Help with encrypting using my PGP Public key

[Robert J. Hansen]

bkumfer wrote:
> Thank you again.  Is there a difference between encrypting a file vs.
> encrypting an email?

This depends on how you use it.  From the perspective of OpenPGP,
everything's a file.  An email message is just a file you send over the
internet via the SMTP protocol.

There is an enormous difference in how you use GnuPG for email versus
how you use it for file storage.  For instance, the Enigmail extension
for Thunderbird lets you use GnuPG in email in a fairly straightforward
fashion.  If you get used to using GnuPG that way, it might be a rude
shock to you when you have to use GnuPG at the command line to encrypt a
file.  This is why I say it depends on how you use it.