Change the quoting string?

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dazuelos
Posts: 6
Joined: July 14th, 2020, 9:23 am

Change the quoting string?

Post by dazuelos »

I would like to change the string "> " inserted before any line of quoted text in any reply in plain text. I don't want to replace it by an empty string, because the quotation level
would disappear, but rather by something much more easy to read like: "! ", "| ", "\" ".

In the Thunderbird preferences "prefs.js" I didn't see any entry about the indent string
which is "> ".

I am not searching for a way to change the style in use to display this string, but for a way to
change it.

Is this a preference one can change?

How to find the name of this preference?
Last edited by dazuelos on July 27th, 2020, 10:33 am, edited 3 times in total.
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WaltS48
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Joined: May 7th, 2010, 9:38 am
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by WaltS48 »

Not sure which one it is but I think it is one of the "quote" preferences in General > Config Editor.
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morat
Posts: 6403
Joined: February 3rd, 2009, 6:29 pm

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by morat »

I kinda changed the indent string with a style.

Code: Select all

/* Thunderbird userContent.css */

/* mail.quoted_graphical pref (default true)
   true  - use html style quoting for displaying plain text
   false - use indent string "> " for displaying plain text */

@-moz-document url-prefix("imap:"), url-prefix("mailbox:"), url-prefix("news:") {
  span.moz-txt-citetags {
    visibility: hidden !important;
  }
  span.moz-txt-citetags::after {
    content: "$ " !important;
    visibility: visible !important;
  }
}
http://kb.mozillazine.org/UserContent.css

Thunderbird 68: CSS to change Quote Colours
http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/562721
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tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by tanstaafl »

dazuelos
Posts: 6
Joined: July 14th, 2020, 9:23 am

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by dazuelos »

morat wrote:I kinda changed the indent string with a style.

Code: Select all

/* Thunderbird userContent.css */
[...]
[/quote]
Is this working for [b]plain text[/b]?
morat
Posts: 6403
Joined: February 3rd, 2009, 6:29 pm

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by morat »

@dazuelos

You can apply a style to a plain text message in the message pane using the userContent.css file.

I don't know if that particular style works with your setup.

There are various preferences that affect how quotes are displayed in a plain text message in the message pane.

e.g.

* mail.quoted_graphical
* mail.quoteasblock
* mailnews.display.disable_format_flowed_support
dazuelos
Posts: 6
Joined: July 14th, 2020, 9:23 am

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by dazuelos »

morat wrote:@dazuelos

You can apply a style to a plain text message in the message pane using the userContent.css file.

I don't know if that particular style works with your setup.
[...]
The chrome/userContent.css doesn't change the indent string, it is still "> ".
What this CSS changes is the the style the indent string is displayed only and only when you display HTML.

My OQ is about real content and for people working with plain text messages.

I updated my OQ since it wasn't clear enough.
Last edited by dazuelos on July 26th, 2020, 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Change the indent string?

Post by tanstaafl »

Did you set toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true using the config editor? That's needed to enable use of userChrome.css and userContent.css in version 68 and later.

https://support.mozilla.org/bm/questions/1272749
https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforTb
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/05/24/firef ... y-default/
dazuelos
Posts: 6
Joined: July 14th, 2020, 9:23 am

Re: Change the quoting string?

Post by dazuelos »

tanstaafl wrote:Did you set toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true using the config editor?
Yes:

Code: Select all

$ grep legacy prefs.js
user_pref("toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets", true);
$ 
The prefix string within my replies is still "> " for quoted text.
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