I've just found out that this only occurs with Pegagus in folder preview mode. I've recently switched back to folder list mode and found that the keyboard shortcuts work as normal when starting a new message by right-clicking the Pmail icon in the system tray. (I thought it was a minor thing, anyway, but just thought I'd mention it by way of feedback.)

I've noticed that if I start a new message from the Pmail icon minimized in the system tray, the keyboard shortcuts that I usually use - such as hitting the Tab key to move from the To: field to the Subject field and Ctrl+Enter to send the message - don't work. I don't know how hard it would be to implement that functionality nor whether there's any demand for it, but I just thought I'd mention it here. And while I'm here, I'd like to add that I'm very pleased with the Public Beta version and some of the new functions, particularly the reply-to-all button.