Toolbar for Composing Mail?

Why is it that Apple Mail doesn't have a tool bar with "bold," "italics," etc., when composing mail? Or am I missing something?
I always have to goto the Format menu and then the Style option to get access to these sorts of options...

IBGoldberg,
The problem is that you are expecting too much of the email protocol. Mail uses standard Rich Text formatting, for those messages that are sent with any formatting at all. And, the Rich Text format is the only format supported by email universally (universally, that is, by modern email servers and clients).
The problem is that there are subtle differences in the ways that Rich Text are handled in various clients. These differences make it difficult or impossible to implement complex formatting that will be interpreted consistently across all clients and platforms. Thus, only basic formatting is available, at least in Mail. In short, interoperability is key.
You may say, "but my "XX" Windows client, when I used it, provided this functionality." True, but it is almost certain that the functionality would only be interoperable with someone using the same client, on the same platform. That's Microsoft's game, you know! I'm not being critical, but that is part of their business model, and it fits in with how they make their money.
My recommendation would be to use a bona-fide word processor for those times you need to compose a complexly formatted message, then save that as a PDF. You would then email the PDF, which should be accessible to anyone, using any client on any platform. This is the only way to insure that your desired formatting will be seen by the recipients exactly as you composed it, regardless of the recipient's situation. This holds true no matter which OS and software you happen to be using.
Scott

Similar Messages

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    OK- I am a recent fence jumper from years of PC use- so this may be considered just whining. but I wonder if there is a way to get a more usable interface in the native Mail client on the MAC. I love the integration with iCal and Addressbook but would like a more "point and click" way to create bulleted lists, bold, underline etc. I was very surprised not to be able to put formatting icons on the top menu of a message.
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