Microsoft KB Archive/269186

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Article ID: 269186

Article Last Modified on 8/13/2004


APPLIES TO

  • Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition


This article was previously published under Q269186

SYMPTOMS

A message that you created and sent in Outlook 2000 may not look the same in the recipient's e-mail program.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because if one of the following conditions are true.

The Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize Your E-mail Format

The recipient’s e-mail program does not recognize your e-mail format. For example, the recipient’s e-mail program may not recognize Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). The e-mail format determines if the text is bolded, the use of colored fonts, the use of bullets, and if pictures can be added to the message body. If you send a message that contains a specific e-mail format, the message may not look the same for the recipient because some e-mail programs may not support formatted messages or pictures.

The Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize a Transport-Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF) File

TNEF is a proprietary method to package information for sending messages across the Internet. A TNEF-encoded message contains the plain text message, and a binary attachment that "packages" other parts of the original message. In most cases, the binary attachment is named the Winmail.dat file and may include, the formatted text, OLE objects, Outlook features (custom forms, voting buttons, and meeting requests) and regular file attachments.

The Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize Outlook Rich Text Format (RTF) or Microsoft Word

If you use Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor, it may produce a Winmail.dat file attachment to your message when the recipient receives the message. The Winmail.dat file includes formatting used with Outlook Rich Text format and Microsoft Word as the e-mail editor, and the recipient is not able to recognize this type of format.

The Recipient's E-mail Program Does Not Understand Quoted Printable When It Converts Data from Your Message

Your message arrives with "=" (without quotation marks) or "=20" (without quotation marks) throughout the text.

RESOLUTION

Use one of the following methods to resolve this behavior.

If the Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize Your E-mail Format

Change the your message format to plain text format or a format that the recipient's e-mail client recognizes.

Plain text format is the default e-mail format for Outlook Internet Mail Only (IMO). When you install Outlook in Corporate or Workgroup (CW), the default is Outlook Rich Text format. The following information describes the types of e-mail formats that you can use in your messages:

  1. Plain text format is an e-mail format that does not support text formatting, such as bold, italic, or colored fonts. It also does not support pictures that are displayed in the message body (but it does support pictures that are attachments). Plain text format is the most widely used format and all e-mail programs can display plain text messages. When you send messages over the Internet, and if the recipient's e-mail program is not known or may not support HTML or Outlook Rich Text format, send your message in plain text format.
  2. HTML is an e-mail format that supports text formatting, bullets, and pictures (including backgrounds), and Web pages. Stationary and signatures are supported with HTML. Popular e-mail programs do support HTML, however to date America Online (AOL) cannot handle HTML format or Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) messages. Only use HTML when you know the recipient's e-mail program supports HTML. The recipient cannot view the formatting or pictures in the message if their e-mail program does not support HTML.
  3. Outlook Rich Text format is a Microsoft e-mail format that supports text formatting, bullets, and alignment. Outlook Rich Text format support signatures. Outlook Rich Text format can be read only by Microsoft Exchange Client versions 4.0 and 5.0, Microsoft Outlook 97, Microsoft Outlook 98, and Outlook 2000, and you must use Outlook Rich Text format when you use meeting requests, task requests, and Net folders. Outlook Express does not support Outlook Rich Text format. Use Outlook Rich Text format when you use meeting requests, task requests or Net folders with users over the Internet. Net folders require Outlook Rich Text format. If you have Outlook installed as Corporate or Workgroup, enable your messages to receive Outlook Rich Text formatted messages. You can set Outlook to use Outlook Rich Text format for all of the messages that you send, however, if the recipient's e-mail format is not set to use Outlook Rich Text format, the message that you send will not include any Accept or Voting buttons, meeting requests, or task requests.

If the Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize TNEF

Change the e-mail format to plain text or force the message that you are sending to use Outlook Rich Text format.

TNEF is required when you use some Outlook features, such as Voting buttons, over the Internet. If the recipient does not have TNEF enabled, the Voting buttons will not be received. The following are three most common results if TNEF is enabled and the recipient's e-mail program does not recognize TNEF:

  1. The plain text version of your message that is received contains an attachment that is named the Winmail.dat file. The Winmail.dat file attachment does not contain any useful information when it is opened because it is in the special TNEF format.
  2. The plain text version of the message that is received contains an attachment with a generic name such as Att00008.dat or Att00005.eml. In this case, the recipient’s e-mail client is unable to recognize the TNEF part of the message or the Winmail.dat file. A file is created to hold the TNEF information.
  3. The plain text version of the message is received and the recipient’s e-mail client ignores the Winmail.dat file attachment. This behavior occurs in Outlook Express. Outlook Express does not understand TNEF, but it does ignore TNEF information. The result is a plain text message.

E-mail servers can strip out TNEF information when the messages are delivered over the Internet. If a server option is set to remove TNEF, the recipient’s e-mail client receives a plain text message. Microsoft Exchange has the option to remove TNEF from messages.

If the Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize Outlook Rich Text Format or Word

To avoid the Winmail.dat file attachments, use plain text format when you send the message.

If the Recipient's E-mail Program Does Not Understand Quoted Printable When It Converts Data from Your Message

To resolve this behavior, send messages by using Uuencode instead of Quotable Printable.

WORKAROUND

Use one of the following methods to work around this behavior.

The Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize Your E-mail Format

Use the following steps to change your e-mail format if the recipient's e-mail client does not recognize your e-mail client:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Send in this message format box, click the format that you want.


If the Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize TNEF

TNEF is on when Outlook is set to use Outlook Rich Text format. Use plain text or HTML format to turn off TNEF. To do this:

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Send in this message format box, click either Plain Text or HTML, and then click OK.

To force TNEF, select Outlook Rich Text format for the individual contact.

For Corporate or Workgroup Mode

  1. Enable the Outlook Rich Text format for all Internet recipients. If the recipient is listed in your Contacts folder, open the contact, then right-click the recipient’s e-mail address in the E-mail box, right-click the recipient’s e-mail address, click Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click to select the Always send to this recipient in Microsoft Outlook rich-text format check box.
  2. If the recipient is not in your Contacts folder, but is in your Personal Address Book, open the recipient’s entry in your address book, right-click the recipient’s e-mail address, click Properties on the shortcut menu, and then click to select the Always send to this recipient in Microsoft Outlook rich-text format check box.

The next time you send a message to this recipient, Outlook will automatically sends it in Outlook Rich Text format.

For Internet Mail Only Mode

  1. Open a new message.
  2. On the Format menu, click Rich Text.
  3. Click the Send button.

Set the Default E-mail Format to Outlook Rich Text

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Send in this message format box, click Microsoft Outlook Rich Text.

If the Recipient's E-mail Client Does Not Recognize Outlook Rich Text Format or Word

Use the plain text format when you send messages to avoid the Winmail.dat file attachments when you use Word as your e-mail editor or if the recipient's e-mail client does not recognize Outlook Rich Text format or Word.

Set the Format to Plain Text

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Send in this message format box, click Plain Text.
  • Change Your E-mil Editor On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab. Click to remove the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail Messages check box, and then click OK.


If the Recipient's E-mail Program Does Not Understand Quoted Printable When It Converts Data from Your Message

Use the following steps for messages that arrive with "=" or "=20" throughout the text.

For Corporate or Workgroup Mode

  1. Open the message that is in your Sent Items folder.
  2. On the Actions menu, click Resend This Message.
  3. Right-click on the resolved address, and then click Send Options on the shortcut menu.
  4. Click to select the I want to specify the format for messages to this recipient check box.
  5. Click Plain Text/Uuencode.
  6. Click OK, and then click Send.

For Internet Mail Only Mode


  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Send in this message format box, click Plain Text.
  3. Click the Settings button, and then under Message Format, click Uuencode.
  4. Open the message that is in your Sent Items folder.
  5. On the Actions menu, click Resend This Message.
  6. Click Send.


REFERENCES

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

241538 How message formats affect Internet mail


197064 Winmail.dat attachments included in messages



Additional query words: OL2K

Keywords: kbformat kbprb kbreceivemail KB269186



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