Selectively using html and text emails - possible?

[30knees]

Generally, I want to use text emails only because then I only have to maintain one set of emails.

However, for some emails, like @datakick's great Revws module, I would like to use HTML emails because it's easier for a customer to click on the rating right in the email. 

I thought I could achieve this by:

• having the setting "send both html and text" activated
• deleting the html email templates and leaving only the text email templates, except for those emails that should use HTML

This didn't work because then no email was sent.

Then I tried to copy the txt content into the html content (so leaving out all the html formatting), but that looked horrible because the email was interpreted as not having any line breaks, etc because of the lack of HTML. 🙂

Does anybody have an idea how to achieve what I am looking for? Otherwise I'll just copy and paste my text into a WYSIWIG email creator and use that.

 

[Factor]

Yes 

Advance Param > email. 

Send html

send text

send both

[Factor]

If you mean use html for one email and text for another. No. It’s global like above. All emails in text. All emails in html or all emails both. 

I have not tested though I just use html. 

[dynambee]

Anything is possible if you are willing to custom code it, or pay for someone else to custom code it.

However you should be aware that your email spam score will be raised slightly if you do not send matching content in both the HTML and text versions of your emails.

[Factor]

25 minutes ago, dynambee said:

willing to custom code it,

I assume that always to be true. I was answering from the native system perspective.

[30knees]

45 minutes ago, dynambee said:

However you should be aware that your email spam score will be raised slightly if you do not send matching content in both the HTML and text versions of your emails.

Ah, really? So they always need to be matched. That's not the case now with all my emails.

Then, together with the other answers, it sounds like the best way would be to keep everything very simple, have a text version I then use a WYSIWIG editor to make into a lookalike html email, and use that.

Thanks @dynambeeand @Factor!

[haylau]

3 hours ago, Factor said:

Yes 

Advance Param > email. 

Send html

send text

send both

Been using PS / TB for a good fews years and never even looked here :) So how does "send both" work. Does the customer actually get two emails?

[dynambee]

2 hours ago, 30knees said:

Ah, really? So they always need to be matched. That's not the case now with all my emails.

It's not an absolute requirement but it is a best practice.

Basically one of the ways spammers used to (maybe still do) try to get around spam filters was by filling the text section of the email with non-spammy text. Sections of a book, poetry, anything that was native English and unlikely to trigger a spam filter. Of course almost all email clients default to only showing the HTML content so end users never see/saw all the "extra" stuff in the text section.

So if an email is missing the text section, missing the HTML section, or if the text part of the HTML section is very different to the text section then it results in a slight boost in the spam score. It won't be an auto-spam tag or anything like that but it's still a best practice to include both HTML and text and for them to have the same content.

[dynambee]

18 minutes ago, haylau said:

Been using PS / TB for a good fews years and never even looked here 🙂 So how does "send both" work. Does the customer actually get two emails?

Most emails are made up of an HTML section and a text section. Modern email clients display only the HTML section but the text section is there for legacy systems or for those who prefer to see plain unformatted text.

From a passing-spam-filter perspective you should leave it at the default where both versions are included in the email.

 

[Traumflug]

On 6/16/2019 at 5:36 PM, dynambee said:

Modern email clients display only the HTML section but the text section is there for legacy systems or for those who prefer to see plain unformatted text.

... and for those who care about email security. Phishers can't hide URLs or do fancy JavaScript tricks in plain text.

[Factor]

On 6/16/2019 at 10:17 AM, haylau said:

Been using PS / TB for a good fews years and never even looked here 🙂

When I get a new piece of software.  The first thing I do.  Is open every screen and look at every box.  

Glad I could help you find something new @haylau

Text is safer and is actually the only supported version of real email based on RFC2822