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How to Turn Off HTML Encoding in E-Mail
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Here's how to turn HTML encoding off in various e-mail programs.
Microsoft Outlook Express for Windows
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Microsoft Outlook for Windows NT
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Microsoft Outlook 97 for anything
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Netscape Navigator or Communicator
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Eudora Pro
- If you use Outlook Express on Windows 95/98
- Tools > Options > Send [tab]
- set "Mail Sending format:" pull-down to "Plain Text"
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[1] Select "Options" on the "Tools" menu
[2] Click on the "Send" tab of the window that appears
[3] Choose "Plain Text" on the pull-down list labeled "Mail Sending format:"
- If you use Outlook on Windows NT
- Tools > Options > Mail Format [tab]
- set "Send in this message format:" to "Plain text"
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[1] Select "Options" on the "Tools" menu
[2] Click on the "Mail Format" tab of the window that appears
[3] Choose "Plain Text" on the pull-down list labeled "Send in this
message format:"
- If you use Outlook 97
- You're in luck because Outlook 97 doesn't have an HTML mode!
- If you use Netscape (4.6 and above, either Mac or PC)
- Edit > Preferences
- Mail & Newsgroups > Formatting
- "Use the plain text editor" & "Convert into plain text"
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[1] Select "Preferences" on the "Edit" menu
[2] Select "Formatting" under "Mail & Newsgroups" in the Category list
[3] Choose "Use the plain text editor to compose messages"
in the first group of buttons ("Message Formatting")
[4] Choose "Convert the message into plain text"
in the second group of buttons ("When sending HTML ... receive them")
[5] Click "OK"
- If you use Eudora Pro (4.1)
- Tools > Options > Styled Text
- choose "Send plain text only"
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[1] Select "Options" on the "Tools" menu
[2] Select "Styled Text"
[3] Choose "Send plain text only"
(Always choose "Plain" if you get a "Sending styles" choice.)
Background
Sending your email encoded as HTML not only wastes bandwidth (i.e. goes
slower and clogs up your hard disk and your correspondent's hard disk),
but it may also make your message look like complete gibberish if your
correspondent doesn't use the same kind of mail reader that you do.
If you really need to be changing fonts in your message, you should
probably use the well-established MIME encoding rather than HTML (which
was designed for text linking, like on web pages).
Unfortunately, there's a bug in some mail programs
that turns on HTML encoding without being asked to.
This means you can send people gibberish without even knowing it.
Using the step-by-step procedures described above should turn off this
unwanted encoding. If you have information about a mail program that's
not described above, please send it to me
(psl@acm.org ) and I'll add the
information to this page.
Use your browser's BACK button to return wherever you came from,
or, live dangerously and try one of these . . .
(psl@acm.org )
© 1995 & 2000 Peter Langston, all rights reserved