Re: [PHP] HTML & plain text in Outlook 2007

On 4 February 2010 16:44, Skip Evans <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> First, let me say thanks for all the advice on Magento, and especially to
> Ryan who has used the beast and gave some great advice on skinning, links to
> some good docs and a book just for my designer. We'll be using and I'm
> looking forward to learning it.
>
> But anyway...
>
> I'm doing some maintenance work on a system that sends an email message
> using the multi-part boundaries to include both a plain text version and an
> HTML version of an email.
>
> I've read up on this before, but never actually done it. So implementing the
> code was not a big issue, and in fact it works perfectly when tested on my
> Ubuntu machine using Thunderbird to test the HTML and Evolution to test the
> plain text version. In fact, I can switch formats on both of these and all
> looks great.
>
> Enter Microsoft (Insert opening of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor to
> send chills up my readers' spines.)
>
> On Outlook 2007 in HTML mode it renders, how can I put this... half-assedly.
> In text mode the whole things a bust. There is the HTML code all stuffed up
> at the top, boundary codes are visible, just plain awful.
>
> Googling around I see articles from 2007 when that version of Outlook came
> out lamenting the fact that MS pulled the IE rendering engine from it and
> replaced it with MS Word's renderer to plug security holes expoitable via
> email.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with HTML & plain text multi-part messages
> and Outlook 2007, or any tips how I can get this working? Still Googling,
> but any tips would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Skip
> --
> ====================================
> Skip Evans
> PenguinSites.com, LLC
> 503 S Baldwin St, #1
> Madison WI 53703
> 608.250.2720
> http://penguinsites.com
> ------------------------------------
> Those of you who believe in
> telekinesis, raise my hand.
>  -- Kurt Vonnegut
>
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>

I create HTML.Mime based emails in PHP with a plain text part which is
basically a cop out saying that they should upgrade.

The HTML part is a fax form. They print it out, add some stickers
relating to work carried out and then fax it back (or email it as a
TIFF or PDF if they have the skills/tech to do that).

I use Outlook 2003 (work) and GMail via Chrome (personal).

The form includes embedded images (essentially their logo as the forms
are passed to their clients) and have a PDF attached ( a report from
our systems about the email they are receiving).

All fairly simple.

1 - Plain Text - (Please upgrade)
2 - Alternative HTML
3 -          Embedded images
4 - Attachment

For this, I use RMail from phpguru.org (previously known as
html_mime_mail5) http://www.phpguru.org/static/Rmail

The HTML I used contains limited CSS and is table based.

I initially did it "properly", or so I thought.

I'd used IE7/FireFox/Safari/Opera as a test of a proper HTML page with
CSS to produce a nice looking form. Scaled nicely, limited shrink,
etc.

Looked OK in Outlook 2003 too!

But when I sent them for approval to the line manager, who uses
Outlook 2007, well, let's just say he didn't understand the form at
all!

Even when I redid it with tables, I'd used <thead>, <tfoot>, <tbody>
(proper HTML at least). In O2K7? It renders in order - header, footer,
body. Great!

So, the HTML I ended up with REALLY looks like something from when I
was first learning HTML (I just worked it out as being 13 years ago!).

So, yes. The code is horribly old fashioned. But it works.


-- 
-----
Richard Quadling
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