Review: Write better-formatted messages with Markdown Here

Gmail doesn't offer you much in the way of formatting to make your emails look more attactive. That's fine for most emails, but sometimes you need a bit more pizzazz—like, say, a headline. Then again, maybe you often email code snippets, and could use some automatic syntax coloring. Markdown Here is an unobtrusive extension that can help convert your text into well-formed HTML.

Markdown Here offers fine-grained settings for controlling the CSS that's included with your formatted emails.

Markdown is a simple way to format text using special characters: To write an italic word, just surround it with asterisks. To make a word bold, just surround it with two pairs of asterisks. Markdown can be used to create links, headlines, bulleted or numbered lists, tables, horizontal rules, block quotes and more. Markdown's simple and friendly syntax was inspired by plain-text emails, so it makes sense to use Markdown to format email. With Markdown Here, you can write an email using Markdown, and then hit Alt+Ctrl+M and watch it transform into a beautiful, richly formatted message. Code listings get syntax highlighting, you can use multiple levels of headlines, and more. Don’t like the formatting? Hit the Markdown button again and it reverts to plain text so you can tweak it and try again.

To format any Markdown text as HTML, simply select it, right-click, and click Markdown Toggle.

You can also use Markdown Here when replying: Just highlight the part of the message you wish to format with Markdown, and hit the key combination. That combination doesn't have to be Ctrl+Alt+M–I like to use just Alt+M, and Markdown Here lets me easily change this. And if you often email code snippets, you can even pick one of several themes for syntax highlighted code. One note of caution, though; adding HTML and CSS to email messages can cause problems with some email clients, so if you are using this for a mailing list, offer a plain text version as well.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
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MiTeC Mail Viewer Makes Accessing Old Messages Easier

Switching email clients is a painstaking proposition, but accessing old messages is a little easier with handy utility MiTeC Mail Viewer (free).

MiTeC Mail Viewer lets you read old email messages easily, including the complete text of the message and any attachments.Mail Viewer lets you access mail databases from Microsoft Outlook Express 4, 5, and 6; Windows Mail/Windows Live Mail; and Mozilla Thunderbird, as well as single EML files. It doesn't require installation: just run the executable file whenever you need to access it. You won't get a lot of hand-holding along the way, however, as Mail Viewer offers little guidance.

To use the program, you have to know what kind of messages you're looking for, and it's helpful to have an idea of where they're stored. Mail Viewer lets you choose between opening an Outlook Express message database, a folder containing EML files (from Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail), a Mozilla Thunderbird database, and a single EML file. It will suggest a location for the databases, but if you've moved messages over from an older computer or stored them on a networked drive, you're going to have to point Mail Viewer to the correct location.

Once you locate the messages you'd like to view, Mail Viewer excels. This utility lets you read messages, complete with attachments, just as easily as if you were using your original email client. You can see the sender, any other recipients, time stamps, and more. Messages can be saved and printed.

If you've been using Gmail for years, and have a complete online record of all the messages you've sent and received, then you're probably wondering why there's a need for MiTeC Mail Viewer. But if you have a locked database of old Outlook Express messages that seems to be tougher to open than a safe at Fort Knox, Mail Viewer holds the key.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

—Liane Cassavoy

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Make Thunderbird Mark Messages as Read After You Reply

One of my resolutions for 2012 is to break free of Microsoft Outlook. My dislike of that program knows no bounds, yet I've been stuck with it for years. Now I'm shopping for replacements.

First, I'll need a new e-mail client, and I know Mozilla Thunderbird's reputation well enough to make it my first candidate.

After spending an afternoon with the program, I found myself exasperated by one incomprehensibly dumb feature (or lack thereof): when you reply to an e-mail, Thunderbird doesn't mark it as read.

Huh? Seriously? It's true. By default, Thunderbird will mark a message as read after you've viewed it for a certain amount of time (five seconds is the standard setting). But I always turn that option off, as I'm not always done with an e-mail the first time I look at it.

With that setting off, Thunderbird won't mark any message as read, even if you reply to it. Ridiculous.

Fortunately, there's an add-on that can save the day. It's called Change Quote and Reply Format (not the most glamorous name, I grant you), and it works.

To get it, click the link above, scroll down to the bottom of the page, then download the file (which is provided in xpi format). Now fire up Thunderbird, then click Tools, Add-ons.

Next to the field marked "Search all add-ons," click the little gear and choose Install Add-on From File. Navigate to the folder where you saved the xpi file, click it, and then click Open.

Now click Extensions, find the Change Quote and Reply Format add-on, and click Options. Click the Format and actions tab, then enable Mark message as read after reply. Click OK and you're done.

Now, when you reply to an e-mail, Thunderbird will mark it as read. Duh, Thunderbird!

Contributing Editor Rick Broidawrites about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, or try the treasure trove of helpful folks in the PC World Community Forums.Sign up to have theHassle-Free PC newslettere-mailed to you each week.

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