Replying: Can I control the layout?

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FrankSMS
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Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by FrankSMS »

Latest Thunderbird on Win7.
In Opera Mail and older email programs I used to use the system used the > symbol. So when you replied it would look like this:

>>Hey, how far is it?
>Not sure. Do you know downtown?
Nope.

Thunderbird uses a blue vertical line on the left and right side. I hate this thing as it really interferes with editing the message. Hit the backspace one too much and suddenly the text from the reply is moved up out of that replied to area. Can I change things so it uses the > symbol? I've set it not to use HTML.
Last edited by FrankSMS on October 23rd, 2017, 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by DanRaisch »

If you are using plain text rather than HTML when replying to messages you should be getting the > (Greater than symbol) in the body of the message to which you are replying. For instance:

Image

Rather than the HTML reply format:

Image
FrankSMS
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by FrankSMS »

Well in Settings, Composition and Addressing, Composition, Compose Messages in HTML format....its blank.
Why do I see these vertical lines?
Last edited by FrankSMS on October 23rd, 2017, 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by DanRaisch »

Was the received message composed in HTML?
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tanstaafl
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by tanstaafl »

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Quote_bars for how to disable the blue quote bar.
FrankSMS
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by FrankSMS »

Nothing I can do in about:config that can remedy this? With all the focus today on security you'd think they'd encourage people to communicate in Plain Text. And the > thing works a whole lot better in Plain Text.
FrankSMS
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by FrankSMS »

DanRaisch wrote:Was the received message composed in HTML?
It could have been. Since most people use it by default, probably it was. When people use their phones and webmail it probably is usually HTML so they can insert their all important little facial expressions thanks to a stunted vocabulary most people are cursed with today.
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tanstaafl
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by tanstaafl »

moz2u wrote:Nothing I can do in about:config that can remedy this?
See the http://kb.mozillazine.org/Quote_bars KB article I pointed you to. It had a link to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunde ... te-colors/ which claims it can be used to disable quote bars.

Otherwise you can make the changes the KB article describes in prefs.js using about:config or tools -> options -> advanced -> general -> config editor. Then see if you can get by without making the changes in userContent.css, which I suspect are cosmetic.
FrankSMS
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by FrankSMS »

Where in about:config do I make the changes? Nothing under prefs.js. And is there an explanation as to what all the things do in about:config?
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tanstaafl
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by tanstaafl »

FrankSMS
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by FrankSMS »

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tanstaafl
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Re: Replying: Can I control the layout?

Post by tanstaafl »

That link got mangled due to the ':'. You need to check "do not automatically parse URLs". It's http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config . However, http://kb.mozillazine.org/Modify_Thunderbird_settings explains how to use the config editor built into Thunderbird. It has the same capabilities as about:config in Firefox, its just invoked differently.
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