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Thunderbird (GUI)
-By default, thunderbird likes to mangle text, but there are ways to
-coerce it into being nice.
-
-- Under account settings, composition and addressing, uncheck "Compose
- messages in HTML format".
-
-- Edit your Thunderbird config settings to tell it not to wrap lines:
- user_pref("mailnews.wraplength", 0);
-
-- Edit your Thunderbird config settings so that it won't use format=flowed:
- user_pref("mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed", false);
-
-- You need to get Thunderbird into preformat mode:
-. If you compose HTML messages by default, it's not too hard. Just select
- "Preformat" from the drop-down box just under the subject line.
-. If you compose in text by default, you have to tell it to compose a new
- message in HTML (just as a one-off), and then force it from there back to
- text, else it will wrap lines. To do this, use shift-click on the Write
- icon to compose to get HTML compose mode, then select "Preformat" from
- the drop-down box just under the subject line.
+Thunderbird is an Outlook clone that likes to mangle text, but there are ways
+to coerce it into behaving.
- Allows use of an external editor:
The easiest thing to do with Thunderbird and patches is to use an
View->Toolbars->Customize... and finally just click on it when in the
Compose dialog.
+To beat some sense out of the internal editor, do this:
+
+- Under account settings, composition and addressing, uncheck "Compose
+ messages in HTML format".
+
+- Edit your Thunderbird config settings so that it won't use format=flowed.
+ Go to "edit->preferences->advanced->config editor" to bring up the
+ thunderbird's registry editor, and set "mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed" to
+ "false".
+
+- Enable "preformat" mode: Shft-click on the Write icon to bring up the HTML
+ composer, select "Preformat" from the drop-down box just under the subject
+ line, then close the message without saving. (This setting also applies to
+ the text composer, but the only control for it is in the HTML composer.)
+
+- Install the "toggle wordwrap" extension. Download the file from:
+ https://addons.mozilla.org/thunderbird/addon/2351/
+ Then go to "tools->add ons", select "install" at the bottom of the screen,
+ and browse to where you saved the .xul file. This adds an "Enable
+ Wordwrap" entry under the Options menu of the message composer.
+
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TkRat (GUI)