ChasSmith, I can probably help with the mail thing if I understand what it is you're trying to do.
Here's what I was trying to describe:
Let's say I'm on a web page, or reading an email, or maybe some other app, and there's one paragraph I want to print -- just the paragraph, not the whole page or all the pages. So I highlight that paragraph and press Command-P. In Windows, the equivalent print command box includes "Selection" as an option, meaning, just print the highlighted paragraph. There's no such thing on the Apple screen or in menus that I can find. So what I'm looking for is how to print just that paragraph from the Mac.
Don't know if that's totally clear. If not, don't worry about it. In a few days I'll be seeing a friend who's a real Apple guru (not quite a Genius, just a guru), so if this isn't easy to answer, let it go and I'll figure it out then. Thanks!