To compose new messages, select ‘Message’+‘New Message ...’ (Ctrl-N). To compose a message, fill in the respective fields in the message composer window, shown in Figure 12.2. “Composing a Message”.

Figure 12.2. Composing a Message

To send messages from different e-mail accounts, select one of the identities configured as described in 12.4.1. “Defining Your User Identity”. The … buttons next to ‘To:’ and ‘CC:’ (and possibly ‘BCC:’) open the address book, allowing you to select an address. After entering the first few characters of an address, press Ctrl-T to see a list of possible completions.

To attach files to your message, click the paper clip icon and select the file to attach. Alternatively, drag a file from the desktop or another folder to the ‘New Message’ window or select one of the options in the ‘Attach’ menu.

Normally, the format of a file is recognized correctly. If this is not the case, right-click the icon. From the menu that appears, select ‘Properties’. This opens a dialog in which to set the format and the name of the file and add a description. In addition, decide whether the attached file should be signed or encrypted.

When you are finished composing your message, you can either send it immediately (‘Message’+‘Send’) or move it to the outbox. If you do the former, the message is copied to sent-mail after having been sent successfully. If you do the latter, it is moved to the outbox. You can edit any message in the outbox using the ‘Edit’ main menu or delete it.