Because all e-mail programs are not alike, your message may not look the same in your recipient's e-mail program as it looked when you composed it in Outlook 2000. Following are some e-mail problems you may need to work around for some of your recipients.

HTML formatted message arrives unformatted

If the recipient sees only an unformatted version of an HTML formatted message you sent, or sees an unformatted version with an attachment that repeats the message text, it's because the recipient's e-mail program doesn't understand HTML.

This problem can occur when you send e-mail to recipients who use the America Online (AOL) e-mail program or other programs that can't display HTML. Instead, these programs can only display the plain text version of the message. However, AOL and some other e-mail programs will also attach the HTML version in case the recipient wants to use their Web browser (which does understand HTML) to see the fully formatted version of the message. For recipients whose e-mail program doesn't attach the HTML version, send only plain text messages.

For information about choosing a message format, see Choose the best Outlook message format for a recipient.

Recipient's mail supports HTML, but message arrives without formatting or pictures

One of the following might have occurred:

• On the way to the recipient, the message might have been routed through an e-mail server that doesn't support formatted messages. Check with your e-mail system administrator about using the HTML message format.

• After you created the initial message in HTML, you changed the message format, or you created the message in another format and then clicked HTML on the Format menu before sending. For example, if you initially create a message as HTML, and while the message is open you click Plain Text on the Format menu, or click Plain Text and then click Rich Text, you lose the formatting that you added to the message, even if you change the message format back to HTML before you send the message. Likewise, you lose the formatting if you create the message in a format other than HTML and then click HTML on the Format menu before sending.

• If a picture is missing, it might be because your message contained a pointer to an image on the Internet that your recipient doesn't have access to. To solve this problem, send a copy of the picture with the message instead of sending a pointer to it on the Internet.

For more information, see Add a still or animated picture to an Outlook HTML message.

HTML formatted message arrives with HTML tags in it

Some older e-mail programs, such as older versions of the PINE e-mail program, have problems displaying the HTML format. The problem in PINE was fixed in later versions, though, so the recipient should consult their e-mail system administrator about upgrading. In the meantime, send messages to this recipient in plain text format. For information about choosing a message format, see Choose the best Outlook message format for a recipient.

RTF message arrives unformatted and with attachment named Winmail.dat

If the message arrives without formatting or its attachment, but it has an attachment named Winmail.dat, it's because you enabled Rich Text format (RTF) for this recipient but their e-mail program doesn't understand RTF. In the future, create the message in plain text message format (or HTML if their e-mail program supports it), and make sure you disable RTF format for this recipient. For information about choosing a message format, see Choose the best Outlook message format for a recipient.

 Note    Microsoft Outlook® Express version 5.0 won't include the Winmail.dat attachment in the message.

Recipient's mail supports RTF, but message arrives unformatted

One of the following might have occurred:

• You might not have enabled RTF for that Internet recipient. Even if you created the message using the RTF message format, you still need to enable RTF for that recipient. For information about enabling RTF, see Choose the best Outlook message format for a recipient.

• If you're using Outlook in the Corporate or Workgroup configuration with Microsoft Exchange Server, the Exchange system administrator might have disallowed sending RTF formatted messages to Internet recipients. Even if you enabled RTF for the recipient, the administrator's setting will override that.

Message arrives with = or =20 throughout text

You sent the mail using the send option Quoted Printable, which is one of several methods used to convert e-mail for transfer across the Internet, and the recipient's e-mail program didn't understand the converted data. Instead, send e-mail using the send option Uuencode, a method that most e-mail programs understand.

Send mail using the Uuencode send option

Corporate or workgroup configuration

1. Open the message 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. 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 on the toolbar.

Internet only configuration

In this configuration, you can't change the send option for a specific recipient as described in the previous procedure. Instead, you temporarily change the default send option that Microsoft Outlook uses to send messages to the Internet. After you change the option and resend the message that contained (=) or (=20) throughout it, change the default send option back to the original setting (assuming that's the one that you use for most of your e-mail).

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