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Message formatting settings

Location in desktop browser: Left menu >  Admin > Preferences > Settings > Message Formatting panel on the Settings page

Location on mobile device: Bottom of page > More > Admin > Preferences > Settings > Message Formatting panel on the Settings page

! Important: Setting changes take effect after you click or tap the Update Group button at the bottom of the page.

Message Footer

In this optional field, you can enter text—for example, a disclaimer or a link to the group’s guidelines—to be included in the footer of all group messages that are delivered by email.

The text you enter in this field is placed within the system-generated footers that Groups.io automatically adds to email messages.

Note: 

  • This field does not allow any text formatting, but URLs that you enter will become live links in the emailed messages.
  • When entering text, be concise. The text you enter here adds to the bulk of every outbound message.
  • You cannot edit, remove, or replace the system-generated footers.

Tip: 

  • To ensure that the footer has the same content and formatting when messages are viewed on a mobile device as messages that are viewed on a computer, select the Force HTML Emails setting.
  • If you want group email messages to be sent without formatting in the message body but also have nicely formatted footers with links, select both the Force HTML Emails setting and the Plain Text Only setting. 

Force HTML Emails

When you select this checkbox:

  • All messages that are emailed to the group in plain text format will be converted to HTML format. Message footers are particularly affected.
  • The option for members to receive plain text digests is removed from the Email Delivery section on the group’s Default Subscription Settings page and from members’ individual Subscription pages.
  • The footer in email messages viewed on mobile devices will have the same content and formatting as the footer in email messages viewed on computers.

Tip: If you want group email messages to be sent without formatting in the message body but also have nicely formatted footers with links, select both the Force HTML Emails setting and the Plain Text Only setting.

Note: If you apply the Force HTML Emails setting to an existing group, the subscriptions of any members who receive plain text digests will be converted to full digests.

Normalize HTML Emails

Select this checkbox to remove different font families, sizes, and colors from emailed group messages that are in HTML format. This setting also applies to signatures in emails. Simple formatting (such as bold and italic) and inline images are retained.

You can use this setting to “tone down” email messages and signatures that contain excessive use of different fonts and colors. With this setting, the system defaults to the fonts and colors that recipients have selected for their own displays, which might be easier for them to read.

Note: This setting also removes some font formatting options from the toolbar in the message editor on the group’s website. However, it does not affect the wiki editing tools.

Plain Text Only

Select this checkbox to convert HTML-formatted messages that are emailed to the group to plain text format. This setting affects the format of message footers as well.

Note: This setting does not affect the format of attachments.

Tip: If you want group email messages to be sent without formatting in the message body but also have nicely formatted footers with links, select both the Plain Text Only setting and the Force HTML Emails setting .

Attachments

This setting controls whether attachments are allowed with group messages. Select the option you want to apply:

  • Members can include attachments with email messages and with messages they compose on the website.

  • Messages that contain attachments are rejected (bounced back to the message senders).

  • The system strips attachments from messages and posts just the message bodies to the group.

  • The system flags messages that include attachments for moderation, regardless of other moderation settings in the group.

    Note: The “Override: not moderated” setting for individual members takes precedence over this attachment setting. That is, even if attachments are moderated for the group through this setting, attachments sent by members whose posting privilege is set to “Override: not moderated” will not be moderated.