Reply format for kmail

[pwabrahams]

Where can I control the reply format for kmail? At some point not long ago it changed -- much for the worse -- and I haven't been able to change it back. The old format, which I liked, was that each line of the original text was preceded by >. Now that's gone and my reply is indented. How can I get the old format back? There are lots of settings that seem related but I haven't been able to find the one that does what I need.

In the kmail settings / Composer / Standard Templates / Reply to Sender I find this:

%"Default reply template"%-
On %ODATE %OTIMELONG you wrote:
%QUOTE
%CURSOR

The quote indicator is set to >, which is what I want. But I still don't see how to modify this to get the effect I'm looking for (and used to have).

I asked this question over in the Ubuntu Forum but haven't gotten any responses.

[claydoh]

That is due to the relatively recent inclusion of html formatting support in kmail, finally (for what it is worth).

I find that it is extremely difficult to format replies when this is enabled, as it follows the format of the originator. But I found a way to fix that just now, actually, for KDE 4.10. Not sure if this option is present in previous versions:

Go to Settings >> Configure Kmail >> Composer and uncheck the option "reply using HTML if present", and Bingo! Back to a sane way to reply

[pwabrahams]

Killing html is the trick

Thanks, Claydoh. I never would have thought of it, but unchecking the html box solved the problem completely.

[pwabrahams]

I don't know how I got into this state, but now when I reply to a message I get the message twice: once literally and once with "<" in front of it. I've unchecked all the boxes in the General page of Composer and it doesn't help.

[SteveRiley]

Hm, that's weird. Let's take a look at your .kde/share/config/kmail2rc. Put it in a pastebin someplace and post the URL here. Maybe there's something messed up in the [TemplateParser] section.

Also -- have you configured and enabled any custom templates for your Kmail identity?

[pwabrahams]

Hm, that's weird. Let's take a look at your .kde/share/config/kmail2rc. Put it in a pastebin someplace and post the URL here. Maybe there's something messed up in the [TemplateParser] section.

Also -- have you configured and enabled any custom templates for your Kmail identity?

You can find my kmail2rc here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/etxocvgg2hwfv20/kmail2rc

I'm not using any custom templates.

[SteveRiley]

Yep, found the problem. Here's your [TemplateParser] section, with the problematic portion shown in red:

[TemplateParser]
StripSignature=false
TemplateReply=On %ODATE %OTIMELONG you wrote:\n[COLOR="#FF0000"]%TEXT[/COLOR]%QUOTE\n%CURSOR
TemplateReplyAll=On %ODATE %OTIMELONG %OFROMNAME wrote:\n%QUOTE\n%CURSOR
replySameFormat=false
smart-quote=false

%TEXT% copies the message text without the quote indicator. %QUOTE copies the message text with the quote indicator. Go to Configure KMail | Composer | Standard Templates. Edit the Reply to Sender template. Remove the %TEXT entry.

[pwabrahams]

That did it. I'm back to where I wanted to be at last. Thanks, Steve.

[marco07]

Steve:
On another matter, when I am in Firefox and click on File>send link, kmail does not auto include my email address in "From" window and I have to type it manualy. Is this something that needs to be added to a template or what?
Thanks in advance!

[SteveRiley]

Hm. You shouldn't have to be filling in a "from" address at all. In your KMail configuration, is your identity flagged as "default" and (on the Advanced tab) have you chosen an outgoing account? Second step shouldn't be necessary if you have only one such account.

[marco07]

Hm. You shouldn't have to be filling in a "from" address at all. In your KMail configuration, is your identity flagged as "default" and (on the Advanced tab) have you chosen an outgoing account? Second step shouldn't be necessary if you have only one such account.

Evidently, although my identity was flagged "default", when I checked the details by clicking on "modify" tab, I noted that the email address box was left blank. I added my address and all is OK now.
Thanks as always Steve!