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Training Tip - WYSIWYG Editor Formatting

4th Jul 14

Learn how to ensure that what you see is really what you get!

WYSIWYG Editor Tips

What You See Is What You Get – that’s what we claim you can achieve by using the WYSIWYG Editor, however sometimes what you see is not what you end up getting! This is particularly so with marketing messages that are emailed to your contacts. 

There are various factors that contribute to this issue, as well as steps you can take to avoid it happening to you.

Why does my email look different than what I designed in my WYSIWYG Editor?

Display issues can include differences in line spacing, bullet points, and the alignment of images & text.
 

  

 


This happens due to compatibility issues with different email clients, (such as Microsoft Outlook, gmail, Hotmail, thunderbird, etc). As an example, bullet points display in emails received by gmail, but not in those hosted by Microsoft Outlook!
Unfortunately you have no control over what email clients your recipients are using – another strategy is required.

The Triple Whammy Defence

Use IVTs suggested Triple Whammy Defence against incompatibility issues: 
Issue Considerations Solution
Inconsistent alignment issue The formatting of text or text and images displays differently in the email. Use tables, particularly when you want text to appear next to an image.
Line spacing issues: too much spacing after a paragraph Hitting the ‘Enter’ key is interpreted by the email client as a paragraph space rather than a single line space. Get into the habit of using
Shift + Enter to create a new line in the WYSIWYG, which forces single line spacing. 
Bullet points may or may not display – A dash will display in any email client.
– Images can be used as bullet points .		 a. If you want a quick and easy solution use dashes rather than bullets.
b. If you really want bullet points you could choose to upload an image of a bullet each time you want the bullet point to appear. 


A final word...

Always remember to send a test email to yourself so that you can see how your email looks, as well as test all the links and attachments. If you want to be really sure, test it in different email clients and compare how the email displays in each.

  

 

 


Click here to print a one page Quick Tip Sheet.

Enjoy!

Josephine Ferguson
Training Coordinator


 

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