Thunderbird downloads messages in Plain Text, despite them being sent in HTML format
Hi,
Thunderbird downloads messages in Plain Text, despite them being sent in HTML format. Messages are downloaded from an IMAP server.
Can anyone help in fixing that? I checked account setup options in Thunderbird but couldn't find anything relevant...
All Replies (20)
Check View/Message Body As - it should be Original HTML.
Thanks for your reply. It is "Original HTML" in the View menu. Moreover changing options here does not have any effect on the way my messages are displayed for this e-mail account and it seems to be a global option for all mesages.
Does html content appear when mail is viewed in webmail? If a received message doesn't have any html content, such as a link embedded in text, TB will display it as plain text.
Yes, of course. In webmail message is displayed in HTML with all formatting and with attached files (images). Moreover, if I forward it to myself (to the exact same address), then Thunderbird downloads it as HTML...
In Thunderbird any attached images (or files) are shown in plain text mode as:
[cid:6872e71d-9693-449a-8661-162b6ed3e928]
[cid:0fb0a21b-65d1-417c-b4d5-baefb3175c57]
Did you try Repair Folder from the folder context menu, Properties?
Yes, but with no effect.
Select an email so it shows content in Message Pane Click on 'More' and select 'View source' It opens in a new window It will have all the headers and then it should have two sections:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit followed by content in plain text
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit followed by a load of html showing contents
Do you see both of these content types?
Hi,
Thanks for your reply! There is only section
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
...followed by a block of characters starting with:
SGkgUGlvdHIsDQoNCkhvdyBhcmUgeW91PyBUb2RheSBJJ20gd3JpdGluZyB0byBjbGFyaWZ5IHNv bWUgcG9pbnRzIG9uIHRoZSBUaXRsZSBSZXNlYXJjaCBpbnN0cnVjdGlvbnMuIEkgZm91bmQgc29t ZSBjb25mdXNpbmcgaW5mbyBpbiB5b3VyIGRlbGl2ZXJpZXMsIHBlcmhhcHMgeW91IGNhbiBoZWxw IG1lIGlkZW50aWZ5IGlmIHRoZSB'
Diubah
Hi Hector,
I'm not sure what you mean. What needs to be downloaded and installed...?
pitzieba said
Hi Hector, I'm not sure what you mean. What needs to be downloaded and installed...?
Please ignore comments by this person. It would seem they have made similar irrelevant comments in several questions created by other people.
pitzieba said
Hi, Thanks for your reply! There is only section Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 ...followed by a block of characters starting with: SGkgUGlvdHIsDQoNCkhvdyBhcmUgeW91PyBUb2RheSBJJ20gd3JpdGluZyB0byBjbGFyaWZ5IHNv bWUgcG9pbnRzIG9uIHRoZSBUaXRsZSBSZXNlYXJjaCBpbnN0cnVjdGlvbnMuIEkgZm91bmQgc29t ZSBjb25mdXNpbmcgaW5mbyBpbiB5b3VyIGRlbGl2ZXJpZXMsIHBlcmhhcHMgeW91IGNhbiBoZWxw IG1lIGlkZW50aWZ5IGlmIHRoZSB'
Well that explains why you are only seeing Plain text. There is no html in that content so it cannot be dispayed.
Are you sure that particular email really is displaying as html when you view via webmail account?
What server does that account use? Is the account a 'Mail', Chat, Feeds or Newsgroup account?
Do you use anything like Mailwasher pro or Tails? Do the emails have a 'winmail.dat' file attachment ?
What is selected in: Account Settings > Synchronisation & Storage for the account. Have you got any settings that limits the size of download?
Are you sure that particular email really is displaying as html when you view via webmail account?
Yes, I can see formatting and pictures in the body of the e-mail.
What server does that account use? Is the account a 'Mail', Chat, Feeds or Newsgroup account?
I'm not sure what you mean by these types, but the account is a "mail" account.
Do you use anything like Mailwasher pro or Tails?
No, and never heard of them.
Do the emails have a 'winmail.dat' file attachment ?
Yes, each attachment is a winmail.dat file
What is selected in: Account Settings > Synchronisation & Storage for the account. Have you got any settings that limits the size of download?
No limits...
When I check the header in the web e-mail panel, I see the content type as: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
...which clearly mean that Thunderbird seems to be doing all correctly at it side. For unknown reason however the message is displayed with pictures and formatting in the web panel and as plain text in the Thunderbird... :(
Q: Do the emails have a 'winmail.dat' file attachment ? A: Yes, each attachment is a winmail.dat file
That is interesting. Emails are being sent by someone using Outlook and they are assuming every person who receives their emails is also using Outlook. Creating email using Outlook: there are 3 ways to format the email: Plain Text, Rich Text, or HTML. The sender is using 'Rich Text'. They need to use 'HTML'.
The sender is causing the problem, but they may not be aware of it. They need to read this link:
Is this an outlook/hotmail etc mail account ? In webmail account - is it the outlook.com login ?
If you are getting winmail.dat attachments, there is a way to decode them:
Reply
sfhowes powiedział
If you are getting winmail.dat attachments, there is a way to decode them: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1422582
Thanks, I will give it a try!
sfhowes powiedział
If you are getting winmail.dat attachments, there is a way to decode them: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1422582
It works to a degree. Now I see actual attachments instead of winmail.dat. One of the attachments is "body_part_0.html", which is the actual body of the message. However when I click it I cannot see any pictures embedded in the body text. I can only display them separately as attachments to the original (still plain text) message.
Reply
Hi,
I contacted the person sending these problematic e-mails and she claims she is using Outlook and "HTML" as an outgoing format. The thing is when I receive the message I see it in plain text in Thunderbird and the message source states: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I see winmail.dat attachments and plain text.
If I reply, and then the original sender replies back, all seems to be fine. Message is displayed as HTML and the message source is: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-2"
The person you spoke to is mistaken. It is not possible for you to receive winmail.dat attachments and plain text emails unless the sender is sending those initial emails using Outlook and Rich Text. Nothing else creates emails like that.
There is clearly a different between what is selected when responding to you and when sending out the original emails.