Ximian Evolution 1.4 Sun Microsystems Edition User Guide

Composing Messages

You can use the following formats for your messages:

To Create a Message in HTML Format

To create a message in HTML format, choose File -> New -> Mail Message. In the Compose a message window, choose Format -> HTML so that the HTML menu item is selected.

To Apply Font Formatting to Messages in HTML Format

To apply font formatting, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the text that you want to format.

  2. To format the selected text, perform one or more of the following actions:

    Format 

    Action 

    Plain text 

    Choose Format -> Style -> Plain text.

    Bold 

    Choose Format -> Style -> Bold.

    Italic 

    Choose Format -> Style -> Italic.

    Underline 

    Choose Format -> Style -> Underline.

    Strikethrough 

    Choose Format -> Style -> Strikeout.

    Font size 

    Choose Format -> Font Size, then select the font size from the submenu. You must specify the size of the text in relation to the size of normal text. The options that you can select include +2, +1, -1, -2, and so on.

    Font color  

    Choose Format -> Text. Click on the arrow in the Color drop-down list. Select a color from the color table.

    Alternatively, to specify a custom color, click on the Custom Color color selector button. Use the color wheel or the spin boxes to select the color. Click OK to add the new color to the color table.

    Click OK to apply the font color formatting, and close the dialog.

    You can also use the format toolbar to format text. To use the format toolbar to format text, click on the button that represents the format that you want to apply.

To Apply Paragraph Formatting to Messages in HTML Format

To apply paragraph formatting, perform the following steps:

  1. Click in the paragraph that you want to format.

  2. To format the selected paragraph, perform one or more of the following actions:

    Format 

    Action 

    Style 

    Choose Format -> Paragraph. A Properties: Paragraph dialog is displayed. Select the style that you want from the Style drop-down list. The styles that you can select include the following:

    • Normal

    • Preformatted text

    • Heading styles

    • Address style

    • Bulleted lists

    • Ordered lists

    Click OK to apply the style and close the dialog.

    Alignment 

    Choose Format -> Paragraph. Select the alignment from the Left, Center, or Right options.

    Click OK to apply the alignment and close the dialog.

    Indentation 

    To increase the indent in the paragraph, choose Format -> Increase Indent. To decrease the indent in the paragraph, choose Format -> Decrease Indent.

    You can also use the format toolbar to format paragraphs. To use the format toolbar to format paragraphs, click on the button that represents the format that you want to apply.

To Apply Page Formatting to Messages in HTML Format

To apply page formatting, perform the following steps:

  1. Choose Format -> Page. A Properties: Page dialog is displayed.

  2. Select a template for the page from the Template drop-down list.

  3. Type a name for the page in the Document Title text box.

  4. Enter the name of the image file that you want to use for the message background in the Background Image drop-down combination box.

    Alternatively, click Browse to display a Background Image dialog. Use the dialog to specify the image file that you want to use.

  5. To select a color for the text, links, or message background, click on the arrow in the appropriate drop-down list in the Colors group. Select a color from the color table.

    Alternatively, to specify a custom color, click on the Custom Color color selector button. Use the color wheel or the sliders to select the color. Click OK to add the new color to the color table. Click OK to apply the color and close the dialog.

  6. Click OK to apply the formatting to the message and close the Properties: Page dialog.