Here we can all be heard for a little while. Part 2

onomatopoeia99

It is possible to format emails with colours, underlining and so on by enabling HTML formatting in your email client software. Certainly Thunderbird and Outlook allow this, and I've just tried gmail's website in a browser to send an email to my personal address, and that allows it as well.

It does it by turning the email into what is effectively a web page embedded into an email, which is why I call it a bodge (because it is very much a bodge to make email do something it was never designed for).

Email is a very simple mechanism for sending messages which only supports the characters that can be typed on a keyboard and a few more, and contains no formatting mechanism built in. What an email looks like when the raw data that is transmitted between sender and recipient is examined could pretty much be typed out on a mechanical typewriter with just a black ribbon. So back in the good old days, when you sent an email it arrived as a lot of unformatted text with only carriage returns, tabs and spaces to impose any structure.

Microsoft came along an introduced something called Hotmail which in conjunction with their outlook / outlook express mail software allowed basic HTML formatting (bold, colours, inline pictures, different backgrounds and so on) to be encapsulated into an email. Gradually other email software did the same. There is no standard, so not every email will display correctly in every piece of software.

A few pieces of email software still won't allow HTML formatting. Others need it to be explicitly enabled. Perhaps yours is one of them (I don't know what you use, obviously, and am not familiar with every piece of software), or perhaps you need to find a setting to "enable HTML formatting", or deselect "send mail in plain text only" or something like that. Sorry that's a bit vague, but every piece of software is different!

Waves_and_Smiles

Hello SDW! How lovely to see you! I have been thinking about you and your dear husband lately and wondering how you both were. Yes, I would always get two rats, I love how intelligent they are. I am jealous of you with your gecko! I wish he had reptiles like that in this country that would just appear on walls, I shall have to settle for Harold the baby spider who lives in a corner of my living room. WaSp has been told on no account to remove him, he is only tiny!

I understood that, Ono! My email has HTML enabled which is why I can use all of the little bouncy emoticons and pretty signatures. WaSp is old school as far as email goes and absolutely hates all of the colourful bits, his emails are strictly black type and standard font on a white page.

onomatopoeia99

WaS, I am of the exact same opinion as WaSp! I only ever send plain text emails.

Waves_and_Smiles

Hahahaha! Maybe it's a computer expert thing, or simply a good taste thing. WaSp hates flashy bits on websites too, he likes a simple layout that does the job, he finds pretty embellishments unnecessary and annoying. It's partly why he gets on so well with Linux, it does exactly what he wants without the fancy bits.

I, on the other hand have been known to send emails with bright backgrounds, coloured squiggly fonts and little animals dancing across the screen...

Pyxis

Thanks Onomatopoeia! I'll have a look!

Is there any security aspect to enabling HTML? I mean, if my emails are going to be waffling around in the cloud somewhere, I might stick to plain text!

Not that I've got anything to hide! Just very security conscious!

Edit. I've been through my settings and there's nothing for enabling HTML or anything similar that I can see! I have an iPad Air, version 7., and it is my only computer.

Flybaby

WaS - are you celebrating back to the future day today???


ITV2 are showing all three films tonight!

Pyxis

Flybaby wrote: »

WaS - are you celebrating back to the future day today???


ITV2 are showing all three films tonight!

I noticed that! I'm recording them all!

Do you know, I've never seen them! :eek:

Waves_and_Smiles

I am recording the films, I intend on watching them in a few hours! You will love them Pyxis, they are sweet and funny!

seven-day-weekend

All three Back To The Future films are brilliant, just pure entertainment, terrific .

Flybaby

**shakes head** oh pyxis................. there are clearly serious holes on your education!!!!! **grins** You must watch back to the future (3), Indiana jones (4) and ghostbusters (2) films immediately!!!!!!!!!!
and then we shall continue your 80's film education.................


My hubby is amazed by the fact that, most times, if its an 80's film, he only has to play one second or show me one frame and I can identify the movie! I never used to listen to the radio, but always had dvd's on in the background throughout my teenage years, mainly on repeat.....so ended up knowing the films very well.


I am still very disappointed that its 21st October 2015 and I still don't have a hoverboard..........................