Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 03:20:54 -0400
From: Ted White <tedwhite at compusnet.com>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: un-HTMLing
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

ronkean at juno.com wrote:

> >  KFL> Candy Madigan <candymadigan at mindspring.com> wrote:
> >  >> Uh.  Keith.  I asked you how to un-HTML a message I was trying
> > to
> >  >> forward and when you didn't reply, I just gave up.
> >
> >  KFL> I apologize for not replying.  My answer is that I don't know
> > what
> >  KFL> software you have available, nor how to operate it.
>
> If you are using Windows, to convert an html message to plain text, with
> the html message displayed in the read window of your email program,
> click edit, select all, copy.  Or, copy the html message by putting the
> text cursor somewhere in the message, then hit CTRL-A, then CTRL-C.  Then
> open the Wordpad accessory (start, programs, accessories, wordpad), and
> paste the message in by clicking edit, paste special, unformatted text.
> Then you may edit the text as you like.  When you are satisfied with the
> text, click edit, select all, copy, and then paste it into the write
> window of your email program.  That should do it, unless your email
> program is defaulting to sending html, even though you have pasted only
> plain text into the message body.  If so, you need to set your email
> program to the plain text option.
>
> Most email programs should have a way to turn off html.  In Juno, you
> click edit, email format, view as, plain text.  That makes it easy to
> convert a message you want to forward, to plain text.  Just select the
> plain text option when the message is in the write screen, and the
> conversion should happen.  That would be much easier than using the
> Wordpad method described above.

In Microsoft Outlook/Outlook Express (which most people have), go to "Tools"
on the overhead toolbar, and, on its drop-down menu, select "Options" --
which is probably at the bottom.  This will bring up a new menu with a
variety of tabs at the top.  Select "Send."  This will reveal a choice, in
the bottom third, of "Mail Sending Format."   The choice is between "HTML"
and "Plain Text."  Select the latter.

In Netscape, go to "Edit" in the overhead toolbar, and on its drop-down menu
select "Preferences" at the bottom.  When a new menu pops up, select
"Formatting" and you will find two sets of choices.  The upper one choses
your "editor."  You can select the HTML editor if you want to compose your
post in a typeface of your own chosing (and read posts in that same face).
The plain text editor allows only a fixed-width courier face.  *You can use
either editor.*   The second set of choices determines what you *send*.  I go
with the top option, which *asks* me whenever I send a potentially HTML-rich
message, what form I want it to be, and *defaults* to plain text otherwise.
But you can chose the next option which is *always* plain text.

--Ted White