If you answer e-mail questions 'inline' - that is, inside of the sender's original quoted message - you should use Outlook comments. This marks your insertions with your name so that the recipient(s) can quickly spot your notes and you don't have to type '>' in front of everything you add. (You should still make a note that your 'answers are below' at the top of the mail!)
Open any Outlook email message and click on the Reply button. In the main menu, click on the Format Text menu option. On the far right of the Format Text ribbon, click on the Zoom icon. Change the Zoom to setting to 100% and click on the OK button.
In Outlook 2007, go to the main application window (not your message), click the Tools menu, and select Options. Now click the E-mail Options button, check the box that says Mark my comments with, and add your name in the box below it. Then click OK for all open dialog boxes and return to your mail.
In Outlook 2010, you don't even need to leave the message. Just click to the File tab at far left, click Options, and then click to the Mail section. Scroll down to Replies and forwards. Now check the box that says Preface comments with, add your name, and click OK to return to your message.
If you ever need to turn it off (say, if Outlook is adding comments when you reply to someone and delete the body contents to start a new mail topic), simply reverse the steps. Just don't forget to turn it back on when you're done!
Suzanne
//One of the staff here is having an Outlook 2003 problem. It seems that when she sends email, it changes the font to show a strikethrough. Twice I have tried to correct this and here is what happened.
1. When she composed, it showed strikethroughs on her side, and that was it.
2. Now, when she composes, there are no strikethroughs, but when people reply their text has strikethroughs in it.
3. I am out of ideas and thinking of reinstalling Office 2003.
I have gone into her settings and did all the common stuff, but still can’t get it to behave.
I feel your pain. It’s a problem I commonly experience when replying to other people’s mail. All of a sudden, what I type doesn’t appear in the style I want it to, and for the life of me, I can’t whack it into shape. At least not without a lot of work.
I think I understand why it happens, and I definitely have some suggestions.
Two suggestions, actually.
I believe that the problem stems from very convoluted formatting instructions that are created within the message. These are the raw HTML [HyperText Mark-up Language]
HTML is an acronym for HyperText Mark-up Language.
Hypertext is a general term referring to a form of document that includes “links” – either references to other pages, other documents, or other locations within an the existing document – that can be used to go to the linked location. The ability to click on a link and have the referenced page be displayed puts the “hyper” in hypertext.
Mark-up Language refers to the specific techniques and rules used to encode links and other information into an HTML document.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>HTML instructions that you don’t normally see, but that cause the email to appear the way it does. The instructions I mean are those that do things like indent, and place a bar next to this paragraph, or make this word bold, or embed a bulleted list within the message.Hypertext is a general term referring to a form of document that includes “links” – either references to other pages, other documents, or other locations within an the existing document – that can be used to go to the linked location. The ability to click on a link and have the referenced page be displayed puts the “hyper” in hypertext.
Mark-up Language refers to the specific techniques and rules used to encode links and other information into an HTML document.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
It may look simple on the outside, but inside? A convoluted mess.
The problem, particularly when replying to a message that contains this convoluted mess, is that the editor you’re using to type and edit your reply, may actually not be able to properly decipher and adjust the existing formatting in a message. For example, you might not be able to indent one paragraph without indenting all paragraphs. You should be able to, but ultimately you cannot.
“Using Word to edit email is like driving a Greyhound bus
In computing, a bus is a connection between multiple components which allows those components to share information, power, or instructions relating to controlling those devices.
A common example is USB. The Universal Serial Bus interface is used to connect external (and occasionally internal) devices to a computer. Multiple devices are all connected to this one interface, and the electrical signalling on that interface determines which device or devices are in communication at any point in time.
Another example is the bus internal to the computer that connects the CPU to multiple banks of RAM and other internal components. While electrically very different than USB, the concept – that of connecting multiple devices to a single communication path – is the same.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>Bus to visit your next door neighbor.A common example is USB. The Universal Serial Bus interface is used to connect external (and occasionally internal) devices to a computer. Multiple devices are all connected to this one interface, and the electrical signalling on that interface determines which device or devices are in communication at any point in time.
Another example is the bus internal to the computer that connects the CPU to multiple banks of RAM and other internal components. While electrically very different than USB, the concept – that of connecting multiple devices to a single communication path – is the same.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
I blame the rich text editors.
Or more to the point, I blame Microsoft Word. It is notorious for generating horrible and convoluted HTML.
Recommendation #1: stop using Word as your email editor. Using Word to edit email is like driving a Greyhound Bus to visit your next door neighbor. It’s big, it’s slow, it’s overkill, and if you don’t know how to drive it just so, it can make one heck of a mess.
In Outlook, Click on the Tools menu, the Options item, and then click on the Mail Format tab. Now, make sure that both the check boxes that reference Microsoft Word are UNchecked. You’ll still be able to send and receive HTML and Rich Text email, but Outlook will use it’s own, faster and more lightweight editor instead of firing up the 10,000 lb. gorilla that is Word.
Recommendation #2: Use plain text messages, and stop sending HTML and Rich Text mail completely. I mean, really, how often do you need all the fancy formatting in your email? If you Focus
Focus is the concept that, in a multi-window operating system (such as Microsoft Windows or Mac OS), user input can be directed to only one application window at a time.
An application (such as a keyboard or mouse) is said to have focus when it receives user input. This application is usually (although not always) in the foreground; its window is displayed on top of or in front of any other application windows.
The concept can apply within an application as well. A dialog box – perhaps a “File, Open” file selection box – may take the focus away from the main application window until the dialog is dismissed.
An application that takes focus from another application unexpectedly, or without interaction from the user, is sometimes said to “steal focus.” An example might be when a user is typing in one program, and suddenly sees that some or all of the input is being entered into some other application that at some point “stole focus”.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>focus on the message, the text, then all you need is plain text. This completely eliminates the potential for the formatting problems we’ve been discussing. As a bonus, your email will be smaller, faster to transmit and display, and much less likely to be erroneously flagged as spamAn application (such as a keyboard or mouse) is said to have focus when it receives user input. This application is usually (although not always) in the foreground; its window is displayed on top of or in front of any other application windows.
The concept can apply within an application as well. A dialog box – perhaps a “File, Open” file selection box – may take the focus away from the main application window until the dialog is dismissed.
An application that takes focus from another application unexpectedly, or without interaction from the user, is sometimes said to “steal focus.” An example might be when a user is typing in one program, and suddenly sees that some or all of the input is being entered into some other application that at some point “stole focus”.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
Spam refers to unsolicited email you don’t want. The most obvious examples of spam are unsolicited commercial emails, such as ads for porn, drugs, or body enhancement products.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>spam.(Click on the term for full definition.)
In my opinion, 90% of all legitimate email currently being sent in HTML or Rich Text could just as easily, and probably more effectively, be transmitted in Plain Text instead.
In Outlook, Click on the Tools menu, the Options item, and then click on the Mail Format tab. Make sure that the dropdown next to Compose in this message format: is set to Plain Text.
HTML does have its place – mostly in what I would call “email publishing”, certain types of messages that are truly enhanced by visual representations, and for those that just can’t express themselves without bold, italics, color and who knows what else.
But if your message is in your words, there’s no reason for anything but plain text.