ARCHIVED: How do I send a word processor document as plain text in an email message?

You have two options when sending a document by email: include it as an attachment, or strip out the document's formatting and send it as plain text. Plain text (i.e., ASCII) files cannot save the formatting applied by word processing software, such as boldface text, font changes, tables, and pictures. If you are not sure if the recipient of your email has the software to view your formatted document, it is usually easiest to strip out the formatting and send the document as plain text. If the formatting is necessary, you will need to send the document as an attached file and tell your recipient what software to use to view the file.

Use one of the methods below to send a document either as plain text or as an attached file with its formatting intact.

Copy and paste

The simplest method of sending a word processed document as a plain text email message is to copy and paste it into an email message. For instructions, see ARCHIVED: In Windows, Mac OS, or Mac OS X, how can I send text from a file in an email message? Unfortunately, the text of long or heavily formatted documents may become garbled.

Save as a text file and then copy and paste

If you try the suggestion above and get a garbled message, try saving the document as a plain text file and then pasting it into your mail program. Word processors can generally save documents as plain text files, and the files they create are usually formatted better than text you copy and paste.

For most programs, to save a file as plain text:

1. From the File menu, select Save As..., and specify ASCII or Text as the file format.

   For example, in WordPerfect, in the Save dialog box, select Text Export; in Microsoft Word, select Text only. Be sure to give the file a different name from your original document to avoid overwriting it. One simple option is to change the file extension to .txt (e.g., mypaper.txt as opposed to mypaper.doc).

2. Open the new text document in your word processor, and then copy and paste it into your email message.

Send the file as an attachment

If you can't get your document to look satisfactory as a plain text message, send it as an attachment instead. Make sure you explain what kind of document your attached file is and what program you created it in. If you are using a desktop mail client such as Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora, or Entourage, you can usually click a button to add your document as an attachment. For example, in Microsoft Outlook, the attachment button looks like a paperclip. If you are using Pine, see ARCHIVED: In Pine, how do I attach a file to an email message?