v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

7 Feb 2010, 3:15 PM

#1

New Zenner

Join Date:: Jul 2009
Posts:: 39
Plugin Contributions:: 0

v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

I did do a search on this topic but the solutions were discussing a previous version. Since i am running 1.3.8a and i don't send customer emails often as i run a few different businesses and zencart tends to be overwhelming when i have to troubleshoot...what is the current work around when i attempt to cut and paste written content into the online editor...check it in preview and my line breaks are there yet when the email arrived to my clients....it was one bulk paragraph....not going to impress ANYONE so i have to re-send and apologize asap.

Also, how do i use an external html email generator that a friend of mne just gifted so that I can create nicer looking newsletters and impress my clients? Do i just export my contacts? what i DO lke about zen is i would potentally be able to send to all customers or just those signed up for newsletters or just an individual and i would like to maintain that ease but have much nicer recieved results than the garbage i am sending now.

7 Feb 2010, 4:01 PM

#2

stevesh

Black Belt

Join Date:: Feb 2005
Location:: Lansing, Michigan USA
Posts:: 19,793
Plugin Contributions:: 2

Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

Do you have **Admin - Configuration - Email Options - Use MIME Email **set to true?

8 Feb 2010, 4:56 AM

#3

mydesignerstudio

New Zenner

Join Date:: Jul 2009
Posts:: 39
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Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

just checked and it IS set to true !!??

8 Feb 2010, 10:38 AM

#4

stevesh

Black Belt

Join Date:: Feb 2005
Location:: Lansing, Michigan USA
Posts:: 19,793
Plugin Contributions:: 2

Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

Have you sent one to yourself to see if the problem isn't on the client's end?

8 Feb 2010, 11:34 AM

#5

schoolboy

Totally Zenned

Join Date:: Jun 2005
Location:: Cumbria, UK
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Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

If I set my email client to receive only unformatted emails, there is absolutely nothing you can do to force me to receive (or render) html messages.

This is why ZC requires you to create 2 versions.

As Steve suggests, you need to carry out a few "test" mailings to yourself to determine how to best format your mailings.

Set your own email client (possibly Outlook or Outlook Express - or maybe even WindowsMail) to accespt only text messages. Send yourself a newsletter - see the result...

Then, tweak your methodology accordingly.

8 Feb 2010, 1:21 PM

#6

mydesignerstudio

New Zenner

Join Date:: Jul 2009
Posts:: 39
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Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

I have my own account set up as a customer in the system. While I don't alert customers of anything on a regular basis because my client list is still growing...when i first went live with my zencart i have sent out a newsletter before and don't recall having this problem.

I have used many online editors whether it is blogger or forums where you can switch between writing in plain text or by way of html formatting so when i did my email and chose preview and my paragraphs were in tact i wasn't expecting them to be gone upon arrival until "as a customer" I got my copy and was horrified. A friend of mine is also a customer and confirmed that he got it unformatted as well.

He also sent me "items that i can add to my server" so that the formatted version he mocked up of that newsletter could be resent.....but i have not opened up the contents of whatever this is he is talking about yet as i am unsure what it is going to be or do or have anything to do with zencart...

8 Feb 2010, 1:56 PM

#7

schoolboy

Totally Zenned

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Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

An external html editor is probably creating SYTLES that are somehow not being embedded into your newsletter, when you "paste" the html (or text) you created in that external editor.

If your newsletter html has a DIV that specifies a particular STYLE ID or CLASS, ... unless that style declaration is available to the html it will render the contents unformatted (from a styles point-of-view).

If you create (and format) content using an external editor, you must then embed the stylesheet that it uses (or the style declarations) into the header of the HTML that you are sending out.

This principle is use in zencart's EMAIL files... open up one of those files in the email folder of a zencart install. Look at how the styles used in the email message are embedded into the header...

... here's the email_template_welcome.html ...

<html>

<head>

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=$CHARSET" /> 

<base href="$BASE_HREF" />



<style type="text/css">

.body {background-color:#ffffff; color:#000000; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}

a:link {color:#0066cc;}

a:hover {background-color:#eeeecc; color:#0066cc;}

a:visited {color:#0066cc;}

.holder { background-color: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #9a9a9a solid; font-size: 9px; text-align: left; width:550px;}

.header {font-size:10px; padding:0px; width:550px;}

.content {font-size:10px; padding:5px; width:550px;}

.content-line {padding:5px;}

.coupon-block { padding: 5px; border: 1px #cccccc solid; background-color: #FFFF99; }

.coupon-code {font-weight:bold;}

.gv-block { padding: 5px; border: 1px #cccccc solid; background-color: #99FF99; }

.gv-code {font-weight:bold;}

.footer { border-top: 1px #9a9a9a solid; font-size: 9px; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 550px; }

.extra-info { background-color: #cccc99; border: 1px #9a9a9a solid; font-size: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 5px; width: 550px; }

.extra-info-bold {font-weight:bold;}

.disclaimer { background-color: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #cccccc solid; font-size: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 5px; width: 550px; }

.disclaimer1 {color:#666666; padding:5px;}

.disclaimer1 a:link {color:#666666;}

.disclaimer1 a:visited {color:#666666;}

.disclaimer2 { color: #666666; padding: 5px; }

.copyright { border-bottom: 0px #9a9a9a solid; padding: 5px; }

</style>



</head>

8 Feb 2010, 2:05 PM

#8

mydesignerstudio

New Zenner

Join Date:: Jul 2009
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Re: v1.3.8a send mail arrives unformatted

I did read about this prior to posting when i was searching for a solution to my problem....however....this particular newsletter/send email that i composed was all done right in zencart. I simply logged into my admin control panel and in tools selected SEND EMAIL. I composed it in plain text and just wrote out what i wanted to say without prior prepping or cutting and pasting from somewhere else. I included an html <a href> tag because I discussed an alternate URL i want them to visit (another site of mine) so when I hit preview I went back and switched to html editor and back and forth for whatever reason to be sure it was looking proper. I tried to put <br> tags in so i could force the kind of spacing between the few paragraphs where i needed line breaks and in the preview It looked satisfactory. So, I did not use any sort of external editor until my friend who also received my newsletter decided to try to help and showed me how it would look using his "whatever he sent me".

I thought i was manipulating and i am fine using zen's style sheets already included so i am not sure what I need to tweak to force the spacing...that is really all that i was trying to do...nothing fancy.