HTML Puzzle

Subject: Help: HTML Puzzle
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 06:37 AM

Yesterday I sent an email containing an HTML link to a friend (whose computer is an IMAC, which may not be relevant) and while I was talking to him on the phone today it transpired that the link appeared in the body of the email with all the HTML visible, pointy brackets, the lot, just as I had typed it.

Thing is, it all appeared in blue, and it worked when he clicked on it. Can somebody explain in layman's terms what it all means?

Thanks in advance

Murray

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: The_one_and_only_Dai
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 06:39 AM

Some email readers don't 'render' the HTML code - remember, an email is just text and the program you use to read it is usually only set up to show text. HTML is a markup language designed to be read by web browsers, which read the HTML code and format the output according to the instructions therein.

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 06:48 AM

Thanks Dai, but in that case how did the email reader convert it to a clickable link? I mean, I would have thought he would have had to copy and paste the URL.

Murray

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: The_one_and_only_Dai
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 06:59 AM

I suspect links are a special case - my copy of Outlook at work doesn't render HTML, but if you start to type a URL (beginning http://) as soon as it sees that text it turns blue and underlines while you're typing... Maybe Eudora (or whatever your friend is using) does the same.

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 07:06 AM

Ah right, the penny drops at last. So if I had just sent the URL without all the HTML it would still have appeared as a clickable link. Thanks.

Murray

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 07:07 AM

I think Dai is correct,

MS Word, for example, decides to underline in blue anything in which www appears without spaces. Drives me nuts!

Regarding your friend's email, get him/her to look under 'tools' or 'options' or some such. Nearly every program has an option to allow / disallow html

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Jeri
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 08:24 AM

I use a text-only e-mail program (Agent), and it will turn anything starting with http:// or containing an @ symbol into a link. In my case, html coding will cause it to not work correctly.

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Sep 01 - 10:22 AM

yep...Agent and Eudora and many others can be told to do a variety of things when they encounter HTML in a post or email....

and remember, Max is working on getting the Mudcat to recognize any address posted and convert it to a clickable link (but still allow those who can wish to do variations on their HTML)...it's just a matter to telling the program to recognize certain patterns.....

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 25 Sep 01 - 12:26 AM

GUEST: 24-Sep-01 - 07:07 AM and any others interested.

You can turn off the clicky in MS Word if you like.

Go to Tools, and select AutoCorrect.

Select the "Autoformat As You Type" tab, and
under "Replace as you type,"
unclick the box by "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks."
Word will no longer put the underlines and/or blue text in when it thinks you have typed something that might be a web or email address.

Getting rid of an underlined or "bold blue" link that Word marks in your document can be a little tricky. If you use your mouse to try to select the link marker, your PC may try to connect you.

Use the mouse to put your cursor close to the marker and then use the arrow keys to move into it,
or select a whole line that contains the marker by clicking in the left margin,
or click outside the marker and "wipe" over it while you hold the mouse button down.

Once you have your cursor "in" the marker, or have the marker "inside" a selection, the key combination
"Control-Shift-F9"
will "unlink" the marker and change it back to plain text.

John

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Mrrzy
Date: 25 Sep 01 - 11:36 AM

THANKS, JiK! I do a lot of typing in the url, right clicking, selecting Hyperlink, Edit Hyperlink, Remove link... you've just saved me quite a pain!

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 25 Sep 01 - 11:42 AM

If it helps any Outlook also has settings that can be changed to determine how Mail messages are viewed/sent.. RTF/HTML/some other outlook format /Plain Text and so on..

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: HTML Puzzle
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 25 Sep 01 - 01:30 PM

Thanks for bringing that one up Scabby Doug... Outlook Express can send in 2 formats but the default for sending mail (as opposed to sending to a newsgroup) is HTML. I have mine set for Plain Text - I just wish others would make that simple change...

Jon