HTML code pasted into email - Post ID...

User 414501 Photo


Registered User
564 posts

Did everyone know that you can't paste html code into an email? At least not with Microsoft Outlook. I was doing some telephone consultation with a client of mine who hired me to teach him how to design a web site. I had designed a flash object for him using a CC product and I did EVERYTHING correctly. I uploaded all the necessary files to the root directory of his server space, and then emailed him the code to paste into his web page; but it didn't work! I was so confused because I've been using CC software since 2006 and pretty well know what I am doing. So finally after a half-hour of troubleshooting I figured out the code was being modified by my clients email client (Outlook).

I remember when I used to be the editor of a small Christian newspaper I would get so frustrated when I wrote articles on different people/projects in the community and would ask my article source to provide photos that I could include with their story. I would stress that I needed HIGH-RES photos otherwise they'll break down when they hit the press and look fuzzy and aweful. 95% of the time what I ended up getting was low-res 72dpi images that I could not use. I always thought people just weren't tech savvy enough and couldn't understand what "high res" meant no matter how clearly I explained it. Well, that was true in some cases, but towards the end of my term as editor I discovered that some of these people were sending high-res photos; but Outlook has a feature that automatically converts the files to 72dpi to make them "easier to send". And this caused me so much extra work it was unbelievable! Some weeks it felt like half my job was just trying to track down high-res photos to go with an article (since my publisher refused to run articles without at least one photo), and then I came to find out that some of these people were sending high res photos all along!

To finish the first story I told, since our consultation session wasn't productive (I spent the entire 30 minutes just trouble shooting this one issue), I wasn't able to charge my client for that time. So here I am having left the newspaper industry almost a year ago, and Microsoft Outlook is still making trouble for me LOL!
Chad Spillars
"Look I finally made myself a signature!"
User 187934 Photo


Senior Advisor
20,271 posts

It must be your code because it works just fine for me.;)
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User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

Check this out:
https://www.dropbox.com/features

Dump anything in it, share with anyone you want :D Very handy!
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User 131437 Photo


Ambassador
151 posts

Even if you set your Outlook to send only text and not HTML, the recipients email client (not just Outlook) may render it as HTML anway.

To prevent this I would recommend attaching a zipped .txt file that contains the source, this will gaurantee that no one's email client will mess with your code.

This still doesn't preclude the occassional ID 10 t error :lol:
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User 414501 Photo


Registered User
564 posts

It must be your code because it works just fine for me.


Eric the code was fine because as soon as I attached it as a notepad file, instead of pasting directly into the body of an email, it worked!

Paintbrush, thanks for the tip! I have used that before, I just was trying to avoid making my client learn how to use yet another technology, when he already has so much on his plate.

the recipients email client (not just Outlook) may render it as HTML anway.


That's not fair! LOL. But good advice, that's actually what I ended up doing :cool:
Chad Spillars
"Look I finally made myself a signature!"
User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

Step 1: Drop a file into the Public folder.

Step 2: Right-click/control-click this file, then choose Dropbox > Copy Public Link. This copies the Internet link to your file so that you can paste it somewhere else.

That's it! You can now share this file with others: just paste the link into e-mails, instant message conversations, blogs, etc.!

Your clients just have to know how to point and click :lol:
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Douglas Adams)
https://www.callendales.com
User 414501 Photo


Registered User
564 posts

Step 1: Drop a file into the Public folder.

Step 2: Right-click/control-click this file, then choose Dropbox > Copy Public Link. This copies the Internet link to your file so that you can paste it somewhere else.

That's it! You can now share this file with others: just paste the link into e-mails, instant message conversations, blogs, etc.!

Your clients just have to know how to point and click


Paintbrush, I have used dropbox before, but I didn't realize it had that feature. I was thinking my client would have to open his own dropbox account and then learn how to use it. Your info is very helpful, this is why I love these message boards!

On a related note, for those who don't use dropbox, one other technology I have been using for sending file attachments is yousendit.com. Though yousendit only allows you to send a maximum of 100mb without having to pay, I just discovered http://www.sendspace.com which allows up to 300mb without paying!
Chad Spillars
"Look I finally made myself a signature!"
User 38401 Photo


Senior Advisor
10,951 posts

Just a question here, but,.... doesn't that defeat the purpose of being able to send the actual code in an email content? If it's a file you need to get to them then attaching a text file to an email would do the same thing as a dropbox setup would, wouldn't it? Just wondering if I'm misunderstanding what you were trying to do lol.
User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

It allows people to send really honkin big photos without worrying if their email will choke on them. Plus, you can put any type of file in it. And it's good for people who never open attachments in their email :lol:

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Douglas Adams)
https://www.callendales.com
User 414501 Photo


Registered User
564 posts

Just a question here, but,.... doesn't that defeat the purpose of being able to send the actual code in an email content? If it's a file you need to get to them then attaching a text file to an email would do the same thing as a dropbox setup would, wouldn't it? Just wondering if I'm misunderstanding what you were trying to do lol.


Paintbrush is right, some ppl who aren't tech savvy don't know how to tell a regular file attachment from a virus, so they are afraid to open anything. And about file size, some internet companies allow attachments up to 20mb (like GoDaddy), but some only allow 2mb! Many people don't even know the cap their ISP has set for attachments, so if you have a large file all you can do is send and then cross your fingers lol. Dropbox, Sendspace, et al get beyond this limitation; though for a simple notepad file, you are right, attaching to an email is just as easy as anything else, because a file that small has no chance of bouncing off the server. Though Dropbox might be just a "smidge" more convenient than attaching to an email.
Chad Spillars
"Look I finally made myself a signature!"

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