How You Can Send HTML email using Microsoft Outlook

Using HTML emails are a sure way to get noticed - but how do you do it?

Microsoft Outlook offers a variety of email formats when creating your email messages. They include; plain text, rich text and HTML. By using the HTML email format, you can easily insert HTML tags, such as images, links, forms or scripts, into your outgoing email messages.

How does HTML email actually work?

HTML emails are basically HTML pages transported as email messages and Outlook is using the XML format for automatically generating the HTML code for your emails. However, you need to be aware that, when sending a HTML email, you assume that the receiver is also able to properly view HTML formatted emails. Due to increasing virus attacks via HTML emails, it is possible that your HTML email is going to be blocked or quarantined by the spam blocker or anti-virus program of the one receving your email.

Using HTML email with Outlook

In order to create a HTML email using Microsoft Outlook, you firstly need to turn on HTML editing for your emails. To do so, open Outlook, then from the Tools menu bar, open the Options window, then click on the "Mail Format" tab and on the "Message Format" frame, select "HTML" from the message format drop-down list.

After the HTML selection is made, you can create a new Outlook email message and it will automatically use the HTML format. Depending on your skills and preferences, you can then compose the email using the Outlook HTML features (using the "Insert" and "Format" menus from the Outlook message edit window.

Inserting images into HTML emails

To insert an image into your new email message, go to the "Insert" menu, then click on "Picture...". This will open the properties window for your image. To select which image to insert, click on the "Browse" button and select the desired image file from your computer.

Adding HTML links in Outlook HTML emails

Depending on the email client software of the individual receiving your HTML email, you may need to insert link tags in your HTML email body, to properly display a clickable link within your email.

To insert a hyperlink while editing a HTML email message, go to the "Insert" menu and select "Hyperlink...": a new window will popup, asking you to specify the properties of your new link. Simply type in your hyperlink beginning with http://. When complet, click on the "OK" button, and the new HTTP link will be displayed within your Outlook HTML email message.

That's it... you're done. Now you're sending HTML emails. Be sure to periodically check your setting to ensure that you're set up to send emails in the desired format.