In many cases the difference between an HTML file and a Plain Text file will not be visible. There are some cases where a plain text file will be very difficult to read. For example, in a narrow window using Plain Text, the lines of text will be wrapped or continued on the next line if the edge of the window interrupts the line. In HTML, the size of the e-mail document is predetermined: the size of the window will not interrupt the lines of text. In a narrow window viewing the HTML e-mail document, you will have a scroll bar along the bottom of the window. Use the scroll bar to move the document within the window. If your intended recipient has selected a variable-pitch font (like Times Roman) as the default font in the e-mail viewer, there will be alignment problems if you send a plain text formatted listing. The recipient can correct this problem by selecting a fixed-pitch font (like Courier).
Some combinations of computers and printers will print an HTML file more quickly and easily than they will Plain Text files with pictures. If you send a listing as plain text, some recipients will have to print the photo separately from the listing information. Some plain text files will not be printed with the same formatting shown on the screen: some columns may not be correctly aligned. Most computer and printer combinations that can interpret HTML e-mail will be able to print a listing and photo as a single page with correct formatting.
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An Example E-Mail Sent as HTML
An Example of E-Mail Sent as Plain Text