WSJT-X/doc/source/controls-functions-messages.adoc

// Status=review

Two arrangements of controls are provided for generating and selecting
Tx messages.  Traditional controls carried over from program _WSJT_
appear on *Tab 1*, providing six fields for message entry.
Pre-formatted messages for the standard minimal QSO are generated when
you click *Generate Std Msgs* or double-click on an appropriate line
in one of the decoded text windows.

//.Traditional Message Menu
image::images/traditional-msg-box.png[align="center",alt="Traditional Message Menu"]

* Select the next message to be transmitted (at the start of your next
Tx sequence) by clicking on the circle under *Next*.

* To change to a specified Tx message immediately, click on a
rectangular button under the *Now* label.  Changing a Tx message in
mid-stream will slightly reduce the chance of a correct decode, but it
is usually OK if done in the first 10 s of a transmission.

* Right-clicking on the entry field for message #5 pops up a list of
free-text messages entered on the *Setup | Configuration | Tx Macros*
screen.  Select any of your pre-stored messages by using the left
mouse button.

The second arrangement of controls for generating and selecting
Tx messages appears on *Tab 2* of the Message Control Panel:

//.New Message Menu
image::images/new-msg-box.png[align="center",alt="New Message Menu"]

With this setup you normally follow a top-to-bottom sequence of
transmissions from the left column if you are calling CQ, or the right
column if answering a CQ.  Clicking a button puts the appropriate
message in the *Gen Msg* box.  If you are already transmitting, it
changes the Tx message immediately.  You can enter anything (up to 13
characters) in the *Free Msg* box.  Right-clicking on this entry field
pops up your previously defined list of *Tx Macros*.

IMPORTANT: During a transmission the actual message being sent always
appears highlighted in yellow in the first box of the status bar
(bottom left of the main screen).