Editing Email (section)

====Plain text and HTML====
Most modern graphic [[email client]]s allow the use of either [[plain text]] or [[HTML email|HTML]] for the message body at the option of the user. HTML email messages often include an automatic-generated plain text copy for compatibility.

Advantages of HTML include the ability to include in-line links and images, set apart previous messages in [[block quote]]s, wrap naturally on any display, use emphasis such as [[underline]]s and [[italics]], and change [[font]] styles. Disadvantages include the increased size of the email, privacy concerns about [[web bug]]s, abuse of HTML email as a vector for [[phishing]] attacks and the spread of [[malware|malicious software]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://advosys.ca/papers/mail-policies.html|title=Email policies that prevent viruses|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070512053927/https://advosys.ca/papers/mail-policies.html |website=Advosys Consulting | archive-date=2007-05-12|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Some e-mail clients interpret the body as HTML even in the absence of a <code>Content-Type: html</code> header field; this may cause various problems.

Some web-based [[mailing list]]s recommend all posts be made in plain text, with 72 or 80 [[characters per line]] for all the above reasons,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/listadmins/plaintext.html |quote=When posting to a RootsWeb mailing list, your message should be sent as "plain  text." |publisher=RootsWeb HelpDesk |title=Problem Solving: Sending Messages in Plain Text |access-date=2014-01-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219024856/https://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/listadmins/plaintext.html |archive-date=2014-02-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.openbsd.org/mail.html |title= ''Open''BSD Mailing Lists |quote=Plain text, 72 characters per line |publisher=OpenBSD |access-date=2014-01-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208005706/https://openbsd.org/mail.html |archive-date=2014-02-08 }}</ref> and because they have a significant number of readers using [[Comparison of email clients#Text-based|text-based email clients]] such as [[Mutt (email client)|Mutt]].
Various informal conventions evolved for marking up plain text in email and [[usenet]] posts, which later led to the development of formal languages like [[setext]] ''(c. 1992)'' and [[Lightweight markup language|many others]], the most popular of them being [[markdown]].

Some [[Microsoft]] email clients may allow rich formatting using their proprietary [[Rich Text Format]] (RTF), but this should be avoided unless the recipient is guaranteed to have a compatible email client.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://support.microsoft.com/kb/138053 |title=Verhindern, dass die Datei "Winmail.dat" an Internetbenutzer gesendet wird |trans-title=How to Prevent the Winmail.dat File from Being Sent to Internet Users |publisher=Microsoft Support |date=2010-07-02 |access-date=2014-01-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109193922/https://support.microsoft.com/kb/138053 |archive-date=2014-01-09 }}</ref>