Composing Messages

You can use the following formats for your messages:

• HTML format

  You can apply formatting to text in HTML format, as follows:

  Font formatting

  Bold, italic, underline, font size, font color, and other font formatting.

  Paragraph formatting

  Paragraph styles, including heading styles, bulleted list styles, and numbered list styles. You can also specify paragraph alignment and indentation.

  Page formatting

  Enables you to select a message template, to set a document, to specify a background image, and other page formatting.

• Plain text format

  You cannot apply any formatting to plain text 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.