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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!--
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Copyright (C) 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Written by Peter Schaffter.
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<title>Mom -- Writing letters</title>
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</head>
<body style="background-color: #f5faff;">
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<table style="width: 100%;">
<tr>
<td><a href="toc.html">Back to Table of Contents</a></td>
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</tr>
</table>
<h1 class="docs">Writing letters</h1>
<h2 id="letters-intro" class="docs">Introduction</h2>
<p>
Mom’s simple but effective letter-writing macros are a subset
of the
<a href="docprocessing.html#docprocessing">document processing macros</a>,
designed to ease the creation of correspondence.
</p>
<p>
Because the letter macros are a subset of the document processing
macros, you can use
<a href="definitions.html#controlmacro">control macros</a>
to design correspondence to your own specifications. However,
mom makes no pretence of providing complete design flexibility in
the matter of letters, which are, after all, simple communicative
documents whose only real style requirements are that they be neat
and professional-looking.
</p>
<div class="examples-container" style="margin-top: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">
<h3 id="tutorial" class="docs">Tutorial – writing letters</h3>
<p>
Mom letters begin, like all mom-processed documents, with
<a href="docprocessing.html#reference-macros">reference macros</a>
(in this case,
<a href="docprocessing.html#author">AUTHOR</a>),
a
<a href="docprocessing.html#doctype">DOCTYPE</a>
(LETTER, obviously), the essential
<a href="docprocessing.html#printstyle">PRINTSTYLE</a>
macro, and
<a href="docprocessing.html#start">START</a>,
like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique"
.DOCTYPE LETTER
.PRINTSTYLE TYPESET
.START
</span>
PRINTSTYLE, above, could also be <kbd>TYPEWRITE</kbd>. Mom has no
objection to creating letters that look like they were typed on an
Underwood by a shapely secretary with 1940s gams.
</p>
<p>
After the START macro, you enter headers pertinent to your letter:
the date, the addressee (in business correspondence, typically both
name and address), the addresser (that’s you; in business
correspondence, typically both name and address), and a greeting
(in full, e.g. “Dear Mr. Smith,” or “Dear
Mr. Smith:”).
</p>
<p>
The macros for entering the headers are simple (they’re not even
<a href="definitions.html#toggle">toggles</a>):
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DATE
.TO
.FROM
.GREETING
</span>
You may enter them in any order you like, except for GREETING, which
must come last. Mom ignores any headers you omit and spaces the
letter’s opening according to what you do include. See
<a href="#letters-defaults">Default for letters</a>
to find out how mom formats the headers.
</p>
<p>
(In pre 1.1.7-a releases of mom, the order of entering headers was
fixed at the above. This has been changed, although if you do
follow the above order, mom will continue to behave exactly as she
did in pre 1.1.7-a.)
</p>
<p>
Once you’ve filled in what you need to get a letter started,
simply type the letter, introducing each and every paragraph,
including the first, with the
<a href="docelement.html#pp">PP</a>
macro.
</p>
<p>
At the end of the letter, should you wish a closing (“Yours
truly,” “Sincerely,” “Hugs and
kisses”), invoke the macro, <kbd>.CLOSING</kbd>, on a line
by itself, and follow it with the text of the closing. <b>N.B.</b>
Don’t put your name here; mom supplies it automatically from
<a href="docprocessing.html#author">AUTHOR</a>),
with enough space to leave room for your signature. If you omit the
closing, mom simply adds your name (from AUTHOR), again with enough
space for your signature.
</p>
<p>
Assuming our tutorial letter is for business correspondence,
here’s what the complete letter looks like.
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique"
.DOCTYPE LETTER
.PRINTSTYLE TYPESET
.START
.DATE
August 25, 2010
.TO
GUILLAUME BARRIÈRES
Minidoux Corporation
5000 Pannes Drive
Redmond, Virginia
.FROM
Y.P. GUIQUE
022 Umask Road
St-Sauveur-en-dehors-de-la-mappe, Québec
.GREETING
Dear Mr. Barrières,
.PP
It has come to my attention that you have once again been
lobbying the US government to prohibit the use of open source
software by endeavouring to outlaw so-called "warranty
free" applications.
.PP
I feel it is my duty to inform you that the success of your
operating system relies heavily on open source programs and
protocols, notably TCP/IP.
.PP
Therefore, in the interests of your corporation’s fiscal health,
I strongly advise that you withdraw support for any US
legislation that would cripple or render illegal open source
development.
.CLOSING
Sincerely,
</span>
This produces a letter with headers that follow the North American
standard for business correspondence. If you’d prefer another style
of correspondence, for example, British, you’d set up the same
letter like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique"
.DOCTYPE LETTER
.PRINTSTYLE TYPESET
.START
.FROM
.RIGHT
Y.P. GUIQUE
022 Umask Road
St-Sauveur-en-dehors-de-la-mappe, Québec
.TO
GUILLAUME BARRIÈRES
Minidoux Corporation
5000 Pannes Drive
Redmond, Virginia
.DATE
.RIGHT
August 25, 2004
.GREETING
Dear Mr. Barrières,
</span>
Notice the use of <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd> after <kbd>.FROM</kbd> and
<kbd>.DATE</kbd> in this example, used to change the default quad
for these macros.
</p>
</div>
<h2 id="letters-defaults" class="docs">Mom’s default letter style</h2>
<p>
In letters, if the order of header macros is
</p>
<ol style="margin-top: -.5em;">
<li><kbd>.DATE</kbd></li>
<li><kbd>.TO</kbd> (the addressee)</li>
<li><kbd>.FROM</kbd> (the addresser)</li>
<li><kbd>.GREETING</kbd> (“Dear Whoever,” “To Whom It May Concern,” etc.)</li>
</ol>
<p style="margin-top: -.5em;">
mom sets
</p>
<ul style="margin-top: -.5em;">
<li>the date flush right, page right, at the top of page one,
with a gap of two linespaces underneath
</li>
<li>the addressee (<kbd>.TO</kbd>) in a block flush left, page
left, with a gap of one linespace underneath
</li>
<li>the addresser (<kbd>.FROM</kbd>) in a block flush left, page
left, with a gap of one linespace underneath
</li>
<li>the greeting flush left, with a gap of one linespace
underneath
</li>
</ul>
<p style="margin-top: -.5em;">
which is the standard for North American business correspondence.
</p>
<p>
If you switch the order of <kbd>.DATE</kbd>, <kbd>.TO</kbd> and/or
<kbd>.FROM</kbd>, mom sets all the headers
flush left, with a gap of one linespace underneath each. (The
default left quad of any header can be changed by invoking the
<kbd>.RIGHT</kbd> macro, on a line by itself, immediately before
inputting the text of the header.)
</p>
<p>
Following the headers, mom sets
</p>
<ul style="margin-top: -.5em;">
<li>the body of the letter justified</li>
<li>in multi-page letters:
<ul style="margin-left: -.5em;">
<li>a footer indicating there’s a next page (of the form <kbd>.../#</kbd>)</li>
<li>the page number at the top of every page after page one</li>
</ul></li>
<li>the closing/signature lines flush left, indented halfway across the page</li>
</ul>
<p>
Other important style defaults are listed below, and may be changed
via the
<a href="typesetting.html#top">typesetting macros</a>
or the document processing
<a href="definitions.html#controlmacro">control macros</a>
prior to
<a href="docprocessing.html#start">START</a>.
Assume that any style parameter not listed below is the same as for
any document processed with
<a href="docprocessing.html#typeset-defaults">PRINTSTYLE <kbd>TYPESET</kbd></a>
or
<a href="docprocessing.html#typewrite-defaults">PRINTSTYLE <kbd>TYPEWRITE</kbd></a>.
</p>
<div class="defaults-container" style="padding-bottom: 8px;">
<span class="pre defaults">
PARAMETER PRINTSTYLE TYPESET PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE
Paper size 8.5 x 11 inches 8.5 x 11 inches
Left/right margins 1.125 inches 1.125 inches
Header margin 3.5 picas 3.5 picas
(for page numbers)
Header gap 3 picas 3 picas
(for page numbers)
Family Times Roman Courier
Font roman roman
Point size 12 12
Line space 13.5 12 (i.e. singlespaced)
Paragraph indent 3 ems 3 picas
Spaced paragraphs yes no
Footers* yes yes
Footer margin 3 picas 3 picas
Footer gap 3 picas 3 picas
Page numbers top, centred top, centred
*Footers contain a "next page" number of the form .../#
</span>
</div>
<div class="rule-medium"><hr/></div>
<div class="macro-list-container">
<h3 id="index-letters-macros" class="macro-list">The letter macros</h3>
<p style="margin-left: 9px; margin-top: -1.5em;">
All letter macros must come after
<a href="docprocessing.html#start">START</a>,
except NO_SUITE, which must come after
<a href="docprocessin.html#start">PRINTSTYLE</a>
and before
<a href="docprocessing.html#start">START</a>.
</p>
<ul class="macro-list" style="margin-top: -.75em;">
<li><a href="#date">DATE</a></li>
<li><a href="#to">TO</a></li>
<li><a href="#from">FROM</a></li>
<li><a href="#greeting">GREETING</a></li>
<li><a href="#closing">CLOSING</a>
<ul style="margin-left: -.5em;">
<li><a href="#closing-indent">CLOSING_INDENT</a></li>
<li><a href="#signature-indent">SIGNATURE_INDENT</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#no-suite">NO_SUITE</a> – turn the “next page” footer off</li>
</ul>
</div>
<!-- -DATE- -->
<div id="date" class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>DATE</b>
</div>
<p>
Invoke <kbd>.DATE</kbd> on a line by itself, with the date
underneath, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DATE
October 31, 2012
</span>
If you wish to change the default quad direction for the date,
enter <kbd>.LEFT</kbd> or <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd>, on a line by itself,
immediately after <kbd>.DATE</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
If you wish to insert additional space between the date and any
letter header that comes after it, do so after inputting the date,
not at the top of the next header macro, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.DATE
October 31, 2012
.SPACE \"Or, more simply, .SP
</span>
If you wish to remove the default space,
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SPACE -1v \"Or, more simply, .SP -1v
</span>
will do the trick.
</p>
<!-- -TO- -->
<div id="to" class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>TO</b>
</div>
<p>
Invoke <kbd>.TO</kbd> on a line by itself, with the name and address
of the addressee underneath, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.TO
JOHN SMITH
10 Roberts Crescent
Bramladesh, Ont.
</span>
If you wish to change the default quad direction for the address,
enter <kbd>.LEFT</kbd> or <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd>, on a line by itself,
immediately after <kbd>.TO</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
If you wish to insert additional space between the address and
any letter header that comes after it, do so after inputting the
address, not at the top of the next header macro, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.TO
JOHN SMITH
10 Roberts Crescent
Bramladesh, Ont.
.SPACE \"Or, more simply, .SP
</span>
If you wish to remove the default space,
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SPACE -1v \"Or, more simply, .SP -1v
</span>
will do the trick.
</p>
<!-- -FROM- -->
<div id="from" class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>FROM</b>
</div>
<p>
Invoke <kbd>.FROM</kbd> on a line by itself, with the name and
address of the addresser underneath, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.FROM
JOE BLOW
15 Brunette Road
Ste-Vieille-Andouille, Québec
</span>
If you wish to change the default quad direction for the address,
enter <kbd>.LEFT</kbd> or <kbd>.RIGHT</kbd>, on a line by itself,
immediately after <kbd>.FROM</kbd>.
</p>
<p>
If you wish to insert additional space between the address and
any letter header that comes after it, do so after inputting the
address, not at the top of the next header macro, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.FROM
JOE BLOW
15 Brunette Road
Ste-Vieille-Andouille, Québec
.SPACE \"Or, more simply, .SP
</span>
If you wish to remove the default space,
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SPACE -1v \"Or, more simply, .SP -1v
</span>
will do the trick.
</p>
<!-- -GREETING- -->
<div id="greeting" class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>GREETING</b>
</div>
<p>
Invoke <kbd>.GREETING</kbd> on a line by itself, with the full
salutation you want for the letter underneath, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.GREETING
Dear Mr. Smith,
</span>
</p>
<!-- -CLOSING- -->
<div id="closing" class="box-macro-args">
Macro: <b>CLOSING</b>
</div>
<p>
Invoke <kbd>.CLOSING</kbd> on a line by itself after the body of
the letter, with the closing you’d like (e.g. “Yours
truly,”) underneath, like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.CLOSING
Yours truly,
</span>
</p>
<div class="box-tip" style="background-color: #E3D2B1;">
<p class="tip">
<span class="tip" style="display: inline-block; padding-bottom: .5em; color: #000056;">CLOSING control macros and defaults</span>
<br/>
Two macros control the behaviour of <kbd>.CLOSING</kbd>:
</p>
<ul style="margin-top: -1.25em;">
<li>CLOSING_INDENT</li>
<li>SIGNATURE_SPACE</li>
</ul>
<p id="closing-indent" style="margin-top: -.25em;">
The first, CLOSING_INDENT, indicates the distance from the left
margin you’d like to have your closing indented. It takes a
single
<a href="definitions.html#numericargument">numeric argument</a>
and must have a
<a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
appended to it, unless you want an indent of 0 (zero). Mom’s
default is one half the width of the letter’s line length
(i.e. halfway across the page). If you wanted, instead, an indent of
6
<a href="definitions.html#picaspoints">picas</a>,
you’d do it like this:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.CLOSING_INDENT 6P
</span>
Or, if you wanted to have no indent at all:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.CLOSING_INDENT 0
</span>
</p>
<p id="signature-space" style="margin-top: -1.25em;">
The second, SIGNATURE_SPACE, controls how much room to leave for the
signature. It takes a single
<a href="definitions.html#numericargument">numeric argument</a>
and must have a
<a href="definitions.html#unitofmeasure">unit of measure</a>
appended to it. Mom’s default is 3 line spaces, but if you
wanted to change that to, say, 2 line spaces, you’d do:
<br/>
<span class="pre-in-pp">
.SIGNATURE_SPACE 2v
</span>
</p>
</div>
<!-- -NO_SUITE- -->
<div class="box-macro-args" style="margin-top: 2em;">
Macro: <b>NO_SUITE</b>
</div>
<p>
If you don’t want mom to print a “next page”
number at the bottom of multi-page letters, invoke
<kbd>.NO_SUITE</kbd>, on a line by itself, prior to
<a href="docprocessing.html#start">START</a>.
</p>
<div class="rule-long"><hr/></div>
<!-- Navigation links -->
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<tr>
<td style="width: 33%;"><a href="toc.html">Back to Table of Contents</a></td>
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: center;"><a href="#top">Top</a></td>
<td style="width: 33%; text-align: right;"><a href="macrolist.html">Next: Quick reference guide</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
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