with the subject line of the original message, preceded by Re:. The composition field is blank.

To sender (include body)

Reply to the originator of the message and include the original message body.

This selection launches the Composition window with the To: field already filled in with the address or alias of the message originator. The Subject: field is filled in with the subject line of the original message, preceded by Re:. The composition field contains the text of the original message.

Optionally you can include an attribution line and specify ">" or other characters to delineate the original text at the left margin. The attribution line and delineation characters are specified in the Reply/Forward Preferences window. (See Options Menu Selections for more information about specifying preferences.)

To all

Reply to the originator of the message and to all recipients of the message. Do not include the original message body.

This selection launches the Composition window with the To: field already filled in with the address or alias of the originator and other recipients of the message. The Subject: field is filled in with the subject line of the original message, preceded by Re:. The Cc: field is filled in with the "copied" recipients of the original message. The composition field is blank.

You can specify a preference in the Reply/Forward Preferences window to have your name removed from the recipient list when replying to a message that has your name in the To: field or the Cc: field. This preference ensures that you don't generate a redundant version of your reply. (See Options Menu Selections for more information about specifying preferences.)

To all (include body)

Reply to the originator and to all recipients of the message and include the original message body.

This selection is identical to the Reply -> To all option except that the composition field contains the text of the original message.

Optionally you can also include an attribution line and specify ">" or other characters to delineate the original text at the left margin. The attribution line and delineation characters are specified in the Mail Preferences window.

See Options Menu Options Selections for more information about specifying preferences.

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NOTE:
Replies that are generated using either of the Reply To all options are not sent to recipients who were "copied" via the Bcc: field by the original sender because this information is not available.

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Forward ...

Forwards the current or selected message to other recipients. Clicking the Forward ... option opens the Composition window.

The Subject: field is filled in with the subject line of the original message, followed by (fwd). The composition field contains the text of the original message, delineated by demarcation strings that identify it as a forwarded message. You must supply the recipient address(es) or alias(es).

If you forward multiple messages, the first subject line is used and each message is demarcated as a forwarded message.

After forwarding a message, an "F" appears in the Main window status column next to the message indicating that you have forwarded the message.

Forward (encapsulate) ...

Forwards the current or selected message(s) to other recipients. Unlike the Forward ... option, the Forward (encapsulate) ... option keeps the message being forwarded intact, as a separate MIME body part, rather than making it part of the text of the new message.

Clicking this option opens the Composition window. The Subject: field is filled in with the subject line of the original message, followed by (fwd). You must supply the recipient address(es) or alias(es). The composition field contains an icon representing the message being forwarded. You can type new text into the composition field, before or after the icon. Also, you can click on the icon to open another editing window, which lets you modify the message being forwarded.

After forwarding a message, an "F" appears in the Main window status column next to the message indicating that you have forwarded the message.

If you select multiple messages to encapsulate and forward, the messages are placed into a MIME message digest. (See Working with Containers for more information about message digest containers.)

Resend

Resends the current or selected message to a new recipient.

When you click Resend, the Composition window is launched. The To: field is blank and the Subject: field is filled in with the subject line of the original message.

The composition field contains the text of the original message but the text is "dimmed" and cannot be edited. You can view the text more clearly by clicking the Preview button in the Composition window Message pull-down menu.

After resending a message, a "B" appears in the Main window status column next to the message indicating that you have resent the message.

(For more information on using the Composition window, see the chapter entitled Composition Window.)