letters.html revision 1.1
1 1.1 christos <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> 2 1.1 christos <html> 3 1.1 christos <head> 4 1.1 christos <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> 5 1.1 christos <title>Mom -- Document Processing, Writing Letters</title> 6 1.1 christos </head> 7 1.1 christos <body bgcolor="#dfdfdf"> 8 1.1 christos 9 1.1 christos <!====================================================================> 10 1.1 christos 11 1.1 christos <a href="macrolist.html#TOP">Next</a> 12 1.1 christos <a href="refer.html#TOP">Prev</a> 13 1.1 christos <a href="toc.html">Back to Table of Contents</a> 14 1.1 christos <p> 15 1.1 christos 16 1.1 christos <a name="TOP"></a> 17 1.1 christos <a name="LETTERS"> 18 1.1 christos <h1 align="center"><u>WRITING LETTERS WITH MOM</u></h1> 19 1.1 christos </a> 20 1.1 christos 21 1.1 christos <a name="LETTERS_INTRO"> 22 1.1 christos <h2><u>Introduction</u></h2> 23 1.1 christos </a> 24 1.1 christos 25 1.1 christos <strong>Mom</strong>'s simple but effective letter-writing 26 1.1 christos macros are a subset of the 27 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#DOCPROCESSING">document processing macros</a>, 28 1.1 christos designed to ease the creation of correspondence. 29 1.1 christos <p> 30 1.1 christos Because the letter macros are a subset of the document 31 1.1 christos processing macros, you can use 32 1.1 christos <a href="definitions.html#TERMS_CONTROLMACRO">control macros</a> 33 1.1 christos to design correspondence to your own specifications. However, 34 1.1 christos <strong>mom</strong> makes no pretence of providing complete design 35 1.1 christos flexibility in the matter of letters, which are, after all, simple 36 1.1 christos communicative documents whose only real style requirements are that 37 1.1 christos they be neat and professional-looking. 38 1.1 christos <p> 39 1.1 christos <a name="TUTORIAL"><h2><u>Tutorial on writing letters</u></h2></a> 40 1.1 christos <p> 41 1.1 christos <strong>Mom</strong> letters begin, like all 42 1.1 christos <strong>mom</strong>-processed documents, with a 43 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#REFERENCE_MACROS">reference macro</a> 44 1.1 christos (in this case, 45 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#AUTHOR">AUTHOR</a>), 46 1.1 christos a 47 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#DOCTYPE">DOCTYPE</a> 48 1.1 christos (<strong>LETTER</strong>, obviously), the essential 49 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#PRINTSTYLE">PRINTSTYLE</a> 50 1.1 christos macro, and 51 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>, 52 1.1 christos like this: 53 1.1 christos <p> 54 1.1 christos <pre> 55 1.1 christos .AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique" 56 1.1 christos .DOCTYPE LETTER 57 1.1 christos .PRINTSTYLE TYPESET 58 1.1 christos .START 59 1.1 christos </pre> 60 1.1 christos 61 1.1 christos <strong>PRINTSTYLE</strong>, above, could also be 62 1.1 christos <strong>TYPEWRITE</strong>. <strong>Mom</strong> has no objection 63 1.1 christos to creating letters that look like they were typed on an Underwood 64 1.1 christos by a shapely secretary with 1940s gams. 65 1.1 christos <p> 66 1.1 christos After the <strong>START</strong> macro, you enter headers pertinent to 67 1.1 christos your letter: the date, the addressee (in business correspondence, 68 1.1 christos typically both name and address), the addresser (that's you; in 69 1.1 christos business correspondence, typically both name and address), and a 70 1.1 christos greeting (in full, e.g. "Dear Mr. Smith," or "Dear 71 1.1 christos Mr. Smith:"). 72 1.1 christos <p> 73 1.1 christos The macros for entering the headers are simple (they're not even 74 1.1 christos <a href="definitions.html#TERMS_TOGGLE">toggles</a>): 75 1.1 christos <p> 76 1.1 christos <pre> 77 1.1 christos .DATE 78 1.1 christos .TO 79 1.1 christos .FROM 80 1.1 christos .GREETING 81 1.1 christos </pre> 82 1.1 christos 83 1.1 christos You may enter them in any order you like, except for 84 1.1 christos <strong>GREETING</strong>, which must come last. 85 1.1 christos <strong>Mom</strong> ignores any headers you omit and spaces the 86 1.1 christos letter's opening according to what you do include. See 87 1.1 christos <a href="#LETTERS_DEFAULTS">Default for letters</a> 88 1.1 christos to find out how <strong>mom</strong> formats the headers. 89 1.1 christos <p> 90 1.1 christos (In pre 1.1.7-a releases of <strong>mom</strong>, the order 91 1.1 christos of entry was fixed at the above. This has been changed, although 92 1.1 christos if you do follow the above order, <strong>mom</strong> will 93 1.1 christos continue to behave exactly as she did in pre 1.1.7-a.) 94 1.1 christos <p> 95 1.1 christos Once you've filled in what you need to get a letter started, simply 96 1.1 christos type the letter, introducing each and every paragraph, including 97 1.1 christos the first, with the 98 1.1 christos <a href="docelement.html#PP">PP</a> 99 1.1 christos macro. 100 1.1 christos <p> 101 1.1 christos At the end of the letter, should you wish an indented closing 102 1.1 christos ("Yours truly," "Sincerely," "Hugs and 103 1.1 christos kisses"), invoke the macro <strong>CLOSING</strong> on a 104 1.1 christos line by itself and follow it with the text of the closing. 105 1.1 christos <strong>N.B.</strong> Don't put your name here; <strong>mom</strong> 106 1.1 christos supplies it automatically from <strong>AUTHOR</strong> with 107 1.1 christos enough space to leave room for your signature. 108 1.1 christos 109 1.1 christos <p> 110 1.1 christos Assuming our tutorial letter is for business correspondence, 111 1.1 christos here's what the complete letter looks like. 112 1.1 christos <p> 113 1.1 christos <pre> 114 1.1 christos .AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique" 115 1.1 christos .DOCTYPE LETTER 116 1.1 christos .PRINTSTYLE TYPESET 117 1.1 christos .START 118 1.1 christos .DATE 119 1.1 christos August 25, 2004 120 1.1 christos .TO 121 1.1 christos GUILLAUME BARRIRES 122 1.1 christos Minidoux Corporation 123 1.1 christos 5000 Pannes Drive 124 1.1 christos Redmond, Virginia 125 1.1 christos .FROM 126 1.1 christos Y.P. GUIQUE 127 1.1 christos 022 Umask Road 128 1.1 christos St-Sauveur-en-dehors-de-la-mappe, Qubec 129 1.1 christos .GREETING 130 1.1 christos Dear Mr. Barrires, 131 1.1 christos .PP 132 1.1 christos It has come to my attention that you have been lobbying the 133 1.1 christos US government to prohibit the use of open source software by 134 1.1 christos endeavouring to outlaw so-called "warranty free" 135 1.1 christos applications. 136 1.1 christos .PP 137 1.1 christos I feel it is my duty to inform you that the success of your 138 1.1 christos operating system with its embedded web browser relies heavily 139 1.1 christos on open source programs and protocols, most notably TCP/IP. 140 1.1 christos .PP 141 1.1 christos Therefore, in the interests of your corporation's fiscal health, 142 1.1 christos I strongly advise that you withdraw support for any US 143 1.1 christos legislation that would cripple or render illegal open source 144 1.1 christos development. 145 1.1 christos .CLOSING 146 1.1 christos Sincerely, 147 1.1 christos </pre> 148 1.1 christos 149 1.1 christos This produces a letter with headers that follow the North American 150 1.1 christos standard for business correspondence. If you'd prefer another 151 1.1 christos style of correspondence, for example, British, you'd set up the 152 1.1 christos same letter like this: 153 1.1 christos <p> 154 1.1 christos <pre> 155 1.1 christos .AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique" 156 1.1 christos .DOCTYPE LETTER 157 1.1 christos .PRINTSTYLE TYPESET 158 1.1 christos .START 159 1.1 christos .FROM 160 1.1 christos .RIGHT 161 1.1 christos Y.P. GUIQUE 162 1.1 christos 022 Umask Road 163 1.1 christos St-Sauveur-en-dehors-de-la-mappe, Qubec 164 1.1 christos .TO 165 1.1 christos GUILLAUME BARRIRES 166 1.1 christos Minidoux Corporation 167 1.1 christos 5000 Pannes Drive 168 1.1 christos Redmond, Virginia 169 1.1 christos .DATE 170 1.1 christos .RIGHT 171 1.1 christos August 25, 2004 172 1.1 christos .GREETING 173 1.1 christos Dear Mr. Barrires, 174 1.1 christos </pre> 175 1.1 christos 176 1.1 christos Notice the use of <strong>.RIGHT</strong> after 177 1.1 christos <strong>.FROM</strong> and <strong>.DATE</strong> in this example, 178 1.1 christos used to change the default quad for these macros. 179 1.1 christos <p> 180 1.1 christos <hr> 181 1.1 christos 182 1.1 christos <a name="LETTERS_DEFAULTS"> 183 1.1 christos <h2><u>Defaults for letters</u></h2> 184 1.1 christos </a> 185 1.1 christos 186 1.1 christos In letters, if the order of header macros is 187 1.1 christos <p> 188 1.1 christos <pre> 189 1.1 christos .DATE 190 1.1 christos .TO 191 1.1 christos .FROM 192 1.1 christos .GREETING 193 1.1 christos </pre> 194 1.1 christos 195 1.1 christos <strong>mom</strong> sets 196 1.1 christos <br> 197 1.1 christos <ol> 198 1.1 christos <li>the date flush right, page right, at the top of page one, 199 1.1 christos with a gap of two linespaces underneath 200 1.1 christos <li>the addressee in a block flush left, page left, with a gap of 201 1.1 christos one linespace underneath 202 1.1 christos <li>the addresser in a block flush left, page left, with a gap of 203 1.1 christos one linespace underneath 204 1.1 christos <li>the greeting flush left, with a gap of one linespace 205 1.1 christos underneath 206 1.1 christos </ol> 207 1.1 christos <p> 208 1.1 christos which is the standard for North American business correspondence. 209 1.1 christos <p> 210 1.1 christos If you switch the order of <strong>.DATE</strong>, 211 1.1 christos <strong>.TO</strong> and/or <strong>.FROM</strong>, 212 1.1 christos <strong>mom</strong> sets all the headers flush left, with a gap of 213 1.1 christos one linespace underneath each. (The default left quad of any header 214 1.1 christos can be changed by invoking the <strong>.RIGHT</strong> macro, on 215 1.1 christos a line by itself, immediately before inputting the text of the 216 1.1 christos header.) 217 1.1 christos <p> 218 1.1 christos Following the headers, <strong>mom</strong> sets 219 1.1 christos <p> 220 1.1 christos <ul> 221 1.1 christos <li>the body of the letter justified 222 1.1 christos <li>in multi-page letters: 223 1.1 christos <ul> 224 1.1 christos <li>a footer indicating there's a next page (of the form <code>.../#</code>) 225 1.1 christos <li>the page number at the top of every page after page one 226 1.1 christos </ul> 227 1.1 christos <li>the closing/signature line flush left, indented halfway across the page 228 1.1 christos </ul> 229 1.1 christos <p> 230 1.1 christos Other important style defaults are listed below, and may be changed 231 1.1 christos via the 232 1.1 christos <a href="typesetting.html#MACROS_TYPESETTING">typesetting macros</a> 233 1.1 christos or the document processing 234 1.1 christos <a href="definitions.html#TERMS_CONTROLMACRO">control macros</a> 235 1.1 christos prior to 236 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>. Assume that any 237 1.1 christos style parameter not listed below is the same as for 238 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#TYPESET_DEFAULTS">PRINTSTYLE TYPESET</a> 239 1.1 christos or 240 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#TYPEWRITE_DEFAULTS">PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE</a>. 241 1.1 christos <p> 242 1.1 christos <pre> 243 1.1 christos PARAMETER PRINTSTYLE TYPESET PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE 244 1.1 christos --------- ------------------ -------------------- 245 1.1 christos 246 1.1 christos Paper size 8.5 x 11 inches 8.5 x 11 inches 247 1.1 christos Left/right margins 1.25 inches 1.25 inches 248 1.1 christos Header margin 3.5 picas 3.5 picas 249 1.1 christos (for page numbers) 250 1.1 christos Header gap 3 picas 3 picas 251 1.1 christos (for page numbers) 252 1.1 christos Family Times Roman Courier 253 1.1 christos Font roman roman 254 1.1 christos Point size 12 12 255 1.1 christos Line space 13.5 12 (i.e. singlespaced) 256 1.1 christos Paragraph indent 3 ems 3 picas 257 1.1 christos Spaced paragraphs yes no 258 1.1 christos Footers* yes yes 259 1.1 christos Footer margin 3 picas 3 picas 260 1.1 christos Footer gap 3 picas 3 picas 261 1.1 christos Page numbers top, centred top, centred 262 1.1 christos 263 1.1 christos *Footers contain a "next page" number of the form .../# 264 1.1 christos </pre> 265 1.1 christos <hr> 266 1.1 christos 267 1.1 christos <a name="LETTERS_MACROS"> 268 1.1 christos <h2><u>The letter macros</u></h2> 269 1.1 christos </a> 270 1.1 christos 271 1.1 christos All letter macros must come after 272 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>, 273 1.1 christos except <strong>NO_SUITE</strong>. 274 1.1 christos <p> 275 1.1 christos <ul> 276 1.1 christos <li><a href="#DATE">DATE</a> 277 1.1 christos <li><a href="#TO">TO</a> 278 1.1 christos <li><a href="#FROM">FROM</a> 279 1.1 christos <li><a href="#GREETING">GREETING</a> 280 1.1 christos <li><a href="#CLOSING">CLOSING</a> 281 1.1 christos <li><a href="#NO_SUITE">NO_SUITE</a> -- "next page" number off 282 1.1 christos </ul> 283 1.1 christos <br> 284 1.1 christos 285 1.1 christos <!---DATE---> 286 1.1 christos 287 1.1 christos <hr width="66%" align="left"> 288 1.1 christos <p> 289 1.1 christos <a name="DATE"></a> 290 1.1 christos Macro: <strong>DATE</strong> 291 1.1 christos 292 1.1 christos <p> 293 1.1 christos Invoke <strong>DATE</strong> on a line by itself, with the date 294 1.1 christos underneath, like this: 295 1.1 christos <p> 296 1.1 christos <pre> 297 1.1 christos .DATE 298 1.1 christos October 31, 2002 299 1.1 christos </pre> 300 1.1 christos 301 1.1 christos If you wish to change the default quad direction for the date, 302 1.1 christos enter <kbd>.LEFT</kbd> or <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd>, on a line by itself, 303 1.1 christos immediately after <kbd>.DATE</kbd>. 304 1.1 christos <p> 305 1.1 christos If you wish to insert additional space between the date and any 306 1.1 christos letter header that comes after it, do so after inputting the date, 307 1.1 christos not at the top of the next header macro, like this: 308 1.1 christos <p> 309 1.1 christos <pre> 310 1.1 christos .DATE 311 1.1 christos October 31, 2002 312 1.1 christos .SPACE \" Or, more simply, .SP 313 1.1 christos </pre> 314 1.1 christos 315 1.1 christos If you wish to remove the default space, 316 1.1 christos <p> 317 1.1 christos <pre> 318 1.1 christos .SPACE -1v \" Or, more simply, .SP -1v 319 1.1 christos </pre> 320 1.1 christos 321 1.1 christos will do the trick. 322 1.1 christos <p> 323 1.1 christos 324 1.1 christos <!---TO---> 325 1.1 christos 326 1.1 christos <hr width="66%" align="left"> 327 1.1 christos <p> 328 1.1 christos <a name="TO"></a> 329 1.1 christos Macro: <strong>TO</strong> 330 1.1 christos 331 1.1 christos <p> 332 1.1 christos Invoke <strong>TO</strong> on a line by itself, with the name 333 1.1 christos and address of the addressee underneath, like this: 334 1.1 christos <p> 335 1.1 christos <pre> 336 1.1 christos .TO 337 1.1 christos JOHN SMITH 338 1.1 christos 10 Roberts Crescent 339 1.1 christos Bramladesh, Ont. 340 1.1 christos </pre> 341 1.1 christos 342 1.1 christos If you wish to change the default quad direction for the address, 343 1.1 christos enter <kbd>.LEFT</kbd> or <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd>, on a line by itself, 344 1.1 christos immediately after <kbd>.TO</kbd>. 345 1.1 christos <p> 346 1.1 christos If you wish to insert additional space between the address and 347 1.1 christos any letter header that comes after it, do so after inputting the 348 1.1 christos address, not at the top of the next header macro, like this: 349 1.1 christos <p> 350 1.1 christos <pre> 351 1.1 christos .TO 352 1.1 christos JOHN SMITH 353 1.1 christos 10 Roberts Crescent 354 1.1 christos Bramladesh, Ont. 355 1.1 christos .SPACE \" Or, more simply, .SP 356 1.1 christos </pre> 357 1.1 christos 358 1.1 christos If you wish to remove the default space, 359 1.1 christos <p> 360 1.1 christos <pre> 361 1.1 christos .SPACE -1v \" Or, more simply, .SP -1v 362 1.1 christos </pre> 363 1.1 christos 364 1.1 christos will do the trick. 365 1.1 christos <p> 366 1.1 christos 367 1.1 christos <!---FROM---> 368 1.1 christos 369 1.1 christos <hr width="66%" align="left"> 370 1.1 christos <p> 371 1.1 christos <a name="FROM"></a> 372 1.1 christos Macro: <strong>FROM</strong> 373 1.1 christos 374 1.1 christos <p> 375 1.1 christos Invoke <strong>FROM</strong> on a line by itself, with the name 376 1.1 christos and address of the addresser underneath, like this: 377 1.1 christos <p> 378 1.1 christos <pre> 379 1.1 christos .FROM 380 1.1 christos JOE BLOW 381 1.1 christos 15 Brunette Road 382 1.1 christos Ste-Vieille-Andouille, Qubec 383 1.1 christos </pre> 384 1.1 christos 385 1.1 christos If you wish to change the default quad direction for the address, 386 1.1 christos enter <kbd>.LEFT</kbd> or <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd>, on a line by itself, 387 1.1 christos immediately after <kbd>.FROM</kbd>. 388 1.1 christos <p> 389 1.1 christos If you wish to insert additional space between the address and 390 1.1 christos any letter header that comes after it, do so after inputting the 391 1.1 christos address, not at the top of the next header macro, like this: 392 1.1 christos <p> 393 1.1 christos <pre> 394 1.1 christos .FROM 395 1.1 christos JOE BLOW 396 1.1 christos 15 Brunette Road 397 1.1 christos Ste-Vieille-Andouille, Qubec 398 1.1 christos .SPACE \" Or, more simply, .SP 399 1.1 christos </pre> 400 1.1 christos 401 1.1 christos If you wish to remove the default space, 402 1.1 christos <p> 403 1.1 christos <pre> 404 1.1 christos .SPACE -1v \" Or, more simply, .SP -1v 405 1.1 christos </pre> 406 1.1 christos 407 1.1 christos will do the trick. 408 1.1 christos <p> 409 1.1 christos 410 1.1 christos <!---GREETING---> 411 1.1 christos 412 1.1 christos <hr width="66%" align="left"> 413 1.1 christos <p> 414 1.1 christos <a name="GREETING"></a> 415 1.1 christos Macro: <strong>GREETING</strong> 416 1.1 christos 417 1.1 christos <p> 418 1.1 christos Invoke <strong>GREETING</strong> on a line by itself, with the 419 1.1 christos full salutation you want for the letter, like this: 420 1.1 christos <p> 421 1.1 christos <pre> 422 1.1 christos .GREETING 423 1.1 christos Dear Mr. Smith, 424 1.1 christos </pre> 425 1.1 christos 426 1.1 christos <!---CLOSING---> 427 1.1 christos 428 1.1 christos <hr width="66%" align="left"> 429 1.1 christos <p> 430 1.1 christos <a name="CLOSING"></a> 431 1.1 christos Macro: <strong>CLOSING</strong> 432 1.1 christos 433 1.1 christos <p> 434 1.1 christos Invoke <strong>CLOSING</strong> on a line by itself after the 435 1.1 christos body of the letter, with the closing you'd like (e.g. "Yours 436 1.1 christos truly,"), like this: 437 1.1 christos <p> 438 1.1 christos <pre> 439 1.1 christos .CLOSING 440 1.1 christos Yours truly, 441 1.1 christos </pre> 442 1.1 christos 443 1.1 christos <!---NO_SUITE---> 444 1.1 christos 445 1.1 christos <hr width="66%" align="left"> 446 1.1 christos <p> 447 1.1 christos <a name="NO_SUITE"></a> 448 1.1 christos Macro: <strong>NO_SUITE</strong> 449 1.1 christos 450 1.1 christos <p> 451 1.1 christos If you don't want <strong>mom</strong> to print a "next 452 1.1 christos page" number at the bottom of multi-page letters, invoke 453 1.1 christos <code>.NO_SUITE</code>, on a line by itself, prior to 454 1.1 christos <a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>. 455 1.1 christos 456 1.1 christos <p> 457 1.1 christos <hr> 458 1.1 christos <a href="macrolist.html#TOP">Next</a> 459 1.1 christos <a href="refer.html#TOP">Prev</a> 460 1.1 christos <a href="#TOP">Top</a> 461 1.1 christos <a href="toc.html">Back to Table of Contents</a> 462 1.1 christos </body> 463 1.1 christos </html> 464
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