Some font and span tags close prematurely in HTML Outlook messages

Handsome Prints

For the longest time I've wondered why replies to my e-mails often contain
sporadic font changes between my font and the recipient's default font. I
finally figured out the reason by saving one of my sent message as an html
file and looking at the source. I noticed that in several lines of the
message, the font and span tags in the HTML were closed prematurely. For
example, what SHOULD have been:

<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Michael Clayton (2007)(IMDB: 7.6)</SPAN></FONT></P>

was for some reason being formatted as:
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Michael</SPAN></FONT> Clayton (2007)(IMDB: 7.6)</P>

About 3 lines out of 10 were affected. Naturally on my end, when I type the
e-mail, everything looks perfectly fine. Could it be that in the affected
lines, that I am backspacing over some formatting tag? Or is this a some kind
of bug?

Any ideas as to why this is happening and how to solve it?

HP

Brian Tillman

Handsome Prints <HandsomePrints@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> For the longest time I've wondered why replies to my e-mails often
> contain sporadic font changes between my font and the recipient's
> default font. I finally figured out the reason by saving one of my
> sent message as an html file and looking at the source. I noticed
> that in several lines of the message, the font and span tags in the
> HTML were closed prematurely.

What mail editor and Outlook version are you using?
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

Handsome Prints

I am using Outlook 2002 and Word 2002. Any ideas (aside from upgrading)?


"Brian Tillman" wrote:

> Handsome Prints <HandsomePrints@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> > For the longest time I've wondered why replies to my e-mails often
> > contain sporadic font changes between my font and the recipient's
> > default font. I finally figured out the reason by saving one of my
> > sent message as an html file and looking at the source. I noticed
> > that in several lines of the message, the font and span tags in the
> > HTML were closed prematurely.
>
> What mail editor and Outlook version are you using?
> --
> Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
>

Brian Tillman

Handsome Prints <HandsomePrints@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I am using Outlook 2002 and Word 2002. Any ideas (aside from
> upgrading)?

Sounds to me like a Word problem. Have you tried doing the same thing using
Outlook's editor?
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

Handsome Prints

You are right, it does seem to be a Word problem. I just did a test, and the
problem (font and class tags closing prematurely) no longer occurs occur when
I use Outlook's editor.

Not sure if this is relevant, but in MS Word, under
[Tools->Options->General->E-mail options] there are three checkboxes on the
screen under the heading HTML options. The first one (Filter HTML before
sending) is checked. The second (Rely on CSS for font formatting) is
unchecked. The third (Save smart tags in e-mail) is checked.

Perhaps checking the second box might be a workaround? Although it says that
the message will display differently in email programs that do not support
Cascading Style Sheets. Do most email programs support CSS nowadays?

Thanks for your help thus far!

PS: Should I repost this question in the Word newsgroup?


"Brian Tillman" wrote:

> Handsome Prints <HandsomePrints@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> > I am using Outlook 2002 and Word 2002. Any ideas (aside from
> > upgrading)?
>
> Sounds to me like a Word problem. Have you tried doing the same thing using
> Outlook's editor?
> --
> Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
>
>

Brian Tillman

Handsome Prints <HandsomePrints@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Perhaps checking the second box might be a workaround? Although it
> says that the message will display differently in email programs that
> do not support Cascading Style Sheets. Do most email programs support
> CSS nowadays?

Frankly, I'd never use HTML in my messages, so I don't know.

> PS: Should I repost this question in the Word newsgroup?

For now, it's fine here, but if you want to pursue the issue in a Word
group, please do. I suspect that Word by itself, not used as the Outlook
editor will still evince the problem.
--
Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]

Handsome Prints

I have in fact mulled over the possibility of going plain text... Can you
briefly tell me what the biggest drawbacks are of using HTML messages? Are
they really that troublesome even for today's modern e-mail clients? And
shouldn't the worst case scenario be that the messages are displayed in plain
text in e-mail clients that do not support HTML?

HP

"Brian Tillman" wrote:

> Handsome Prints <HandsomePrints@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> > Perhaps checking the second box might be a workaround? Although it
> > says that the message will display differently in email programs that
> > do not support Cascading Style Sheets. Do most email programs support
> > CSS nowadays?
>
> Frankly, I'd never use HTML in my messages, so I don't know.
>
> > PS: Should I repost this question in the Word newsgroup?
>
> For now, it's fine here, but if you want to pursue the issue in a Word
> group, please do. I suspect that Word by itself, not used as the Outlook
> editor will still evince the problem.
> --
> Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
>
>