160468 - Make "Wrap plain text messages at ___ characters" a checkbox

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(MailNews Core :: Composition, enhancement)

Description

[Blake Ross]

In the mail composition preference panel, we have the following pref: "Wrap
plain text messages at [   ] characters".  The help says "Enter a number to set
the right margin for text in the message area."  Is there any reason that the
average user would want to set this?

Comment 1

[Jean-Francois Ducarroz]

-->varada

Comment 2

[jglick]

I think thats a valid point. I'd agree most average users wouldn't change this 
(or even know why someone would want to change it). Cc'ing putterman for his 
opinion and any history associated with this pref.

Comment 3

[scottputterman]

I don't know any history behind this and I don't have any problem with removing it.

Comment 4

[leon.zhang]

current feedback from users said :
"If word-wrap is selected in preferences, word wrap does not work in Netscape 7
mail messenger.

Same results if option de-selected. This used to work in 6.2.2 but now 7.0 seems
to have broken it. Lines continue on with no wrap on compose mail and also on
some received emails, there is no reason I can see why some wrap and other do not."

so we should give a solution.

Comment 5

[Henry Jia]

I see that netscape 4.76 also has this preference. But unfortunately, the
function also doesn't work there in my solaris version.

Should we support the wrap function? IMHO, it's a good function. :-)

Comment 6

[Henry Jia]

> But unfortunately, the function also doesn't work there in my solaris version.

It works. Sorry for the spam.

Comment 7

[leon.zhang]

I think this function is useful,but to activiate it, you should deselect
"compose messgaes in html format" in your "Mail & Newsgroup account seetings".

This is why so many peopele complain this function is not available now.

so keep this function, but should reconstruct a new using process,or setting
interface.

Comment 8

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

taking all of varada's bugs.

Comment 9

[Kalin Kozhuharov]

I don't see why this should be removed?

Instead to make it fully functional, add a checkbox in front and grey averything
when not selected, like:
 _
|_| Wrap plain text messages at _____ charcters.

There are simply times when I need to send long lines, e.g. debug output, long
URLs etc. and there is no way except setting it to 1000 for example.

Comment 10

[http://tinymailto.com/oliversl]

I agree with comment #9
Also, I think this is a standard feature. I know it since the Communicator era.

Comment 11

[Les Gasser]

I agree this is an essential feature. When I send a long line
(e.g. a long URL) or when I format a paragraph myself and
want it sent verbatim, I need to have a way to prevent
Mail/news from reformatting my lines. Wrapping a long
URL is a sure way to make it unfunctional in receivers'
mail clients. 

Comment 12

[calocybe]

Just for the record: Mozilla Mail does not wrap long URLs, probably because URLs
never contain white-space.

Comment 13

[Stewart Gordon]

I guess that some average users read 'groups that have plenty of OE lusers in
them, and so like to set the wrap width to something that'll take more than one
quoting level before too many superfluous line breaks show up.

Comment 14

[Dan Higgins]

This preference really can't go away. 

Even if I want to compose my emails only in HTML, I still send both a text/plain
part and a text/html part, in case some recipient is using a text-based mail
reader. 

This preference is for the text/plain part to be wrapped neatly for those folks
who can't view text/html in their mail readers.

It probably makes more sense for the compose window to have an option to not
wrap the CURRENT message only, rather than changing the prefs dialog itself.

Comment 15

[Max Alekseyev]

What if I do not want wrapping at all? Shouldn't this option be changed into a
checkbox like

[ ] Wrap plain text messages at ____ characters.

Comment 16

[Max Alekseyev]

Changing Summary according to a number of suggestions.

Comment 17

[Max Alekseyev]

*** Bug 145895 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

Comment 18

[(not reading, please use [e-mail] instead)]

sorry for the spam.  making bugzilla reflect reality as I'm not working on these bugs.  filter on FOOBARCHEESE to remove these in bulk.

Comment 19

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Although it's format flowed by default that doesn't mean it's not wrapped - for clients that don't understand ff. So I don't think this is something we wanna do.

Comment 20

[Wayne Mery (:wsmwk)]

(In reply to comment #19)
> Although it's format flowed by default that doesn't mean it's not wrapped - for
> clients that don't understand ff. So I don't think this is something we wanna
> do.

more perspective?
impacts bug 155219

Comment 21

[Magnus Melin [:mkmelin]]

Bug 448706 removed the UI for this. 
->WONTFIX