How to Send an Email as an HTML Page
See directions below for Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007-2010, Outlook Express.
Outlook 2003
To send an HTML email, you must set an HTML file set as a stationery background in Microsoft Outlook 2003:
Step 1: In the menu bar of Microsoft Outlook 2003, click Tools
Step 2: Click Options
Step 3: Click the Mail Format tab
Step 4: Under Stationery and Fonts, click the Stationery Picker button
Step 5: Click the New button
Step 6: Enter a memorable name for the template
Step 7: Click the circle next to “Use this file as a template”
Step 8: Click the Browse button
Step 9: Find where you have the template saved on your hard drive and double click on the file
Step 10: Click Next
Step 11: In the Edit Stationery window, click the Cancel button
NOTE: If you click OK instead of Cancel, it will change the template’s appearance in a way you do not want; always click Cancel
Step 12: You are back to the Stationery Picker window with the template highlighted; click OK
Step 13: Click Apply, and then OK
Step 14: Create a New Message; you will see that the template is automatically inserted into the new email message
Step 15: Send the message to the appropriate email address(es)
Remove Stationery
Once the email is sent, you will want to switch your template to <none>. Otherwise, the next time you attempt to create a new email message, you will see the HTML email again. Use the following steps to revert back to plain email messages.
Step 1: In the menu bar of Microsoft Outlook 2003, click Tools
Step 2: Click Options
Step 3: Click the Mail Format tab
Step 4: Under Stationery and Fonts, there will be a dropdown menu. Click on this menu, scroll to the top, and click on <none>
Step 5: Click Apply, and then OK
Outlook 2007 and 2010
To send an HTML email, you must move the HTML file into a folder on your hard drive, and then set an HTML file set as a stationery background in Microsoft Outlook 2007 or 2010:
Step 1: Move a copy of the HTML file into the following folder:
- Windows XP users: C:\Documents and Settings\yourprofile\Application Data\Microsoft\Stationery
- Windows Vista and 7 users: C:\Users\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Step 2: In the menu bar of Microsoft Outlook 2007 or 2010, click Tools
Step 3: Click Options
Step 4: Click the Mail Format tab
Step 5: Under Stationery and Fonts, click the Stationery and Fonts… button
Step 6: You’ll be in the Personal Stationery pane. Click the Theme… button
Step 7: Click on the name of your HTML file, and then click OK
Step 8: Click OK in the Personal Stationery pane, and again in the Mail Format pane.
Step 9: Create a New Message; you will see that the template is automatically inserted into the new email message
Step 10: Send the message to the appropriate email address(es)
Remove Stationery
Once the email is sent, you will want to switch your template to (No Theme). Otherwise, the next time you attempt to create a new email message, you will see the HTML email again. Use the following steps to revert back to plain email messages.
Step 1: In the menu bar of Microsoft Outlook 2007 or 2010, click Tools
Step 2: Click Options
Step 3: Click the Mail Format tab
Step 4: Under Stationery and Fonts, click the Stationery and Fonts… button
Step 5: Click on (No Theme), and then OK
Step 6: Click OK in the Personal Stationery pane, and again in the Mail Format pane
Outlook Express
To send an HTML email in Outlook Express, you must copy and paste the HTML code into a new message. Please note that the amount of code that can be added to message in Outlook Express is limited. Therefore, use this method only if the page is small (such as a save-the-date message).
Step 1: Open the HTML page in a web browser
Step 2: Right click on the page, and find the “View source code” option (this tends to be universal wording across browsers)
Step 3: Select all of the text that appears in the “source” window (such as by pressing Ctrl+A or ⌘+A)
Step 4: Copy this text (such as by pressing Ctrl+C or ⌘+C)
Step 5: Open up Outlook Express and create a new message
Step 6: In the New Message window, click the Source tab at the bottom (it is located between Edit and Preview)
Step 7: Remove the code that is there, and paste in the code you copied before (such as by pressing Ctrl+V or ⌘+V)
NOTE: Outlook Express can only accept about 32,000 characters of code. If your HTML page goes over that, then the code will be truncated and not usable.
Step 8: Use the Preview tab to check how the HTML email looks; if it looks fine, you can send it