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Read messages in Plain Text only

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timkowal

IS-IT--Management
Sep 29, 2003
9
US
I use Outlook, and I am concerned that when HTML enabled spam emails open in the AutoPreview window, my info is being sent out to these spammers. I'd like to be able to read my emails in Plain Text only by default. Any way to do this? I looked through the options and couldn't find it. Thanks!
 
You can't control the format of the e-mail that is sent to you. About the only way to do peak at the message is to not open the message but instead right mouse click on message and click on OPTIONS and read the contents of the header.

joegz
"Sometimes you just need to find out what it's not first to figure out what it is."
 
Outlook, Outlook Express and other email clients based on them, have as an option the use of a preview pane. This pane allows you to read an email without clicking on it to open it. With the advent of new types of malicious software that can be hidden within an email, it is not advisable to give Outlook or Outlook Express permission to automatically preview any email. By making a conscious decision to open or not open an email, the PC operator becomes the last line of defense against malicious software. Here's how to turn the preview pane on or off...


Outlook (v5, 2000 & 2002)
1) Click on View
2) Click on Preview Pane to alternately enable or disable the feature


Outlook Express (v5, 2000 & 2002)
1) Click on View
2) Select and click on Layout
3) Check or uncheck the box to the left of Show Preview Pane, to enable or disable the feature
4) click OK
 
Also,
Outlook 2000 uses what Microsoft calls Auto Format Reply. Due to the variety of message formats supported by different e-mail clients, Outlook 2000 ensures that e-mail recipients receive replies they can read easily. When users reply to a message, Outlook automatically uses the format of the original message. This is especially frustrating if you receive HTML e-mail and wish to send Plain Text e-mail.
To override the default for any individual message, click on the "Format" menu within the message and choose the desired format. Outlook 2000 lets you select the e-mail format for a mail message in what they call one-off editor switching. You can start a new message in a different format than the standard one by selecting New Mail Message Using from the Actions menu.
Outlook doesn't have any way to select the mail format to use when sending mail to a particular recipient when you use the drop-down list on a Contact item or an Address list entry.
NOTE: A problem you may encounter when you open an incoming e-mail message, you may see a blank message or three less than symbols (<<<) displayed instead of the message text.
In some cases, depending on the Internet e-mail software used, the message may contain other random, unrelated characters or the message body may be blank.
Microsoft describes this behavior in the Knowledge Base article (OL2000: Message Received from Outlook Express 5 May Contain Unrelated Characters)
NOTE: You may notice that plain text messages do not word wrap properly when you print the message, or view it in print preview. To resolve this problem you may need to obtain Microsoft Office 2000 Service Release 1/1a (SR-1/SR-1a).
Microsoft describes this behavior in the Knowledge Base article (OL2000: Plain Text Messages Word Wrap Incorrectly When Printed)
WARNING: If you are using a version of Outlook 2000 that has been installed with the corporate workgroup installation you may discover that when you set e-mail to send &quot;Plain Text&quot; that it has been changed to &quot;Quoted-Printable&quot; instead of 7-bit or ASCII.
WARNING: If you send messages with multiple file attachments to America Online (AOL) users, they do not receive the messages in a readable format. AOL combines the text of the message and the attachments into a single MIME (.mim) file.
AOL users who receive messages as MIME files can open them using WinZip in Classic mode. The message text and all of the attachments are displayed intact.
Microsoft describes this behavior in the Knowledge Base article (OL2000: Messages with Multiple Attachments Sent to AOL Users Do Not Display Correctly)
 
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