Web Design Forums

davefromscratch · 08-11-2005, 16:22

ok. any one got the down lows on fancy html-emails- i think they might be also called rich text???

are there rules to be followed. just wondered as i went and made up a nice e-mail with abit of css to position, boxes and adding backgrounds etc only to find that in a number of e-mails the viewing completely fucks up. whats that all about?

and theres some mad variation between them, i like looked at it from all different e-mail accounts and some were fine and some were diabolical? whats it doing?

i then had a look to some of the nice looking ones i've recieved in the past and even apple e-mails are made in tables, is css a big no no here or what.

one of you lot must know?
is there a place to read up on this? info... info...

dave

oli · 08-11-2005, 16:35

Personally I stick to tables for emailers,
some css info here : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/cssemail/

adras · 08-11-2005, 16:46

I found that CSS backgrounds don't appear in Outlook emails. (Maybe they will once the user updates the settings, but that's no good)

roto · 08-11-2005, 17:23

I've found that AOL strips out inline styles and pretty well cocks up css altogether. Agree with oli on the tables option.

davefromscratch · 08-11-2005, 17:25

that sucks. what going on? so much for my bright idea?!"
nice one for that link, and anyone else with knowledge wop it down!!

smallbeer · 08-11-2005, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by oli

Personally I stick to tables for emailers,
some css info here : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/cssemail/

and he wrote a follow up with some useful templates here - http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/...ing_css_1.html

davefromscratch · 08-11-2005, 17:30

excellent stuff im gonna read all this stuff at work tomorrow. nice one guys! & any more info post it up!

d*d · 09-11-2005, 04:58

I would stick to tables for html emails, most of the advantages from css (validation, consistency, ease of update etc) don't apply to the html email format. Tables will give the most consistent appearance across different email clients. I would also look into using mailing software if you are sending out to a lot of people, this will allow for tracking to see who has opened what link from within your email and will ensure that people who are using a text only email client will receive a text version of your creation and not a load of unreadlable code.

gray · 09-11-2005, 05:18

getting some amazing emails from sony lately, horizontal scrolling with horizontal anchor link trickery
no idea how they do it

Brown · 09-11-2005, 05:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by gray

getting some amazing emails from sony lately, horizontal scrolling with horizontal anchor link trickery
no idea how they do it

do you think it was intentional?

Mr Fred · 09-11-2005, 05:53

oli's emails do that - fucks my machine every time.

gray · 09-11-2005, 06:02

yeh its intentional, these are well nice

Brown · 09-11-2005, 06:15

forward one on then mate. ta.

roto · 09-11-2005, 09:42

So...tables aren't all dead? Or, should we soon see e-mail clients (both web and e-mail programs) move to support CSS?

Brown · 09-11-2005, 09:52

i don't see it happening within the next 5 years unless mail clients start using better engines to render their html. even then, there will be too many exceptions to leave tables out of html emails completely.

imo.

d*d · 09-11-2005, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by ®oto

So...tables aren't all dead? Or, should we soon see e-mail clients (both web and e-mail programs) move to support CSS?

tables aren't dead in web design, they are perfectly valid if you need to tabulate data.

roto · 09-11-2005, 09:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by d*d

tables aren't dead in web design, they are perfectly valid if you need to tabulate data.

Yes, thanks. I know that already. I was just curious about some opinions as to e-mail clients' support for CSS in the future.

davefromscratch · 10-11-2005, 17:30

im intrigued by these crazy e-mails you speak of too! would you be kind enough to forward me one. the email client stuff is nothing to do with me but that is under-control (although if i ever need to know a good one to use that would be handy, i guess they're not free?).

tables is definately the most efficient approach from the all the ways i've tried- i was just a bit surprised to start with! I expect the e-mail stripping is to do with perhaps the controlling of junk mail and spam?? but who knows! thanks for all the info anyway guys! big help!

anandg · 21-11-2005, 05:49

Here is an article I've written to create HTML emails that will be displayed correctly by most email programs (outlook, thunderbird, etcl.) and webmail clients:

Create compatible HTML email
http://www.anandgraves.com/nobullshi...cles.php?id=51

I have also written an online HTML Email Validator . It checks your HTML for compatibility with HTML email which can be a real time saver.
http://www.anandgraves.com/html-email-validator/

08-11-2005, 16:22	#1 (permalink)
davefromscratch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 38	html e-mails / viewing & css? ok. any one got the down lows on fancy html-emails- i think they might be also called rich text??? are there rules to be followed. just wondered as i went and made up a nice e-mail with abit of css to position, boxes and adding backgrounds etc only to find that in a number of e-mails the viewing completely fucks up. whats that all about? and theres some mad variation between them, i like looked at it from all different e-mail accounts and some were fine and some were diabolical? whats it doing? i then had a look to some of the nice looking ones i've recieved in the past and even apple e-mails are made in tables, is css a big no no here or what. one of you lot must know? is there a place to read up on this? info... info... dave

08-11-2005, 16:46	#3 (permalink)
adras Zły Join Date: May 2004 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 2,005	I found that CSS backgrounds don't appear in Outlook emails. (Maybe they will once the user updates the settings, but that's no good) __________________ Be Crisp (tm)

08-11-2005, 17:23	#4 (permalink)
roto Floating libation anyone? Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: El Barco del Amor Posts: 4,650	I've found that AOL strips out inline styles and pretty well cocks up css altogether. Agree with oli on the tables option. __________________ fun: HGC v.4 \| last.fm: DT \| me \| *oi! fck u roto: ...via meebo! New to interweb design?** Your friends at dt can help.

09-11-2005, 09:42	#14 (permalink)
roto Floating libation anyone? Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: El Barco del Amor Posts: 4,650	So...tables aren't all dead? Or, should we soon see e-mail clients (both web and e-mail programs) move to support CSS? __________________ fun: HGC v.4 \| last.fm: DT \| me \| *oi! fck u roto: ...via meebo! New to interweb design?** Your friends at dt can help.

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08-11-2005, 16:35	#2 (permalink)
oli I Call Shenanigans™ Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Manchester, England. Posts: 9,748	Personally I stick to tables for emailers, some css info here : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/cssemail/

08-11-2005, 17:25	#5 (permalink)
davefromscratch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 38	that sucks. what going on? so much for my bright idea?!" nice one for that link, and anyone else with knowledge wop it down!!

08-11-2005, 17:30	#7 (permalink)
davefromscratch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 38	excellent stuff im gonna read all this stuff at work tomorrow. nice one guys! & any more info post it up!

09-11-2005, 04:58	#8 (permalink)
d*d Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bristol Posts: 3,305	I would stick to tables for html emails, most of the advantages from css (validation, consistency, ease of update etc) don't apply to the html email format. Tables will give the most consistent appearance across different email clients. I would also look into using mailing software if you are sending out to a lot of people, this will allow for tracking to see who has opened what link from within your email and will ensure that people who are using a text only email client will receive a text version of your creation and not a load of unreadlable code.

09-11-2005, 05:18	#9 (permalink)
gray i still want paying Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: newcastle, uk Posts: 4,713	getting some amazing emails from sony lately, horizontal scrolling with horizontal anchor link trickery no idea how they do it

09-11-2005, 05:53	#11 (permalink)
Mr Fred Magazines™ Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Glasgow.. Posts: 11,359	oli's emails do that - fucks my machine every time.

09-11-2005, 06:02	#12 (permalink)
gray i still want paying Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: newcastle, uk Posts: 4,713	yeh its intentional, these are well nice

09-11-2005, 06:15	#13 (permalink)
Brown volkswagen yellow & gold Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: london, england. Posts: 6,147	forward one on then mate. ta.

09-11-2005, 09:52	#15 (permalink)
Brown volkswagen yellow & gold Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: london, england. Posts: 6,147	i don't see it happening within the next 5 years unless mail clients start using better engines to render their html. even then, there will be too many exceptions to leave tables out of html emails completely. imo.

10-11-2005, 17:30	#18 (permalink)
davefromscratch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 38	im intrigued by these crazy e-mails you speak of too! would you be kind enough to forward me one. the email client stuff is nothing to do with me but that is under-control (although if i ever need to know a good one to use that would be handy, i guess they're not free?). tables is definately the most efficient approach from the all the ways i've tried- i was just a bit surprised to start with! I expect the e-mail stripping is to do with perhaps the controlling of junk mail and spam?? but who knows! thanks for all the info anyway guys! big help!

21-11-2005, 05:49	#19 (permalink)
anandg Anand Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1	Here is an article I've written to create HTML emails that will be displayed correctly by most email programs (outlook, thunderbird, etcl.) and webmail clients: Create compatible HTML email http://www.anandgraves.com/nobullshi...cles.php?id=51 I have also written an online HTML Email Validator . It checks your HTML for compatibility with HTML email which can be a real time saver. http://www.anandgraves.com/html-email-validator/

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