Responding to Messages

Replying to a Message
Forwarding a Message
Redirecting a Message
Sending Rejected Messages Again

Replying to a Message

To reply to the current message, select Reply from the Message menu. A new message window is displayed, with the original sender's address automatically placed in the To field of the header. All of the sender's original text is quoted in the message body. This text can be edited as needed. Additional text can be added to the reply just as to any outgoing message, and the reply can then be sent or saved for further changes.

If the sender's text did not include style information, each line is prefixed by a greater-than symbol (>).

Quoted text that does not include style information

If the sender's text did include style information (e.g., bold text), it is quoted with greater-than and less-than symbols above it and below it, and a left sidebar.

Quoted text that includes style information

Messages that have been replied to are identified with an "R" in the Status column of their message summary.

Using the Reply Options

There are several options that you can use when replying to messages.

To include everyone who received the original message, select Reply to All from the Message menu.

To include yourself as a recipient, turn on the Include yourself option in the Replying Options. This only works if you are using Reply to All.

Note: To determine who you are, Eudora uses the "me" nickname. If there is no "me," Eudora uses the contents of the POP account and Return address fields from the Personal Information Options. The "me" nickname is particularly useful if you have multiple addresses and don't want replies to go to any of those addresses.

To put the addresses of the other recipients of the original message in the Cc field (instead of the To field), turn on the Put original To recipients in Cc field, not To field option in the Replying Options. Only the original sender's address is put in the To field. This only works if you are using Reply to All.

To copy the original message's priority to your replies, turn on the Copy original's priority to reply option in the Replying Options.

To map Ctrl-R to Reply to All instead of Reply, turn on this option in the Replying Options.

Replying with a Stationery File

To reply to a message with a stationery file, select a stationery file from the Reply With submenu from the Message menu. The Message Options dialog is displayed. Select the stationery you want to use (you can also choose a personality, but that will set the stationery to the default for that personality), and click Open. The stationery file is opened as a message and is addressed as appropriate (your Replying Options are used). For details about stationery, see the section "Using a Stationery File."

Forwarding a Message

Any message can be forwarded to someone else. To forward the current message, select Forward from the Message menu. A new message window is displayed with your address in the From field, the original sender's text quoted in the message body, and the original attachments in the Attachments field. For details on how text is quoted, see the section "Replying to a Message." Make any changes you want, and enter the recipients' address in the To field. The message can then be sent or saved for further changes.

Note: If you forward an outgoing message (a message you sent), the attachment(s) is not automatically included.

Messages that have been forwarded are identified with an "F" in the Status column of their message summary.

Redirecting a Message

Incoming messages can be sent to a new recipient "by way of" you, maintaining the original sender's address in the From field. This is called redirecting.

To redirect the current message, select Redirect from the Message menu. A new message window is displayed with the original sender's address in the From field with the statement "by way of your address", the original sender's text in the message body, and the original attachments in the Attachments field. Make any changes you want, and enter the recipient's address in the To field. The message can then be sent or saved for further changes.

Note: You may want to enclose any changes in brackets ([]) so that you don't confuse the recipient about who wrote what.

A Redirected message

Messages that have been redirected are identified with an "D" in the Status column of their message summary.

Turbo Redirecting

You can redirect a message to someone on your recipient list, queue the new message (without displaying it), and delete the original message, all with one command. To do this, turn on the Turbo redirect by default option in the Miscellaneous Options.

Redirect and Signatures

When you use Redirect, your signature is not added to the message when it is sent, unless you originally created the message. Eudora considers the message to be originally from you if the address in the From field exactly matches your return address, or your nickname called "me."

Sending Rejected Messages Again

If for some reason an e-mail message can't be delivered to a recipient, mail transport agents return the message to the original sender (you). A message is typically rejected because of an error in the recipient's address, although many other reasons are possible.

The return message usually includes cryptic information that may let you determine the reason the message was rejected. It also includes the text of the original message.

You can easily recover the original message, make any corrections, and resend it. To do this for the current message, select Send Again from the Message menu. This eliminates the inserted extra text and reformats the message as it originally appeared. You can then make changes or additions and send the message again.