Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Formatting problems for emails in Outlook 2011

I have been through several forums searching for an answer to this embarrassing coding issue with Outlook for Mac 2011 indiscriminately changing fonts, font sizes and formatting when sending an email and at long last someone has actually recommended a solution that works.....TEXTEDIT! Well done MrsScarf.

Now the bigger issue for Microsoft to write code for Outlook for Mac 2011 which makes users of their "office productivity suite" well actually productive, rather than needing to write + cut + paste into a TEXTEDIT for formatting and then cut + paste back into Outlook for Mac 2011 in order that the email can be sent with consistent font size and formatting. This is pretty mundane task when you are sending 20-30 emails that need to look professional per day and such steps have never been necessary in a PC/Outlook environment.

Outlook for Mac 2011, despite the recent update v14.3.1, it clearly not doing what is written on the box and is not fit for purpose. It is very hard to believe that we are now in 2013 and having such a widespread problem and that microsoft have not addressed it with an update.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shape5
pctomacuser said:
I have been through several forums searching for an answer to this embarrassing coding issue with Outlook for Mac 2011 indiscriminately changing fonts, font sizes and formatting when sending an email and at long last someone has actually recommended a solution that works.....TEXTEDIT! Well done MrsScarf.

Now the bigger issue for Microsoft to write code for Outlook for Mac 2011 which makes users of their "office productivity suite" well actually productive, rather than needing to write + cut + paste into a TEXTEDIT for formatting and then cut + paste back into Outlook for Mac 2011 in order that the email can be sent with consistent font size and formatting. This is pretty mundane task when you are sending 20-30 emails that need to look professional per day and such steps have never been necessary in a PC/Outlook environment.

Outlook for Mac 2011, despite the recent update v14.3.1, it clearly not doing what is written on the box and is not fit for purpose. It is very hard to believe that we are now in 2013 and having such a widespread problem and that microsoft have not addressed it with an update.
Click to expand...

I've abandoned Office 2011. I have it from work, but use iWork and Mail. With the last update to Office, I've found it buggy and a hot mess to be honest.
 
Somewhat helpful Solution

Yeah I've had the exact same problems - mainly copying and pasting into my email message. When I send the email, it looks formatted correctly. However, when the recipient replies, the font is all screwed up (different sizes) and looks terrible, completely unlike what the original email looks like in my sent box. :mad:

The following solution is limited, but you can try it:

Click "Outlook" --> Preferences --> Composing --> scroll to the bottom and disable "Compose messages in HTML by default"

Exit out of this window by clicking the top left corner "Show All"

Next, you return to the Outlook Preferences screen. Click on "Fonts." You can then select the type of font you would like to use as "Plain text messages"

This will make all of your emails Plain text messages; this means you cannot format your fonts. But, for everything you copy and paste (including hyperlinks) you can rest assured that the font will look consistent.

You will not be able to use any formatting whatsoever in the email; nor will you be able to add in graphs / charts / tables / pictures, or formatted bullet points etc...

While this is only a half-way fix, it still works if you don't mind not being able to bold, underline, change the color of your font, etc... :D
 
another solution(?)

I've used the TextEdit approach in the past and while it always works I think I've found an alternative that can be done all in Outlook.

I default to and almost always stick with Plain text. I just discovered that if I go to the "Options" tab, which is set to "Plain", switch to "HTML", and then immediately switch back to "Plain" then the paste on the line above problem goes away. It's as if the default "Plain" setting isn't really "Plain" (it's not HTML either).

I also discovered another "bug". If I place the cursor between characters and do a right-click to paste from the pop-up menu, it always auto-selects the next character, which is then replaced on the paste. If I chose the Paste from the Edit menu or just do a command-V then my selection stays and the paste works as expected.

I also have to be careful about selecting text. If I double click to select something then Outlook always wants to do a "word" paste inserting spaces on either side of the pasted text if it thinks it is needed. Click-and-drag or click-and-shift-click avoids that behavior. I'd expect this behavior to be tied to an AutoCorrect setting or Composing setting in Preferences but I don't see anything obvious.

MrsScarf said:
I know this is an old thread but I was enraged by the amount of trolls on here, and I think I have a solution.

I have been having this problem for ages and finally decided to try everything under the sun to try to fix it. Finally something worked!

Before sending any emails I cut and paste all of the text (event the signature as that can go do-lally too!) into TextEdit, check it still looks ok and then cut and paste it back again.

Yes it's a pain, but it works! All my emails now go out looking nice and professional - I would say more like Vanity Fair then Just Seventeen though ;)

How this helps people.

MS
Click to expand...
 
Issues with Outlook 2011 mac email merge

I am trying to copy my html email from outlook into word for a email merge however the issue is that I have an image in there and it changes the formatting of the font and the margins......This worked perfect in windows. It just doesn't look clean like it does in outlook.

Is there a workaround for my mac?


Thanks in advance,
 
This is a real crappy problem that Microsoft needs to address. I inadvertently created a situation where the recipient of my email will know someone else produced language that I copy and pasted into my message because it's in a different format. In this situation it is fairly embarrassing.
 
Relieved to see an answer...

MrsScarf said:
I know this is an old thread but I was enraged by the amount of trolls on here, and I think I have a solution.

I have been having this problem for ages and finally decided to try everything under the sun to try to fix it. Finally something worked!

Before sending any emails I cut and paste all of the text (event the signature as that can go do-lally too!) into TextEdit, check it still looks ok and then cut and paste it back again.

Yes it's a pain, but it works! All my emails now go out looking nice and professional - I would say more like Vanity Fair then Just Seventeen though ;)

How this helps people.

MS
Click to expand...

I have struggled with this issue for years. I almost gave up reading through the posts (due to the amount of noise from individuals taking the time to disagree that this is an issue).
I am not trying to do anything fancy with my emails (I do that elsewhere) - but to expect that an email with text & bullets looks the same to the person I sent it to doesn't seem too much to ask.

I will definitely try this. I have tried copying and pasting into word (per an earlier suggestion), but the bullets don't maintain as bullets.

Thanks again.
Maggie
 
Outlook formatting

Hi all

I am very new to mac, having spent the last 30 years using Microsoft products.

I was struggling with this problem, mainly related to setting up a decent signature. I found the solution to be simple in the end. Set up the text in Pages rather than Word. I actually cut and pasted what i wanted from word into pages, reformatted as appropriate then cut from there and pasted into Outlook for mac. Worked like a charm.

hope this helps
 
Hi all,

I just had the same problem and discovered a very neat workaround.

If you click in the message text, hit cmd+a to select all text, and reply(or cmd+r) the formatting stays!
Hope it helps anyone.

philipp
 
Easy way to get rid of odd formatting in Outlook

The quick way to get rid of odd formatting errors on an outgoing message is to go into the message options tab and then click into Plain from HTML and back into HTML. That seems to get rid of things like weird line spacing and characters. Pity that MS did not give us the ability to use Word as a text editor in Outlook, like on the Windozzze version but then so much of the rest of the program is designed by some mindless monkey, should we be surprised.
 
For those of you that think that the sender's formatting options affect the way the mail will be displayed at the recipient's computer, please consider the following:
  • The end user client application controls rendering of the mail body. If the application has been configured to use a specific font and size always, then there is no way that the mail will be displayed as originally created!
  • If the recipient's client has the same fonts used by the sender, and if the client application has been configured accordingly, then the mail will be rendered by using the same fonts.
 
Try this

I think I've found a solution. Instead of using cmd+C and cmd+V to copy and paste, use right click copy/right click paste. This works form my users. Also I noticed this problem only happens when you go into Outlook Prefs and click on Fonts (even if you don't change anything).

Hope it helps
 
If you're using Exchange based email, calendar, and contacts you can probably use Mac Mail for the email and just use Outlook 2011 for calendar and contacts?
 
Accidental Solution

I have been wrestling with this problem of spacing in Outlook 2011 for Mac and seem to have accidentally fixed it, I know not why. I had a signature open (I use them with a picture containing my contact info at the top, then text and my signature below, a bit like letterhead). I selected the double spaced text below the contact info picture then with it still selected I clicked on the button for bulleted list. I did not get a bulleted list, but magically my double spaced text reformatted into single space. I then copied that complete, and single spaced document, and pasted in back into my signature space as the new signature. I now have that signature in single spacing and can use it to make other single spaced stationery. Hope this works for you as well....
 
  • Like
Reactions: shape5
Wayfaringemu said:
So... glad you are 'slightly' grasping the issue. Users are experiencing issues simple as indenting text and sending it, only to have the indent ignored, even in their OWN Sent Items. I think that shoots your "You have no control over other users' software' theory. Also, the formatting DOES look fine when reading it in Outlook for Mac's counterpart, Outlook for Windows. Please make sure that you have a vague understanding of the issue at hand before ripping people, and if not, perhaps you should go back to reading your Seventeen Magazine. Peace!
Click to expand...

Like most Microsoft products, automated formatting happens beyond the user. In my experience, it causes more hassle than it's worth. All I want to do is remove the hyperlink style (blue+underline) from my signature.... Urgh. I am an intermediate/advanced user, and can't find out how to do it. It just shouldn't be this hard. And yes I agree Microsoft products for Mac and inadequate.

Suggestions welcome, but cranky and aggressive responses are not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: shape5
cathcasey said:
All I want to do is remove the hyperlink style (blue+underline) from my signature....
Click to expand...

There should be a "Remove Hyperlink" option in the Format menu at the top of the screen.
[doublepost=1492905312][/doublepost]As for this font/formatting glitch in Outlook for Mac 2011, there is an extensive thread about this on the Microsoft forum: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ype-when/62fcecdc-e358-41cb-a3c2-40c1c61f156c

It was supposed to be resolved with better formatting support integrated into Outlook 2016, but from users' comments it seems that it may still not be working correctly:
https://outlook.uservoice.com/forum...suggestions/7695102-better-formatting-support
 
shape5 said:
Either way, the answer is there for anyone who comes across the question in their searches.
Click to expand...
Forgive the sarcasm, please? The issues discussed in the 6-year-old portion of this thread were discussed in great detail on TechNet, and posed in reviews on the web (I read them at the time, starting with MacWorld, which called out the limited HTML editor in Outlook, for both OS platforms). My "rolleyes" came from the reaction I had when I read the pretty-out-of-date and deprecated thread about 2016, when the newer version was still pretty much in beta.

That written, yes, the Outlook editing options are much improved…
https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...Advanced-0b2b5644-41e2-42c4-990b-60ca36615600
 
campyguy said:
Forgive the sarcasm, please? The issues discussed in the 6-year-old portion of this thread were discussed in great detail on TechNet, and posed in reviews on the web (I read them at the time, starting with MacWorld, which called out the limited HTML editor in Outlook, for both OS platforms). My "rolleyes" came from the reaction I had when I read the pretty-out-of-date and deprecated thread about 2016, when the newer version was still pretty much in beta.

That written, yes, the Outlook editing options are much improved…
https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...Advanced-0b2b5644-41e2-42c4-990b-60ca36615600
Click to expand...

No issue with the sarcasm - all good. Recent posts were made this past fall in response to the 2nd link I provided for "Better formatting support" - most users looking to see if an app has properly integrated and working features would not consider that info outdated.
 
MrsScarf said:
A solution

I know this is an old thread but I was enraged by the amount of trolls on here, and I think I have a solution.

I have been having this problem for ages and finally decided to try everything under the sun to try to fix it. Finally something worked!

Before sending any emails I cut and paste all of the text (event the signature as that can go do-lally too!) into TextEdit, check it still looks ok and then cut and paste it back again.

Yes it's a pain, but it works! All my emails now go out looking nice and professional - I would say more like Vanity Fair then Just Seventeen though ;)

How this helps people.

MS
Click to expand...

Solution:
Save Word doc as a Webpage (.htm). Then copy from that new document (.htm) into your outlook.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back