Outlook 2003 SP 2
Word 2003 SP 2

How do I set Outlook to always reply in HTML
or RTF?

When replying to, or forwarding, an email that is
in plain text format, it always uses plain
text. I want to force it to use RTF or HTML.

I understand why it works this way. It is assuming
that the user is sending plain text, that they
*can't* understand anything else. In my case,
I know who I am sending to and know otherwise.

I know I can change it every time, and I do,
but it is getting very old.

Thanks,
Brad.

Outlook doesn't not have such an option. You'll need to either change it
manually for each message or write a macro - note that sending RTF to
non-outlook users will result in a plain text email and a winmail.dat
attachment.

Have you tried convincing the senders to use HTML? That would be the best
solution and may give you an insight into why they prefer plain text.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/
Outlook 2007: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/

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"Brad White" wrote in message
...
Outlook 2003 SP 2
Word 2003 SP 2

How do I set Outlook to always reply in HTML
or RTF?

When replying to, or forwarding, an email that is
in plain text format, it always uses plain
text. I want to force it to use RTF or HTML.

I understand why it works this way. It is assuming
that the user is sending plain text, that they
*can't* understand anything else. In my case,
I know who I am sending to and know otherwise.

I know I can change it every time, and I do,
but it is getting very old.

Thanks,
Brad.

Diane Poremsky explained :
Outlook doesn't not have such an option. You'll need to either change it
manually for each message or write a macro -

OK, thanks for saving me the trouble of looking
for it any further.
I'll write a macro.

Thanks,
Brad.

"Brad White" wrote in message
...

How do I set Outlook to always reply in HTML
or RTF?

When replying to, or forwarding, an email that is
in plain text format, it always uses plain
text. I want to force it to use RTF or HTML.

I understand why it works this way. It is assuming
that the user is sending plain text, that they
*can't* understand anything else. In my case,
I know who I am sending to and know otherwise.

I know I can change it every time, and I do,
but it is getting very old.


It is considered rude to reply in a format other than what the sender
used. If they sent in plain-text then you should reply using
plain-text. It matters not what you know the recipient can read
regarding mail formats! It is possible the user is using an e-mail
client that won't render HTML e-mails and you are wrong. Even if you
know they can render HTML-formatted e-mails from you doesn't preclude
the recipient from configuring their e-mail client to always read in
plain-text mode (so your HTML formatting did nothing other than bloat
the size of your reply to twice the size). If the user has agreed to
accept (and render) HTML-formatted e-mails from you, use the Format menu
to change the formatting mode when composing your new e-mail to that
recipient. Of course, if the user agrees to read HTML-formatted e-mails
from you then they should also be willing to *send* you HTML-formatted
e-mails if the concern is to make it easier for you than for them.

There is no option in OL2002 to automatically override the format used
in all received mails when you are composing a reply to them. I suspect
the same is true in OL2003. It is because of rude e-mail users replying
using a different format that the option to force "read all message in
plain-text" got provided in OL2003; see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/831607/en-us (it was available as a
registry hack for OL2002 and some plug-ins, like Attachment Options
expose it as an option). Many if not most other e-mail clients already
had this option a long time ago.

NEVER use RTF (Rich-Text Format) unless *both* the sender and recipient
are within the same MS-Exchange organization and both are guaranteed to
use Outlook as their e-mail client.