Enigmail Help

Using Enigmail when composing messages

Enigmail menu in Mail/Compose window

Sign message

Enable/Disable sending signed mail. User is notified, if signing fails.

Encrypt message

Enable/Disable encryption to all recipient(s) before sending. User is notified, if encryption fails.

If Display selection when necessary is set in Preferences -> Key Selection tab, a list of keys will pop up if there are addresses in the list of recipients for the message for whom you have no public key.

If Never display OpenPGP key selection dialog is set in Preferences -> Key Selection tab, and there are addresses in the list of recipients for the message for whom you have no public key, the message will be sent unencrypted.

Use PGP/MIME for this message

Enable/Disable the use of PGP/MIME for this message.

If you know the recipient(s) can read mail using the PGP/MIME format, you should use it.

This feature is dependent on the settings in Preferences -> PGP/MIME tab being set to Allow to use PGP/MIME or Always use PGP/MIME.

Default composition options

• Signing/Encryption Options...: shortcut to Account Settings -> OpenPGP Options.
• Send options...: shortcut to Preferences -> Send tab.
• Key selection options...: shortcut to Preferences -> Key Selection tab.
• PGP/MIME options...: shortcut to Preferences -> PGP/MIME tab.

Undo encryption

If there is a failure when actually sending mail, such as the POP server not accepting the request, Enigmail will not know about it, and the encrypted message will continue to be displayed in the Compose window. Choosing this menu item will undo the encryption/signing, reverting the Compose window back to its original text.

As a temporary fix, this option may also be used to decrypt the quoted text when replying to encrypted messages. Enigmail should automatically decrypt the quoted message, but if that fails for some reason, you can use this menu item to force it.

Insert public key

insert ASCII-armored public key block at the current cursor location in the Compose window. You will be prompted for the email addresses of the key(s) to be inserted. Keys inserted in this manner will automatically be recognized at the receiving end by Enigmail. After key insertion, you may still choose to sign/encrypt the mail as needed. Also, do not insert more than one key block in a message; just specify multiple email addresses, separated by commas or spaces, when prompted.

Clear save passphrase

Clears cached passphrase. Useful if you have multiple passphrases.

Help

Displays Help information from the website (this page).

Further help is available on the Enigmail Help web page