Formatting Issues Between Browsers / Email Programs

Shawn Gable

Everytime I send out an email, while pre-formatting the text with a font name and a font size, it shows up different in every browser or email program. Often the text looks like it is squashed together, or it will be completely unformatted from one program to another. Is there a solution to this? We are getting complaints. Thank You.

Matthew Garbarino

Hi Shawn - can you provide a few more details so we can look into this some more?



-How are you entering the text into your email message? Are you typing it in the Online Express editors, or is it copy/pasted from Word (or some other program)?



-Are you finding the same issues when you send test messages and check in different email clients, or is it only when the message is sent?

Shawn Gable

Matt,



It is happening with text that is directly entered, and pasted from outside sources such as word or outlook.



I am finding the same issues with test emails and final messages alike,



Thanks!

Kristian Sekse

Matt - The error you describe is certainly maddening and I'm sure all of us on here have experienced it at some point.



A trick I was taught and I will pass along is that I suggest you use Windows NOTEPAD. Instead of copy and pasting directly into OE from Word or Outlook, paste your text into notepad, then click copy one more time and paste from there into OE. Notepad will help strip out all the formatting Word and Outlook add to your text and ensure that the HTML stays cleaner in OE.



I used this trick with great effect in Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, and now OE and it has helped.

Libby Washburn

Hey there! I'm an RE analyst posting this on behalf of a client that uses Online Express and is seeing the same problem, even after trying to copy from Word > Paste into Notepad > Copy from Notepad and paste into the online express editor box in the newsletter.



The first picture below is of how the wording looks in the editor (intentional spaces are highlighted in yellow)



The second picture is how the text then shows up in the email itself once sent


(all of the spacing is gone)



Any additional thoughts on a solution for this? :-)

Matthew Garbarino

Libby Washburn:
Hey there! I'm an RE analyst posting this on behalf of a client that uses Online Express and is seeing the same problem, even after trying to copy from Word > Paste into Notepad > Copy from Notepad and paste into the online express editor box in the newsletter.



The first picture below is of how the wording looks in the editor (intentional spaces are highlighted in yellow)



The second picture is how the text then shows up in the email itself once sent


(all of the spacing is gone)



Any additional thoughts on a solution for this? :-)

I tried to duplicate this issue and I'm unable to do so. The spaces are working fine for me. Is this issue appearing across various email clients, or is it one in particular? Have you tried adding the spaces in manually to see if that changes anything?

Alex Yanik

This is real pain. I regularly run up against this. I paste from notepad. We have to add in a normal space instead of the automatic space due to how it shows up differently in different web browsers. Getting rid of the automatic space after a paragraph is a nightmare. Using shift+enter is great but it causes paragraph formating issues and is useless if you have some special formating - line a few lines that are centred instead of left oriented. This is a constant headache and is one reason why I dread having to use BBNC. Its extremely difficult to get the formating right and even when you think its right, it might not be right when you send it.


Any help with the line spacing issues would be much appreciated!