*sighs* I'm sure there's a way to hamstring this....

[kyrielle]

Outlook automatically replies to HTML messages in HTML, no matter how I try to turn it off.

Then, it won't let me insert blank (non-prefixed) lines below parts (ie, in the middle) of the message I'm replying to so I can reply to individual parts.

I'm sure I've done something screwball. Nonetheless, I want to say: FUCK THIS.

Ahem. 'Scuse. I gotta go beat on the email program. So far, the most promising technique seems to be "convert to text, losing ALL delineation of which is replied-to-text, then hand-insert such markers." I am not real pleased.

Update: Found a way to do it. Just "remove indent". Why yes, I associate a vertical bar with indent. Naturally. Grrrrr. Shouldn't it just do it when I hit enter, the way Eudora does? What a pain....

Comments

[almeda.livejournal.com]

In re the html thing, I found somewhere, two OS installs ago, a menu with a choice to check/uncheck for 'always reply in the same format I received it in'. Worth fishing for.

I wish they'd just put all the configs in one damn menu. :-/

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Ok, in Outlook 2000, which is what I have, it is now no longer possible to click a box and get it to ALWAYS use text. When you reply to a message and it defaults to html, you have to go to the format menu and click 'plain text' there in the reply.

According to their helpfiles. Which are actually well-written for once ...

[kyrielle]

Right. But if I do THAT it removes the formatting bar entirely, and then I have to manually put something back in to show which is the text I am replying to. But if I leave it in HTML, I have to use the "remove indent" button just to get the stupid formatting bar that shows what I'm replying to, to go away, even around my typing.

I don't really want to send text emails. I just thought if I could get it to reply to the damned things in text then it couldn't possibly format it so as to make my life harder, but since it can't do that, I can tell Microsoft put a lot of effort into making the program as user-unfriendly and hard as they could. Again. :(

To be fair, they did a lot right in Windows XP, and in some other programs, I'm just annoyed at Outlook because it will tell me when to brush my teeth but it won't do basic email tasks like recognizing that my response is not part of the thing I am responding to.

[alobar.livejournal.com]

Try this. It works with Outlook Express & may also work with outlook. When replying to HTML mail, hit carriage return 3 times where you want to insert text. Then go up one line. Then use the button to "decrease indentation" (at least that's what my tooltip says in Outlook Express. You may have to repeat this procedure repeatedly if you are replying to something which is many generations old & has many layers of prefix bars (or whatecver they are called).