The Composer Window

Message Menu

Message->New Composer (Ctrl+N)

Opens up a new composer window.

Message->New Main Window

Creates a new main window.

Message->Send (Ctrl+Return)

Sends the message immediately. If you use SMTP to send your messages and the SMTP server is not reachable, the message will be put into the outbox and you will get an error message. You can then later send the messages in the outbox using File->Send Queued.

Message->Queue

Queues the message in the outbox for sending it later using File->Send Queued.

Message->Save in Drafts Folder

Save the message in the drafts folder so you can later edit and send it.

Messages->Insert File...

Inserts a text file into the message text, starting at the cursor position.

Message->Print... (Ctrl+P)

Prints the current text.

Message->Close (Ctrl+W)

Closes this composer window.

Edit Menu

Edit->Undo (Ctrl+Z)

Undo your steps in editing the current message.

Edit->Redo (Ctrl+Shift+Z)

Redo your steps in editing the current message.

Edit->Cut (Ctrl+X)

Cutting text works as with most editors: the selected text is removed and put into the clipboard. Note that you can also select text and drag it to a new position.

Edit->Copy (Ctrl+C)

Copying text works as with most editors: the selected text is copied to the clipboard. Note that you can also select text while holding the Ctrl key, and drag it to a new position to copy it.

Edit->Paste (Ctrl+V)

Pasting works the same as with most editors: the text from the clipboard is pasted at the current cursor position.

Edit->Select All (Ctrl+A)

Selects all of the text in your message.

Edit->Find... (Ctrl+F)

Opens a dialog to search for strings in the current message.

Edit->Find Next (Ctrl+F)

Goes to the next occurrence of the previously searched string.

Edit->Replace... (Ctrl+R)

Opens a dialog that lets you replace strings in your message with other strings.

Edit->Clean Spaces

This replaces multiple line breaks or spaces with single line breaks or spaces. It works on the current selection or on the complete message if there is no selection.

Edit->Paste as Quotation

Pastes the text from the clipboard marked as quotation.

Edit->Add Quote Characters

Prepends the selected text with quotation marks.

Edit->Remove Quote Characters

Removes the left-most quotation marks from the selected text.

View Menu

This menu lets you toggle the display of the header fields and other options in this composer window.

Options available are:

  • All Fields

  • Identity

  • Dictionary

  • Sent-Mail folder

  • Mail Transport

  • From

  • Reply To

  • To

  • CC

  • BCC

  • Subject

Currently visible items have a checkmark shown next to their name in the menu.

View->Use Fixed Font

Uses a fixed width (monospaced) font to display the currently edited message. The font to be used can be configured in the Appearance section of KMail's configuration dialog.

Options Menu

Options->Urgent

Sets the priority of the message to Urgent. The receiver's email client has to support this or it will have no effect. KMail itself does not support priorities for incoming messages.

Options->Request Disposition Notification

If you choose this option, you request a confirmation email once your message is downloaded and read by its recipient. This has to be supported and enabled by the receiver's email client in order to work.

See Message Disposition Notifications for background information and ways to customize the read receipts that KMail itself sends.

Options->Sign Message

Digitally sign the message using OpenPGP. You can learn more about this in the chapter on OpenPGP.

Options->Encrypt Message

Encrypt the message using OpenPGP. You can learn more about this in the chapter on OpenPGP.

Options->Select Cryptographic Message Format

Choose the cryptographic message format to use to digitally sign and/or encrypt the message in. See the previous description of each option for more information.

Options->Formatting (HTML)

Enables HTML editting.

Options->Set Encoding

Set the charset encoding of this message. The chosen encoding will appear in the header of the outgoing mail. You can use Auto for almost all cases, KMail will tell you if you need to select a different encoding manually.

Options->Wordwrap

Toggles the automatic wordwrap. It may be useful to turn it off if you want to paste long lines that should not wrap.

Options->Automatic Spellchecking

Toggles automatic spellchecking. Note that in HTML editting mode automatic spellchecking is not available.

Attach Menu

This menu lets you select attachment options.

Attach->Append Signature

Appends your signature (“footer”) to the end of the message.

Attach->Attach Public Key...

Attaches the corresponding PGP/GnuPG key to your message.

Attach->Attach My Public Key

Attaches your PGP/GnuPG public key to your message.

Attach->Attach File...

Attaches one or more files to the current message.

Attach->Remove Attachment

Removes the attachment that is selected in the attachment part of the composer.

Attach->Save Attachment As...

Saves the attachment that is selected in the attachment window to a file.

Attach->Attachment Properties

Displays the properties of the attachment that is selected in the attachment window.

Tools Menu

Tools->Spelling...

Uses KSpell to check the spelling in the body of your message. Note that you have to configure KSpell with Settings->Spellchecker... if you use it for the first time.

Tools->Addressbook...

Opens up KAddressBook.

Settings Menu

Settings->Show Main Toolbar

If enabled, the Main Toolbar is visible, i.e. the one with the icon to send the message etc..

Settings->Show HTML Toolbar

If enabled, the HTML Toolbar is visible, i.e. the one which with the tools to change certain properties of the composed text.

Settings->Spellchecker...

Allows you to configure KSpell, KDE's spellchecker.

Settings->Configure Shortcuts...

Opens a window that lets you configure the keyboard shortcuts for many menu commands.

Settings->Configure Toolbars...

Opens a window that allows you to decide which icons appear in the toolbar.

Settings->Configure KMail...

Opens KMail's configuration dialog.

Help Menu

The entries in this menu have the same meaning as the entries in the main window's help menu.