Limit characters in line

[ABLE1]

Hello all,

I have been searching for sometime now to find a way to limit characters
in line
when composing a email on a post such as this one. I can't find it unless
it doesn't exist. It would be so much better to not have to hit the
return key to limit the length of the line in a paragraph as well as
make it easier reading.

I am using TB 45.7.0 on W10

Would also be nice to limit the length of a lines for those incoming emails
and post from others that don't see this as being an option with there
composition.

As I seem to remember this was a option with Outlook Express of bygone
years.

So, is there a menu option or selection that I am missing or maybe a hidden
trick that will help with my quest to not wear out my Return Key??

Thanks to all that contribute.

Les

[David E. Ross]

The following assumes you are composing in plain-text and not HTML.

1. On the Thunderbird menu bar, select [Tools > Options].

2. On the Options window, select [Advanced > General].

3. On the General tab, select the Config Editor button. (If you get a
warning, ignore it and navigate onward.)

4. In the Search area of the about:config window, enter "wrap" without
the quotes.

5. For each of the following, right-click and select Reset IF the
Status is not default:
mail.compose.wrap_to_window_width
mail.wrap_long_lines
mailnews.wraplength
plain_text.wrap_long_lines

6. For the following, right-click and select Toggle IF the value is not
true:
view_source.wrap_long_lines

7. Close the about:config window by selecting the X in its upper-right
corner.

NOTE: The default line-length is 72 characters. If you want a
different line-length, change the value of mailnews.wraplength.
Right-click on it in step #5 and select Modify. However, 72 is the
conventional line-length, not merely in Thunderbird but in most E-mail
applications (a hold-over from the early days of punched card computers).

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Paraphrasing Mark Twain, who was quoting someone else:
There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and
alternative truths.

[ABLE1]

David,

Excellent!! That worked perfect. I left at the 72 which is proper and
feels right.

So this leads to my next question. This handles plain text, so, what
about HTML?? Can anything be done to have the same happen in emails
using HTML??

Thanks again!!!

Les

[David E. Ross]

I have no idea how to do this for HTML-formatted messages. For me, HTML
is for Web pages, plain-text is for messages. My Web pages adapt to the
size of the browser window because I do not use fixed sizes of
"containers" (e.g.: tables, divs) other than some images.

[The Real Bev]

In TB 38 about:config -- mailnews.wraplength default integer 72

Change it to what you want.

--
Cheers, Bev
"I believe that forgiving [terrorists] is God's function.
Our job is to arrange the meeting."
- Norman Schwartzkopf

[ABLE1]

Ok, I also have noticed that the change only effects what I type not
what comes in for viewing. Is there a way to change the line length of
messages or emails of viewed postings other than shrinking the window??

Again thanks to all that contribute.

Les

[Chris Ramsden]

On 2017-02-05 17:04, ABLE1 wrote:

> Ok, I also have noticed that the change only effects what I type not
> what comes in for viewing. Is there a way to change the line length
> of messages or emails of viewed postings other than shrinking the
> window??
>

> Again thanks to all that contribute.
>
> Les
>
Try this in your userContent.css

/* Avoid annoyingly long lines */
body {
max-width: 80em;
}

pre {
max-width: 80em;
white-space: pre-wrap; /* CSS 3 */
}


Adjust the 80em to suit your needs. You can use the various available
sizing units in place of the 80em, such as 100% (to use the full width
of the window) or possibly points or pixels.
--
Chris

[Chris Ramsden]

On 2017-02-05 17:04, ABLE1 wrote:

> Ok, I also have noticed that the change only effects what I type not
> what comes in for viewing. Is there a way to change the line length of
> messages or emails of viewed postings other than shrinking the window??
>

> Again thanks to all that contribute.
>
> Les
>

Les,

I'd like to see your settings. Have you noticed that the postings here
by Dave Ross and The Real Bev are intrinsically wrapped, so will never
flow past a certain pre-set length. Mine appear to flow to full width if
I use HTML, but I have full confidence that even then they will wrap
gracefully. In this particular case I have chosen plain text mode which
will wrap at the time of composition at the 72 character width or
whatever is set here in Thunderbird.

It does appear that messages composed using certain clients or tools use
characters for spacing that are not recognized by the wrapping tools as
word breaks. I believe this is a particular issue with messages composed
in apple mail and related clients.

I can't work out whether you have lines that extend off the screen, or
just lines (like those you compose yourself) that are cosmetically
unsatisfactory.

--
Chris

[Chris Ramsden]

On 2017-02-05 17:04, ABLE1 wrote:

Ok, I also have noticed that the change only effects what I type not
what comes in for viewing.  Is there a way to change the line length of messages or emails of viewed postings other than shrinking the window??

Again thanks to all that contribute.

Les

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Here is pretty much the same text but composed in HTML mode. I anticipate this spreading out to fill the window.

Les,

I'd like to see your settings. Have you noticed that the postings here by Dave Ross and The Real Bev are intrinsically wrapped, so will never flow past a certain pre-set length. Mine appear to flow to full width if I use HTML, but I have full confidence that even then they will wrap gracefully. In this particular case I have chosen HTML mode which will wrap at the time of composition to the display width.

It does appear that messages composed using certain clients or tools use characters for spacing that are not recognized by the wrapping tools as word breaks. I believe this is a particular issue with messages composed in apple mail and related clients. The userContent.css fix I suggested elsewhere is useful to wrap to a user-set preferred width, but will still be defeated by lines lacking any conventional break points.

[David E. Ross]

I do not know if this is why my lines wrap, but I have the following in
my user.js file:

user_pref("mailnews.display.disable_format_flowed_support", true);
user_pref("mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed", false);
// Disable format=flowed messages
// Use of format=flowed interferes with use of PGP
// bugs #86607, #98397, #448198, and #1051129