Troubleshooting: my email format appears different in Outlook

Modified on Tue, 29 Aug 2023 at 05:10 PM

Before you get started

Make sure you have created an email

My text appears squished in Outlook

If your Text appears pushed against an image/button or is squished amongst other content, try this:

Click on the Content
In the Sidebar, under Block Options, decrease the Left & Right Padding
Also, change the Content Padding

My image is being cut-off, rescaled or isn't loading

This occurs in Outlook when a very long image is inserted into an email. The limit for image length is approx. 1728px tall and Outlook will clip the excess off the top of images larger than 1728px.

An alternative to this is to crop the image into separate images and insert each image into one Row.

My image isn't the right size

Outlook doesn't recognise the HTML that constrains images. So if you use HTML to resize an image uploaded to an email or template, it will likely display at the original size in Outlook.

Make sure you resize the image before uploading them to the email builder, or use the "Apply Effects & More" image editor to resize them in the email builder:

There are gaps in my email content

This is usually because of how Outlook marks the page breaks in your content, creating a ‘page break’ in really long content, approx. 1800 pixels down the page.

We suggest editing the layout and content of your email
Make sure you duplicate your email before making changes
Try moving your images
Continue making changes and testing your layout until the white space is gone

My background image doesn't show

This is an issue with Outlook as well as many other email clients. Without altering the template code, there isn't a quick fix to force the background image in a custom-coded template to display.

My animated GIF doesn't work

Outlook doesn't support animated GIFs. Rather, it will display the first frame of the GIF in your email, so ensure the most essential information is on that frame.

Extra white space is showing in my content

Since Outlook renders HTML using Microsoft Word, white spaces are often inserted above an image. This happens because Outlook displays email on a computer screen - like how 'print preview' displays. If the image falls between what Outlook recognises as two separate pages for that particular section, extra space is inserted above the image which moves the image down to the next page.

Removing the extra white space requires reorganising your content:

Firstly, duplicate your email
Determine where Outlook is marking the page break in your content: If there's an image beneath the white space, move the image to another area in your email layout
Send a test email to see if this fixed the issue.
Continue moving the image around and testing your email until the white space is removed.

*Please note: Audience Republic cannot fix the way Outlook or other email clients display HTML emails*

White lines are appearing in-between text

Why is this an issue? While Microsoft knows about the bug, testing suggests the bug appears when Outlook converts pixels to points and ends up with a decimal number. As a pixel is 0.75 of a point (at 96DPI), our pixel values can end up uneven (e.g 18px X 0.75 = 13.5pt).

Prevention:

Make sure your email's font size, line height, padding, margin and any other coded pixel numbers are even-numbered
Split the text into smaller paragraph sections

Unicodes are appearing in-between text and paragraphs

Unicodes are used to indicate problems when a system is unable to render a stream of data to correct symbols.

The Unicode (replacement) character � often appears in place of space between text and paragraphs.

Example 1:

Example 2:

To correct this, remove the spaces and add a new text box for each new paragraph to create natural spacing:

Then use the Padding tool to add extra spacing in-between the text boxes:

Still need help?