From MozillaZine Knowledge Base

To create a new mailing list

1. In the main window, click on the "Address Book" icon to open the Address Book window (or use menu path Tools->Address Book, or press Ctrl+2).

2. Click on the "New List" icon (or go "File -> New -> Mailing List...").

3. In the dialog box that pops up, use the drop-down list to select the address book to which you want the new list to belong. Also type in the list name and, if you wish, a nickname and description.

4. To enter addresses into the list, you can either:

• Type them in by hand. (Note, addresses need not exist in the parent Address Book before being entered as members of the list. However, if they do exist, auto-completion will be invoked during typing, thus facilitating entry of the email address. When corresponding Address cards do not previously exist, skeleton address cards will be created in the parent Address Book). This method only permits entry of the name and email address combination at the time so any data beyond the email address, eg. Contact's nickname, street address, phone number, company name, etc. will need to be entered separately into the corresponding address card in the parent Address Book, either before or after completing addition of that address to the list.

• Drag and drop the names from the contact list (right hand pane). Standard methods of selecting multiple entries can be used.

• Copy them from the source of a message, and paste them in the list.

5. Close the dialog box for the list you just created, and the list will now appear in the "Address Books" pane, under the address book to which it belongs. You can now drag-and-drop (some people may need to hold Ctrl key when drag-and-dropping) individual address cards from any address book onto the list. Important: although the new list will be shown in both the "Address Books" pane (on the left) and the "Contacts" pane (on the right), make sure you drag-and-drop the address cards onto the list where it appears in the Address Books pane.

To compose a message addressed to a mailing list

To compose a message addressed to a mailing list that you've created, do any one of the following:

• With the Address Book window open, select the mailing list you want to use from the Contacts pane (on the right side of the window) and click on the "Write" button on the toolbar. Alternatively, right-click on the mailing list in the "Contacts" pane and choose "Write". A new Compose window will pop open, with the name of the mailing list shown on a single line in the "To" field.

• With the Address Book window open, select the mailing list you want to use from the Address Books pane (on the left side of the window) and click on the Write button on the toolbar. A new Compose window will pop open, with each recipient on the mailing list shown on a separate line in the "To" field.

• From the main window, click on the "Write" button on the toolbar. In the Compose window that pops open, double-click on the mailing list in the Contacts sidebar. Alternatively, right-click on the mailing list in the "Contacts" sidebar and choose "Add to To field". (If the "Contacts" sidebar is not open, you'll need to first open it by selecting "View -> Contacts Sidebar" or by clicking on the "Contacts" button on the toolbar.) In the Compose window, the name of the mailing list should now appear on a single line in the "To" field.

• In the Compose window, type the nickname for the mailing list in the "To" field and press the Enter key. The name shown in the "To" field should change to the full name of the mailing list.

No matter which of these options you use, the email addresses of everyone on the mailing list will be visible to anyone who receives the message, even if all that you see in the "To" field is the name of the mailing list. If you do not want your recipients to see all the addresses, then use the small drop-down list next to the "To" field to change "To" to "Bcc".

Using the AddressContext extension to create a list

The AddressContext extension provides an easier way to create a list. If you select one or more messages in the folder listing, right click on the selection and then select addressContext it gives you the option to add either all the senders or all the recipients to a list. However, if you want to add any other email addresses to the list you have to do that normally.

Avoid sending to an address in a mailing list

The NotTo extension adds a "NotTo" option to the drop down list which can be used to avoid sending a message to the specified addresses despite their being included in a mailing list. It also provides a "NotTo Forward" option which can be used to avoid forwarding a message to the original sender.

The AddExpandedList extension lets you right click on a mailing list in the Contacts pane, and tell it to add the contents of the list as seperate To:, CC:, or BCC: fields. The advantage of this extension is that you can tell whetehr the extension worked correctly before sending the message.

External links

• Display mailing list header extension
• Reply to list extension