How do I set up my email program to send messages in plain text?

  • In Netscape Communicator:
    • Click on the [Edit] menu, then click [Preferences].
    • On the left side of the screen, double-click on "Mail and Newsgroups" to expand the list of items under it. Then click on "Formatting".
    • On the top right side of the screen is an area called Message Formatting. Click "Use the plain text editor to compose messages" to select it. Click OK.
  • In Netscape Mail version 6.0 or higher:
    • Click on the [Edit] menu, then click [Mail and Newsgroups Account Settings].
    • On the left side of the screen, click on your email address.
    • On the bottom right of the screen is a line reading "Compose messages in HTML format". If it is checked, click on it to uncheck it. Click OK.
  • In Outlook Express:
    • Click on the [Tools] menu, then click on [Options]. Click on the [Send] tab at the top of the screen that comes up.
    • At the bottom of the screen, under "Mail Sending Format", click on "Plain Text" to select it. Under "News Sending Format", also click on "Plain Text". Click OK.
    • Alternately, when you are composing a message, you can set just that message to plain text by clicking the [Format] menu and then clicking [Plain text]. This will only affect the message you are composing - it will not change your permanent settings.
  • In Outlook:
    • Click on the [Tools] menu, then click on [Options]. Click on the [Send] tab at the top of the screen that comes up.
    • Click the [Mail Format] tab on the window that appears.
    • Change the "Compose in this message format" line to show "Plain Text" in the drop-down box, then click OK.
  • In Eudora:
    • Click on the [Tools] menu, then click on [Options].
    • On the left side of the screen that comes up, scroll down until you see [Styled Text]. Click on it.
    • On the right side of the screen, click "Send plain text only". Click OK.