Sending a new message with Poco is quite simple: click on the <b>New Message</b> button, or press CTRL+N to open the New Message window. Simply fill out the e-mail address of the recipient in the <b>To</b> field, enter the subject of the message (optional), and type in the contents of the message below. When done, you can either send the message immediately by pressing the <b>Send</b> button (or CTRL+E), or queue the message to be sent later by pressing the <b>Queue</b> button (or CTRL+Q). You can also spell-check your message by clicking on the <b>Spelling</b> button or pressing F7.<p>
The <b>To</b> field is the only required field, containing the e-mail address of the message recipient. You can enter a single address, or multiple addresses. Multiple addresses need to be separated with commas (","), semi-colons (";") or carriage returns (RETURN). You can also enter address book entries instead of e-mail addresses (see <a href="#addressbook">Using address book</a>). Once you leave the To field by pressing TAB or clicking on another field, Poco will complete the addresses inserted. To call up the address book from within the new message window, click on either To, CC or BCC button. The address book will be shown at which point any addresses you click on will be automatically inserted in the respective field in your message. If you click on the same address twice, Poco will not insert the duplicate entry in the same field.<p>
Once you are ready to send it you have two choices:<p>
<i>Send immediately</i> - by clicking on <b>Send</b> button, the message will be sent immediately. If sending was successful, the copy of the message will also be saved in the Sent mailbox. If the sending fails, the message will be saved in the Out mailbox.<p>
<i>Queue message</i> - if you want to send the message at a later time, press the <b>Queue</b> button. The message will be saved to the Out mailbox. This function is at its most useful when you don't have a direct connection to the Internet - if you dial-up to an internet service provider using a modem, you may compose and queue messages before connecting, to save on-line time, and then once you are connected use Send Queued Messages function.<p>
Any messages present in the Out mailbox can be sent at any time by using <b>Send Queued Messages</b> from the main application window, under <b>E-mail</b> menu. Once you click on Send Queued Messages, Poco will attempt to send each message present in the Out box. Once successfully sent, the message will be moved to Sent mailbox. If sending fails, the message will remain in the Out mailbox. You can also configure Poco to send any queued messages automatically whenever you check mail - go to Options (F7), then <b>Misc.</b> section and check <b>Send queued messages when checking mail</b>.<p>
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<b><a name="styled">Styled and plain messages</a></b><p>
When composing a message, you can choose to add formatting to the message by using different font styles and colours. Due to the way Internet e-mail has evolved, there are still some legacy e-mail systems in use today that rely on original plain-text e-mail. Formatted messages sent to those systems will come through barely readable. This is why Poco gives you a choice as to what kind of message style you want to use when sending mail. This function for outgoing mail is controlled by two button toggles in the New Message window, <b>Styled</b> and <b>Plain</b> buttons.<p>
Poco supports receiving and sending of both Styled mail (also known as HTML mail) and plain text mail. Poco contains a small, built-in browser with good HTML capabilities so you don't need an external browser installed on your computer in order to receive Styled mail. When sending a message, there are several formatting options you can apply to your message, with Style toolbar (to use this toolbar, make sure it is showing under <b>View</b>, <b>Show Style Toolbar</b> menu): from fonts and font sizes, to background and font colour. Your signature can also take on limited formatting, make sure you click on Signature first before applying formatting, otherwise you will apply formatting to the body of the message.<p>
Before sending a message, you need to decide if you want to send a plain version of the message (all the formatting is ignored), styled version of the message (HTML message is sent with formatting), or both (both versions are sent contained in a single message). If your recipients are using older mail readers, either send just plain or plain and styled message to make sure they can read it properly. For recipients with HTML capable mailers or other Poco users, you can send only styled version of the message. This is easily controlled with the Plain and Styled buttons in the New Message window. The state of <b>Styled</b> and <b>Plain</b> buttons can be saved to default to your preferred state, in Options (F7), then <b>Defaults</b> section.<p>
When sending new messages, normally your messages have no applied style to them unless you explicitly apply them - this means even if you set your default Poco colour scheme to something else than black on white, messages are sent without those colours applied, so whatever colour scheme is in effect on your recipients computer is what is used when he/she views your mail. To force your messages to start up with particular style already applied, you can use Save as Default Message Style menu, under File in New Message window. This will save your current colours, fonts and sizes as a style, so next time you start a message, message will be sent with that style encoded in the message (unless you send it as plain message). These settings can be tweaked from the general Settings window (Options, F7 in the main application window), in the <b>Defaults</b> section.<p>
Each message attribute in the Defaults pane of the Settings window can be customized and turned on or off. For example, you may want to force your signature to always default to a smaller italics font, but don't want to set any other message attributes, like background colour. Simply place a checkmark next to "<b>Use the following font for the signature</b>", but uncheck all the other checkboxes above it. You can also decide what state the signature button and Plain and Styled buttons will be upon starting a new message.<p>
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<b><a name="replying">Replying, Forwarding and Bouncing message</a></b><p>
Any message previously received can be replied to, as well as forwarded and bounced. To reply to a message, use the <b>Reply</b> button, <b>Message</b>, <b>Reply</b> menu or CTRL+R while the message is highlighted in the Message Index pane. Poco will quote the text of the message, and use the original sender as the recipient for this new message. The subject line will also be altered so it is preceded with <i>"Re: "</i>. You can also use <b>Reply to All</b> button or menu to reply to a message, but this time all the other recipients of the original message will be added as well to <b>To</b> and <b>Cc</b> fields. Forwarding message (CTRL+W) is similar to replying to a message, except the recipient is not added (the <b>To</b> field is left empty), and the subject line is preceded with a <i>"Fwd: "</i>. Bouncing messages (CTRL+B) will not quote the message and will not alter the Subject field.<p>
Replying is the most often used function that will send a reply back to the original sender. Replying to All is used when you are corresponding with a group of people, and want your reply to be sent to all original recipients. Forwarding resends the message to a third party, and the message appears to be coming from you when they receive it. Bouncing is used to "redirect" a message to a third party - once received, the message will appear to be coming from the original sender, not you, and if the third party replies to the message their reply will be addressed to the original sender. This function is not there to hide your identity, as message headers will still reveal that the message did come from you; it is best used if you receive a message by error or if you want the third party to take care of it - bouncing will preserve the original sender's reply address.<p>
When replying and forwarding messages, Poco will quote the reply - this will add a row of characters along the left edge of the e-mail to denote the quoted text. You can change this character from the default ">" to anything you wish. When quoting mail, Poco will strip HTML formatting from the original message, to retain high readability. If you would rather Poco preserve HTML formatting, disable quoting. All settings related to message quoting can be found in Options (F7), under Quoting. To disable quoting, just uncheck <b>Insert quote character...</b> check box. In addition to the quote character, you can also have custom multi-line headers for quoted mail. Replied, forwarded and bounced messages can all have unique headers added to them. Finally, in the same Options dialog box you can designate an optional footer to be added to quoted mail.<p>
Headers and footers can contain Poco's <b>Common Variable Tags</b>, which are described in detail in the <a href="#signatures">Signatures</a> below, also used in message <a href="#templates">Templates</a>. For a quick example, entering %sender% in the footer field will cause Poco to insert original sender's full name into that space, when the footer is added. Adding %fullname% will instead insert your full name, depending on which account the message was received at. So you can have a custom made header put together automatically that will work for your business mail, as well as your private mail.<p>
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<b><a name="signatures">Signatures</a></b><p>
Message signatures can be used to attach a custom signature to each message you send. Once you install Poco, it will create a default signature for you, but you can customize or change it completely, as well as creating new ones. Unlike other e-mail programs, Poco will show you the current signature you have selected directly underneath the message, so you can see what your message will look like once sent. Signatures are kept in Signatures directory in your application folder, but you can create or edit them right inside the message window. If you make any changes to the signature, it will only affect the current message unless you press the Save button next to the signature name. This will permanently save the changes to the signature file for all future messages. To save a new copy of the signature, simply change its name and click on <b>Save</b> button. Each account you create has a default signature attached to it, which you can change in the <b>Accounts Setup</b> (F3). You can also temporarily toggle your signature off by depressing the <b>Use Signature</b> button in the <b>New Message</b> window; the signature pane will be grayed out if the signature is disabled.<p>
Another unique feature found in Poco is the ability to insert special <i>"tags"</i> into the signature text, which will be interpreted by Poco when you create a new message, or when you click out of the signature pane. This is how Poco creates a customized signature for you when you first install it, by using <i>%fullname%</i> and <i>%email%</i> tags. These will simply fill out your name and e-mail address in the signature text by looking them up for the e-mail account you currently have selected. Changing the account with the drop down box in the new message window will automatically update the signature text, including your entered name, e-mail address and other text, such as web page URL. To add arbitrary text, such as web page URL, to any account simply go to Account Setup (F3), and in the Optional tab for the particular account fill out the <b>Optional signature tag</b> field with any text you want. That text will replace any occurence of %tag% text in the signature.<p>
Tags can also be inserted from the pop-up menu when you click right-click on the signature pane. Under <b>Insert Specials</b> menu, simply choose which tag you want to insert. For a detailed list of all tags available, see the <a href="#tags">next section</a>.<p>
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<b><a name="tags">Common variable tags</a></b><p>
Common variable tags are not used only in signatures - you can use them in message headers and footers (see <a href="#replying">above</a>), in the message templates where they can be very useful (see <a href="#templates">below</a>) and in Print Templates (see <a href="reading.html#printing">Printing messages</a>). All tags have a form of %tagname%, sometimes followed by a colon and a filename enclosed in double quotation marks. Some tags will vary depending on which account is currently in use - for signatures, it is the account currently selected in the New Message window <b>Send from Account</b> drop box; for message headers and footers, it will be the account that received the original message; for message templates, account name specified in the template will be used; and finally, for Print Templates, account that received the original message. A comprehensive list follows:<p>
<b>%fullname%</b><br>
Inserts your full name entered in the Accounts Setup (F3). This setting will vary depending on which account is currently in use.<p>
<b>%email%</b><br>
Inserts your e-mail address entered in the Accounts Setup (F3). This setting will vary depending on which account is currently in use.<p>
<b>%tag%</b><br>
Inserts the optional account signature tag entered in the Accounts Setup (F3). This setting will vary depending on which account is currently in use.<p>
<b>%account%</b><br>
Inserts the name of the current account in use.<p>
<b>%time%</b><br>
Inserts the current time in format specified by your Windows Control Panel.<p>
<b>%date%</b><br>
Inserts the current date in format specified by your Windows Control Panel.<p>
<b>%dateandtime%</b><br>
Inserts the current date and time in format specified by your Windows Control Panel.<p>
<b>%day%</b><br>
Inserts the name of the current day of the week in English.<p>
<b>%from%</b><br>
Inserts the e-mail address of the original sender. This tag will only work when used in replied/forwarded/bounced messages, otherwise it will simply be replaced with empty string.<p>
<b>%sender%</b><br>
Inserts the full name of the original sender, if available. If not, tag will insert the original sender's e-mail address. This tag will only work when used in replied/forwarded/bounced messages, otherwise it will simply be replaced with empty string.<p>
<b>%sent%</b><br>
Inserts the date and time the original message was sent. This tag will only work when used in replied/forwarded/bounced messages, otherwise it will simply be replaced with the empty string.<p>
<b>%subject%</b><br>
This tag is only used in Print Templates and it inserts the subject of the message to be printed.<p>
<b>%to%</b><br>
This tag is only used in Print Templates and it inserts the e-mail address the message to be printed was sent to.<p>
<b>%file%:"filename"</b><br>
Inserts a text file with quoted filename. If the file has more than one line, then all the lines, including line breaks are also inserted. The file being inserted will also be scanned for tags, so you can embed additional tags in the external file. If only a filename with no path is entered, then Poco will look for the file in its application directory. If the file is elsewhere on your file system, then simply specify the full path to it.<p>
<b>%random%:"filename"</b><br>
Inserts a random single line from a text file with quoted filename. The file being inserted will also be scanned for tags, so you can embed additional tags in the external file. This can be used to spice up your signature with different random sayings/quotes on each outgoing message. You can even use the %file% tag in each line of the random file to add random multi-line files to your text. If only a filename with no path is entered, then Poco will look for the file in its application directory. If the file is elsewhere on your file system, then simply specify the full path to it.<p>
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Message templates can be used to quickly send pre-written messages. Poco's implementation of templates is quite powerful and simple to use. To save a new template, start a new message, fill out any fields you need filled out in the template and click on <b>File</b>, <b>Save as Template</b> menu. You will be prompted for the template name and your template will be ready. There are several ways to open a previously saved template: either use <b>Message from Template</b> menu in the Message menu of the main application window, or use the <b>Template</b> button in the new message window. You can also right click on the body of the message in the new message window and choose to open a template, open just the template body or add the template body to the already existing text. When opening or adding the body of the template, Poco will not use other information saved within the template. <p>
Templates can contain a list of recipients for To, CC and BCC fields, subject line of the message, the account to send message from as well as the plain or styled message body. All the templates are stored in the Templates directory defined in the Program Options (F7), in the Directories section. <p>
If you want to add templates without using Poco to create them, just follow these simple rules. All the templates must have TXT extension. Their format consists of the header and the body of the message. Header is everything before the %body% tag, while the body is everything below. if the %body% tag is not found, then the whole file is considered the body and no header fields will be interpreted. A sample template follows:<p>
<pre>
%to%:e-mail@address.com, another@address.com
%to%:more@addresses.com
%cc%:sender@domain.com
%bcc%:anon@domain.com
%subject%:The subject line
%html%
%account%:My Account
%body%
This is where you can include the body of the
message. This tag should be the last used in the
template, as any template-controlling tags are
ignored from this point. Instead, you can now
use standard <a href="#tags">Common Variable Tags</a>,
which will be interpreted when message is created,
such as the current date is %date%.
</pre>
You can use multiple %to%, %cc% and %bcc% if you need more space, but line breaks are not allowed. You may use nicknames for %to%, %cc% and %bcc% fields. If Poco finds the %html% tag, then the content is considered to be in HTML format, otherwise Poco will treat the body as plain text. Any tags can be left out. The body may contain <a href="#tags">Common Variable Tags</a> that can further modify the template body.<p>
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<b><a name="addressbook">Using the address book</a></b><p>
The address book is an important aspect of Poco's functionality. Adding just a few mostly used addresses will help you streamline your work in many ways. The easiest way to populate your address book is to simply click on the To button just above the message pane while reading a message sent to you by one of your correspondents. This will automatically add his/her address to the current address book, as well as parse out their name so you can quickly find them later. You can also open the address book for editing by clicking on its toolbar button, or by going to <b>Tools</b>, <b>Address Book</b> menu (F5). Once there, you can add addresses of your most frequent contacts. Each address entry can contain up to four fields, nickname, full name, e-mail address and notes. The first two are optional. It is important to realize that this address book is not meant to replace your personal information manager or your contact manager - it does not store all the particulars for your correspondents. It is there solely to help you handle your e-mail.<p>
Once you have one or more addresses in your address book, there are several ways to use it to send new mail. Firstly, make sure that you have the mini address list showing (also under tools menu). It can be docked to your main window on either side to keep the window clutter down (default positioning). All of the tips below refer to the mini address list. If you cannot see your mini-address list, just press F6 to return it to its default position.<p>
<i>Double-click an address on the list:</i> this will automatically start a new message addressed to that person.<p>
<i>Drag a message from the index onto an address in the list:</i> this will forward or bounce (customize in Settings) the dropped message to that person. Of course, you will get a chance to edit it before it's sent.<p>
Once you are in the new message window, you can simply enter the portion of the recipient's first or last name and Poco will find their full e-mail address. You can also enter their nickname or the first half of their e-mail address (the part before the @ sign), to locate the correct e-mail address.<p>
To pick addresses from the address list instead of typing them, click on the <b>To</b>, <b>CC</b> or <b>BCC</b> button - this will bring up the address book. Simply click on an address you want to add. Poco will not add an address already present in the destination field.<p>
Poco also supports <i>multiple address books</i>. Use the buttons just below the mini address list to scroll through your installed address books. To organize your address books, click on the middle button - this will bring up the Address Books settings window.<p>
When creating new address books, you will be prompted for the name and directory of the new address book. If you place it in the default Address Books folder, the location will be stored relative to your application setup. You can also save the address book outside the default folder - this location will be stored as an absolute path. This means that even if you change your address book directory, you will not affect the location of the newly created address book. This is useful if you want to keep one address book on a shared network directory, or on removable storage.<p>
To find out more about using address book to add contacts and manage mailing lists, go to <a href="reading.html#addressbook">Reading Mail section</a>.<p>
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To filter outgoing mail, you need to use PocoScript, Poco's scripting environment. Similar to <a href="checking.html#filtering">filtering incoming mail</a>, you can create filtering scripts to filter all outgoing mail by simply dragging and dropping an address book entry onto the mailboxes pane. This will create a new filtering script which you can add to the list of scripts to run on outgoing mail, if Poco has not done it already. To do that, go to <b>Filters and Scripts</b> (F4), and on the first <b>Settings</b> tab, select the script in the <b>Run on outgoing mail</b> pane, and click on <b>Add</b> button. Then to make sure the script is setup correctly or to change it, just double-click on it in the list. Make sure that the header to scan is set to <b>"To"</b> (without quotes), check the e-mail address to look for and the destination mailbox and finally choose if you want to keep the original message. If you enter <i>"No"</i> (without quotes) then Poco will only save this message in the mailbox you specified. If you enter <i>"Yes"</i>, then the message will be copied to the destination mailbox, as well as to the Sent mailbox.<p>
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