9.1.3. Key Selection

This setting defines how Enigmail should select, for each recipient, the public keys to encrypt a message with. You can jump to this settings window also by selecting the menu command OpenPGP → Default Composition Options → Key Selection Options... in the Message Composition window.

There are five possibilities:

• By pre-set rules only chooses the key depending exclusively on per-recipient rules. If for an intended recipient there is not a per-recipient rule, you will be prompted to create one.
• By rules and email addresses first searches for a per-recipient rule matching the recipient; if there is not such a rule, is selected the key with a user ID matching the recipient. This is the default setting.
• By email addresses selects the key with an user ID matching the recipient. No per-recipient rule is enforced.
• Manually instructs Enigmail to never select a key automatically. Whenever message encryption is applied, Enigmail pops up the Key Selection window to let you choose the keys manually.
• No manual key selection tells Enigmail to encrypt the mail if a valid key for all recipient is found. The mail is sent unencrypted if no valid key can be determined for all recipients, i.e. if there is at least one recipient for which there is not public key in the public keyring. Per-recipient rules are enforced.

The Edit Rules... button opens the Per-Recipient Rules Editor window.