# Formatting email? **URL:** \ **Category:** Floating Topics\ **Tags:** community\ **Created:** [July 8, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140 "2020-07-08T14:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/1 "2020-07-08T14:31:04Z")
Does the email composition window have any formatting options like HTML or Markdown? Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![Bobino](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/bobino/32/194_2.png) [@Bobino](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/Bobino)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/2 "2020-07-08T14:36:42Z")
No, just plain text. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/3 "2020-07-08T16:09:42Z")
I was afraid of that... ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BaranD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/barand/32/613_2.png) [@BaranD](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/BaranD)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/4 "2020-07-08T16:32:29Z")
Since fm 18 you can send html formatted with the curl options that are available in filemaker ---
**Author:** ![WimDecorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@WimDecorte](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/WimDecorte)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/5 "2020-07-08T16:48:17Z")
Easy enough to use the standard formatting toolbar available for FM text fields; or use a rich text editor that supports markdown through a JS-web viewer. Both will give you HTML which you can then send through the cURL options or - depending on your email provider - the email APIs available. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/6 "2020-07-08T17:10:24Z")
It’s an automated email. ---
**Author:** ![WimDecorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@WimDecorte](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/WimDecorte)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/7 "2020-07-08T17:14:31Z")
Sounded like you were asking for formatting options to compose the text... Provided that you have the HTML representation of your email, sending it in an automated fashion with FM's cURL or through an API works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/8 "2020-07-08T17:47:09Z")
Yes, options for formatting a canned email. I was just trying to use the FMP SMTP send w/o extra steps or work on my part (in this case). Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![MonkeybreadSoftware](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/monkeybreadsoftware/32/361_2.png) [@MonkeybreadSoftware](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/MonkeybreadSoftware)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 7:01am UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/9 "2020-07-11T07:01:43Z")
Do you like to use [MBS FileMaker Plugin](https://www.monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/)? We have a lot of routines for sending emails ([SendMail](https://www.mbsplugins.eu/component_SendMail.shtml) functions), with HTML and inline graphics included. And an example for using TinyMCE as html editor is also included. Or you use FileMaker's styled text and convert it to html to build email. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 9:47am UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/10 "2020-07-11T09:47:44Z")
I was just hoping for a rich text editor for drafting an email (like all email programs have) without jumping through extra hoops. As it is, I've found at least one reproducible bug (just picking an email field) in the email editor that crashes FMP 19 every time. If this project were for a paying client, I could code this in a micro-service also. However, this project, like most of my FMP projects are not for paying clients. Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![WimDecorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@WimDecorte](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/WimDecorte)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 12:04pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/11 "2020-07-11T12:04:43Z")
Adding a rich text editor has been possible since FM14, and with 19 it's dead-simple. There's at least one add-on available that does this. Plus there are things like Carafe that offer it as well as an easy - and free - integration. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/12 "2020-07-11T12:07:34Z")
Are you saying I can add a rich text editor to the email composition dialog window? Which add-on are you referring to that adds that functionality to that window? What I'd really like is to be able to just put tags (HTML or Markdown) around text and have the email editor be smart enough to recognize them. ---
**Author:** ![WimDecorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@WimDecorte](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/WimDecorte)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/13 "2020-07-11T12:41:26Z")
What email composition window? The Send Mail script step dialog? You wouldn't expose that to the user... You build your own UX so that you can validate a few things before your script send the email. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/14 "2020-07-11T12:46:39Z")
I am the user -- I'm talking about creating a canned email in the email setup dialog where I can add formatting tags like you do with any standard email client program. ---
**Author:** ![jormond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/35a633/32.png) [@jormond](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/jormond)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/15 "2020-07-11T13:43:18Z")
Send Mail script step, nor FileMaker, is an email client. It’s like asking why hammer does a poor job at cutting glass. ---
**Author:** ![WimDecorte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@WimDecorte](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/WimDecorte)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/16 "2020-07-11T13:54:51Z")
The main disconnect is that you're thinking of the script step as an email composition window equivalent to what email clients have. It's not that. It's merely the "line of code" that does the actual sending. In the script step you point to what the various parts of the email are. The actual composition of the email should happen upstream from that "line of code". And what UI you expose to your user to do that composing it is up to you. ---
**Author:** ![anon45965781](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/13edae/32.png) [@anon45965781](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/anon45965781)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/formatting-email/1140/17 "2020-07-11T15:41:32Z")
Thanks, but as I said above ... there is no "user". I no longer have any users that use FileMaker. It's just me creating a canned email that references fields on a layout. I send this email to a client once a week when I start FileMaker the one time for that week. The email is fine the way it is. Thanks.