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<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1">
<title>Mom -- Document Processing, Writing Letters</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#dfdfdf">
<!====================================================================>
<a href="toc.html">Back to Table of Contents</a>
<a name="TOP"></a>
<a name="LETTERS">
<h1 align="center"><u>WRITING LETTERS WITH MOM</u></h1>
</a>
<a name="LETTERS_INTRO">
<h2><u>Introduction</u></h2>
</a>
<strong>Mom</strong>'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>
Because the letter macros are a subset of the document
processing macros, you can use
<a href="definitions.html#TERMS_CONTROLMACRO">control macros</a>
to design correspondence to your own specifications. However,
<strong>mom</strong> 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.
<a name="TUTORIAL"><h2><u>Tutorial on writing letters</u></h2></a>
<strong>Mom</strong> letters begin, like all <strong>mom</strong>
processed documents, with a
<a href="docprocessing.html#REFERENCE_MACROS">reference macro</a>
(in this case,
<a href="docprocessing.html#AUTHOR">AUTHOR</a>),
a
<a href="docprocessing.html#DOCTYPE">DOCTYPE</a>
(<strong>LETTER</strong>, obviously), the essential
<a href="docprocessing.html#PRINTSTYLE">PRINTSTYLE</a>
macro, and
<a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>.
<p>
<pre>
.AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique"
.DOCTYPE LETTER
.PRINTSTYLE TYPESET
.START
</pre>
<strong>PRINTSTYLE</strong>, above, could also be
<strong>TYPEWRITE</strong>. <strong>Mom</strong> has no objection
to creating letters that look like they were typed on an Underwood
by a shapely secretary with great gams back in the 1940s.
<p>
After the <strong>START</strong> macro, you enter data pertinent to
your letter: the date, the addressee (in business correspondence,
typically both name and address), the addressor (that's you; in
business correspondence, typically both name and address), and a
greeting (in full, e.g. "Dear Mr. Smith,").
<p>
The macros for entering the data are simple (they're not even
<a href="definitions.html#TERMS_TOGGLE">toggles</a>)
and entered in an intuitive order.
<br>
<ol>
<li><code>.DATE</code>
<li><code>.TO</code>
<li><code>.FROM</code>
<li><code>.GREETING</code>
</ol>
<p>
<strong>Mom</strong> ignores any you omit and spaces the letter's
opening according to what you do include.
<p>
Once you've filled in what you need to get a letter started, simply
type the letter, introducing each and every paragraph with the
<a href="docelement.html#PP">PP</a>
macro.
<p>
At the end of the letter, should you wish an indented closing
("Yours truly," "Sincerely," "Hugs and
kisses"), invoke the macro <strong>CLOSING</strong> on a
line by itself and follow it with the text of the closing.
<strong>N.B.</strong> Don't put your name here; <strong>mom</strong>
supplies it automatically from <strong>AUTHOR</strong> with
enough space to leave room for your signature.
<p>
Assuming our tutorial letter is for business correspondence,
here's what the complete letter looks like.
<p>
<pre>
.AUTHOR "Yannick P. Guique"
.DOCTYPE LETTER
.PRINTSTYLE TYPESET
.START
.DATE
August 25, 2004
.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 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 with its embedded web browser relies heavily
on open source programs and protocols, most 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,
</pre>
<hr>
<a name="LETTERS_DEFAULTS">
<h2><u>Defaults for letters</u></h2>
</a>
In letters, <strong>mom</strong> sets:
<p>
<ol>
<li>the date flush right, page right, at the top of page one
<li>the addressee in a block flush left, page left
<li>the addressor in a block flush left, page left
<li>the greeting flush left
<li>the body of the letter justified
<li>in multi-page letters
<br>
<ul>
<li>a footer indicating there's a next page (of the form <code>.../#</code>)
<li>the page number at the top of every page after page one
</ul>
<li>the closing/signature line flush left, indented halfway across the page
</ol>
<p>
Other important style defaults are listed below, and may be changed
via the
<a href="typesetting.html#MACROS_TYPESETTING">typesetting macros</a>
or the document processing
<a href="definitions.html#TERMS_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
<a href="docprocessing.html#TYPESET_DEFAULTS">PRINTSTYLE TYPESET</a>
or
<a href="docprocessing.html#TYPEWRITE_DEFAULTS">PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE</a>.
<p>
<pre>
PARAMETER PRINTSTYLE TYPESET PRINTSTYLE TYPEWRITE
--------- ------------------ --------------------
Paper size 8.5 x 11 inches 8.5 x 11 inches
Left/right margins 1.25 inches 1.25 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, centered top, centered
*Footers contain a "next page" number of the form .../#
</pre>
<hr>
<a name="LETTERS_MACROS">
<h2><u>The letter macros</u></h2>
</a>
All letter macros must come after
<a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>,
except <strong>NO_SUITE</strong>.
<p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#DATE">DATE</a>
<li><a href="#TO">TO</a>
<li><a href="#FROM">FROM</a>
<li><a href="#GREETING">GREETING</a>
<li><a href="#CLOSING">CLOSING</a>
<li><a href="#NO_SUITE">NO_SUITE</a> -- "next page" number off
</ul>
<!---DATE--->
<hr width="66%" align="left">
<p>
<a name="DATE"></a>
Macro: <strong>DATE</strong>
<p>
Invoke <strong>DATE</strong> on a line by itself, with the date
underneath, like this:
<p>
<pre>
.DATE
October 31, 2002
</pre>
<!---TO--->
<hr width="66%" align="left">
<p>
<a name="TO"></a>
Macro: <strong>TO</strong>
<p>
Invoke <strong>TO</strong> on a line by itself, with the name
and address of the addressee underneath, like this:
<p>
<pre>
.TO
JOHN SMITH
10 Roberts Crescent
Bramladesh, Ont.
</pre>
<!---FROM--->
<hr width="66%" align="left">
<p>
<a name="FROM"></a>
Macro: <strong>FROM</strong>
<p>
Invoke <strong>FROM</strong> on a line by itself, with the name
and address of the addressor underneath, like this:
<p>
<pre>
.FROM
JOE BLOW
15 Brunette Road
Ste-Vieille-Andouille, Québec
</pre>
<!---GREETING--->
<hr width="66%" align="left">
<p>
<a name="GREETING"></a>
Macro: <strong>GREETING</strong>
<p>
Invoke <strong>GREETING</strong> on a line by itself, with the
full salutation you want for the letter, like this:
<p>
<pre>
.GREETING
Dear Mr. Smith,
</pre>
<!---CLOSING--->
<hr width="66%" align="left">
<p>
<a name="CLOSING"></a>
Macro: <strong>CLOSING</strong>
<p>
Invoke <strong>CLOSING</strong> on a line by itself after the
body of the letter, with the closing you'd like (e.g. "Yours
truly,"), like this:
<p>
<pre>
.CLOSING
Yours truly,
</pre>
<!---NO_SUITE--->
<hr width="66%" align="left">
<p>
<a name="NO_SUITE"></a>
Macro: <strong>NO_SUITE</strong>
<p>
If you don't want <strong>mom</strong> to print a "next
page" number at the bottom of multi-page letters, invoke
<code>.NO_SUITE</code>, on a line by itself, prior to
<a href="docprocessing.html#START">START</a>.
<p>
<hr>
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