WebMail: Composing Messages

The Composer page can be opened either directly, by clicking on the New Mail link, or as a result of a Reply or Forward command.

The Composer Page contains the following panels:

• The message header panel with the To, Subject, To, and Bcc fields, and option controls.
• The message body text area.
• The attachment controls.

To send a message, fill the header panel fields, type the message text into the message body text area, and click the Send button.

Each message you send using the CommuniGate Pro WebUser Interface contains your address as the message From address, and it can also contain your signature.

Use the Settings page to specify the options that apply to all messages you compose and send using the CommuniGate Pro WebUser Interface.

Text columns

This option specifies the width of the Composer field you use to enter your message texts.

Auto Wrap

This option specifies if the composed text should be hard-wrapped (cut into individual lines) before sending. If you disable this feature, some recipients may see entire paragraphs of your messages as single, very long lines.

From Address

This field allows you to specify the From: address for the messages you send using the WebUser Interface. By default, this address is set to the name of your Account on this Server.

MIME-encode Headers

If this option is set, message header fields containing non-ASCII (national) symbols are sent using MIME encoding.

Signature

This text is automatically added to all messages you compose using the WebUser Interface.

Store Sent Messages in

If this option is selected, a copy of all messages you compose using the WebUser Interface is stored in the specified Mailbox.

Store Drafts in

If this option is selected, you can save partially composed messages in the selected Mailbox. Later you can open these draft messages, complete, and send them.

When you read a message stored in your Mailbox, you can click the Reply or Reply to All link/button. The Compose page appears and allows you to enter the text of your reply message.

If you click the Reply link/button, the original message Reply-To header field is automatically placed into the To field of your reply. If the original message did not have the Reply-To header, the original message From field is used.

If you click the Reply All link/button, the original message Reply-To/From address is copied to the To field of the reply message. Then all addresses from the original message To fields are added to the reply To field, and all addresses from the original message Cc fields are copied to the reply Cc field.

The text of the original message is formatted as a quotation and copied into the message body text area. The following Settings control the formatting process:

Reply Header

This string is added in front of the original message quoted text. The string can contain special symbol combinations which are substituted with the original message data:

^T	the date and time when the original message was sent
^F	the From address of the original message
^N	the EOL (end of line) character(s)

Note: if the Reply Header field is an empty string, the original message text is not automatically added to the reply text.

Reply Quoting

Each line of the copied original message text is prefixed with this string.
Note: to use the standard "flowed" format, use the default "> " Reply Quoting string.
Note: If you set this option to an empty string, the original message text will be included into a reply message "as is", and your signature will be added in front of the original message and the Reply Header.

When you read a message stored in your Mailbox, you can click the Forward link/button. The Compose page appears and allows you to specify the address(es) to which the message should be forwarded and a comment that will be sent along with the body of the forwarded message.

You can view the original message below the message body text area. The unmodified text of the original message is sent along with your comment, using the standard MIME format for message forwarding.

You can attach one or several files to a message you want to send. Click the Browse button (or a similar button your browser displays for "file-type" fields) and select a file on your local disk (i.e. on the disk attached to the computer that runs your Web browser software). The name of the selected file appears in the Attachment field. Use other Attachment fields to send several files with your message.

Note: you should attach files after all other message fields are filled. If you click any button (for example, a button that opens the Address Book), the file selection will be cleared and you will have to select the files again.

The Composer page allows a user to specify the message subject, to enter the recipient address(es), to specify if the DSN (Delivery Status Notification) and/or MDN (Message Disposition Notification) is required, to enter the message text, and to attach files to a message.

You can compose the profile.vcf file containing your personal information using the Public Info editor.

To attach this Contact (vCard) data file to the composed message, select the My Profile vCard checkbox in the Attachments panel.

If the System Administrator has configured one or several Spell Checkers, the Composer page contains the Check Spelling button with the list of available Spell Checkers (languages).

Select the language and click the Check Spelling button to check the message text. If the selected Spell Checker finds a word it cannot recognize, the Spell Checker panel appears:

The panel contains a highlighted unrecognized word within surrounding text. Click the Ignore button to continue checking. If the Spell Checker program can suggest changes, the Change to button appears with a menu of the suggestions. Click the Change to button to use the selected suggestion and to continue the spelling check process.

You can request a Notification when your message is delivered to the recipients.

Select the Delivery Notification (Notify when Delivered) option to request a DSN. DSN messages sent back to your INBOX tell you that your messages have been successfully delivered to the recipient Mailboxes. They do not tell you if the recipient has actually seen/read your message.

Note: The DSN is guaranteed to work only when you send a message to other users on the same CommuniGate Pro Server. If a message is sent to a remote recipient, the remote server that serves that recipient account may or may not support the DSN feature. In many cases your CommuniGate Pro server can detect that a remote server does not support DSN. In this case your server will send you a DSN message itself, telling you that your message has been relayed to a remote host.

You can request a Notification when your message is read by the recipient(s) (is displayed to the recipient(s)).

Select the Disposition Notification (Notify when Read) option to request an MDN. MDN messages sent back to your INBOX tell you that your messages have been displayed to the recipients.

Note: The MDN is not guaranteed to work. MDN messages are generated with the mail client software, and many mail applications simply do not support MDNs. The client mailers that support MDN may have it disabled, or may ask the user if the MDN message should be sent, and the user may tell the mail application not to send an MDN.

The WebUser Interface allows you to update and use the Address Book. Select an Address Book and click the Display button to open the selected Address Book.

See the Contacts section for more details.

Close

Click this button to close the Address Book panel.

To, Cc, Bcc

Select one or several addresses in the list, and click one of these buttons to add the selected address(es) to the message you are composing.

Delete

Select one or several addresses in the list, and click this button to delete the selected address(es) from the address book.

Add New

Type or paste an E-mail address into the field on the right side, and click this button to add the address to the address book.