oe6 reading mail showing as html raw source?

This is an odd one.

On an otherwise fine w2ksp4 box OE6 has suddenly decided to start showing all
messages (news and mail alike) as raw HTML source instead of text.

This is happening for messages that are plain text; not html mail. That is,
messages in an IMAP mailbox, for example, when viewed using OE6 they're being
shown as HTML source. Quit OE6, fire up a shell on the remote box and use pine
to read the mail and it's clear that it's just a plain text mail message and has
no HTML in it whatsoever.

It appears the text handler has suddenly decided to act up.

This is OE version 6.00.2800.1123

Anyone seen this sort of thing and got a fix for it?

-Bill Kearney

Hi Bill,

This is a long shot, but you could check the setting in Outlook Express
Tools, Options, Read tab, International Settings and clear Use Default
Encoding for all Incoming Messages if it's selected.

--
Tim K.
aka Kuay Tim
MVP - (IE/OE)
Lynnwood, WA
*
"Bill Kearney" wrote in message
...
This is an odd one.

On an otherwise fine w2ksp4 box OE6 has suddenly decided to start showing
all
messages (news and mail alike) as raw HTML source instead of text.

This is happening for messages that are plain text; not html mail. That
is,
messages in an IMAP mailbox, for example, when viewed using OE6 they're
being
shown as HTML source. Quit OE6, fire up a shell on the remote box and use
pine
to read the mail and it's clear that it's just a plain text mail message
and has
no HTML in it whatsoever.

It appears the text handler has suddenly decided to act up.

This is OE version 6.00.2800.1123

Anyone seen this sort of thing and got a fix for it?

-Bill Kearney

Ok, that wasn't it.

Note, here's how your message came up for me:

Hi Bill,BR
BR
This is a long shot, but you could check the setting in Outlook ExpressBR
Tools, Options, Read tab, International Settings and clear Use DefaultBR
Encoding for all Incoming Messages if it's selected.BR
BR
-- BR
Tim K.BR
aka Kuay TimBR
MVP - (IE/OE)BR
Lynnwood, WABR
*BR

All full of HTML for line endings and what not. When I replied OE6 garbled it
further:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kuay Tim"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlooke xpress
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 21:52
Subject: oe6 reading mail showing as html raw source?


> Hi Bill,BR
> BR
> This is a long shot, but you could check the setting in Outlook ExpressBR
> Tools, Options, Read tab, International Settings and clear Use DefaultBR
> Encoding for all Incoming Messages if it's selected.BR
> BR
> -- BR
> Tim K.BR
> aka Kuay TimBR
> MVP - (IE/OE)BR
> Lynnwood, WABR
> *BR

It's as if OE6 is getting confused about how to pull a plain text message up.
It's "converting" it to HTML during the read process.

-Bill Kearney

I've also confirmed that OE6 itself is not broken. On the same box, logging in
as another user and setting up a profile with the same IMAP mailbox everything
works fine. Messages are displayed properly, not as the HTML source gibberish.

So it seems there's "something" wrong in either the mail profile for that user
or in that user's HKCU that's affecting it. Any suggestions as to which?

-Bill Kearney

In the message window: ViewEncoding Is Western European (ISO) enabled?

Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the default Main
Identity. Try one or more of your accounts in a new Named Identity
(FileIdentitiesAdd new identity). Assuming all is well, import messages
from the old Identity before deleting it (FileIdentitiesManage
Identities).

Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages. Move them to local
folders created for this purpose.

Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of all
OE folders while "working offline". More at
http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm.

Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
corruption. Disable it. It provides no additional protection.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOP

Are You Ready for WinXP SP2?
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.aspx

WinXP SP2 Release Notes
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;835935

AumHa Forums
http://forum.aumha.org

Bill Kearney wrote:
I've also confirmed that OE6 itself is not broken. On the same box,
logging in
as another user and setting up a profile with the same IMAP mailbox
everything
works fine. Messages are displayed properly, not as the HTML source
gibberish.

So it seems there's "something" wrong in either the mail profile for that
user
or in that user's HKCU that's affecting it. Any suggestions as to which?

-Bill Kearney

No such luck. It's not the OE identity. I can switch to several other
identities or create a new one and the problem persists. Just look at what a
mess it makes of replies (see below)

I can log into the box using a different account and everything is FINE. I can
use any other account to create any number of other identities, to the same or
different mailboxes or news servers and everything is FINE. It's only this
particular user account and, presumably, it's Windows profile that's acting up.

The profile in question has quite a lot of configurations done to it so I'm
loathe to just bail on it. Nearly all the mail lives on the IMAP account so
it's not like I'm worried about losing the mail messages. It's all the other
program configurations that I'm worried about.

I'm curious as to what is telling this particular account to mangle the display
in this manner? I have a bad feeling there's some combination of OE/IE/service
pack/hotfixes that are causing the problems. Trouble is, which one(s)?

-Bill Kearney


"PA Bear" wrote in message
...
> In the message window: View>Encoding> Is Western European (ISO)
enabled?BR
> BR
> Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the default Main
BR
> Identity.  Try one or more of your accounts in a new Named Identity
BR
> (File>Identities>Add new identity).  Assuming all is well,
import messages BR
> from the old Identity before deleting it (File>Identities>Manage BR
> Identities).BR
> BR
> Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages.  Move them to local
BR
> folders created for this purpose.BR
> BR
> Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact of
all BR
> OE folders while "working offline".  More at BR
> http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm.BR
> BR
> Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause such
BR
> corruption.  Disable it.  It provides no additional
protection.BR
> -- BR
> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)BR
> MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOPBR
> BR
> Are You Ready for WinXP SP2?BR
> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspxBR
> BR
> WinXP SP2 Release NotesBR
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;835935BR
> BR
> AumHa ForumsBR
> http://forum.aumha.orgBR
> BR
> Bill Kearney wrote:BR
> > I've also confirmed that OE6 itself is not broken.  On the same
box, BR
> > logging inBR
> > as another user and setting up a profile with the same IMAP mailbox
BR
> > everythingBR
> > works fine.  Messages are displayed properly, not as the HTML
source BR
> > gibberish.BR
> >BR
> > So it seems there's "something" wrong in either the mail
profile for that BR
> > userBR
> > or in that user's HKCU that's affecting it.  Any suggestions as
to which?BR
> >BR
> > -Bill Kearney BR
>

Quit OE6, fire up a shell on the remote box and use pine
to read the mail and it's clear that it's just a plain text mail message
and has no HTML in it whatsoever.

A better proof would be for you to view the source of the message:
Press Ctrl-F3. Are those HTML tags in there?

Your example looks as if you have Read in plain text checked
and the message has no plain text component. Therefore,
the source of its HTML component might be viewed as plain text.
Your other mail reader could just be ignoring the HTML tags such
as br/ etc and thus make it appear as plain text.


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---


"Bill Kearney" wrote in message
...
This is an odd one.

On an otherwise fine w2ksp4 box OE6 has suddenly decided to start showing all
messages (news and mail alike) as raw HTML source instead of text.

This is happening for messages that are plain text; not html mail. That is,
messages in an IMAP mailbox, for example, when viewed using OE6 they're being
shown as HTML source. Quit OE6, fire up a shell on the remote box and use pine
to read the mail and it's clear that it's just a plain text mail message and has
no HTML in it whatsoever.

It appears the text handler has suddenly decided to act up.

This is OE version 6.00.2800.1123

Anyone seen this sort of thing and got a fix for it?

-Bill Kearney

"Bill Kearney" wrote in message
...

Ok, that wasn't it.

Note, here's how your message came up for me:

Hi Bill,BR
BR


You would have seen this if you pressed Ctrl-F2
try pressing Ctrl-F3 instead.


---


This is a long shot, but you could check the setting in Outlook ExpressBR
Tools, Options, Read tab, International Settings and clear Use DefaultBR
Encoding for all Incoming Messages if it's selected.BR
BR
-- BR
Tim K.BR
aka Kuay TimBR
MVP - (IE/OE)BR
Lynnwood, WABR
*BR

All full of HTML for line endings and what not. When I replied OE6 garbled it
further:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kuay Tim"
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlooke xpress
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 21:52
Subject: oe6 reading mail showing as html raw source?


> Hi Bill,BR
> BR
> This is a long shot, but you could check the setting in Outlook ExpressBR
> Tools, Options, Read tab, International Settings and clear Use DefaultBR
> Encoding for all Incoming Messages if it's selected.BR
> BR
> -- BR
> Tim K.BR
> aka Kuay TimBR
> MVP - (IE/OE)BR
> Lynnwood, WABR
> *BR

It's as if OE6 is getting confused about how to pull a plain text message up.
It's "converting" it to HTML during the read process.

-Bill Kearney

Humor me. In the problem Profile:

IE ToolsInternet OptionsGeneralAccessibility Is any entry enabled here?
Did you enable it?

IE ToolsInternet OptionsAdvancedBrowsingEnable third-party browser
extensions Enabled? Any difference in behaviour if you disable it?

The Windows Profile in question may be infected with malware/hijackware.
Check this Profile for "hijackware":

Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/Darnit.htm

CoolWebSearch Chronicles
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html

Run these tools in the following order with nothing else running in
background:

1. CWShredder (fix all found)

2. Ad-Aware (fix all found)

3. Spybot (RTFM but generally fix everything in red)

Important: You *must* seek updates for Ad-Aware, Spybot, etc., before each
and every use, even "right out of the box". But even they can't catch
everything, 24/7. When all else fails, HijackThis
(http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe) is the preferred
tool to use. It will help you to both identify and remove any
hijackware/spyware. **Post your files to http://forums.spywareinfo.com/ or
http://forum.aumha.org/viewforum.php?f=30 for expert analysis, not here.**

[Alternate download pages for many of the above tools may be found at
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm.]

Also:

1. Download and run Stinger (http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/); then...

2. Update your virus definitions, enable Show Hidden Files
(http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...02092715262339)
and then run a full system scan in Safe Mode
(http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT...01052409420406)
with nothing else running in background. Note the files identified and
removed then find the corresponding page for the file at your AV maker's
online support pages (e.g.,
http://securityresponse.symantec.com...favorites.html)
and follow all Removal steps.

WinXP Only (WinME similar): If this scan finds anything, create a new
Restore Point then Disk Cleanup More options Delete all but the most
recent Restore Point.

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
http://boards.cexx.org/viewtopic.php?t=957
--
~PA Bear

Bill Kearney wrote:
No such luck. It's not the OE identity. I can switch to several other
identities or create a new one and the problem persists. Just look at
what a
mess it makes of replies (see below)

I can log into the box using a different account and everything is FINE.
I can
use any other account to create any number of other identities, to the
same or
different mailboxes or news servers and everything is FINE. It's only
this
particular user account and, presumably, it's Windows profile that's
acting up.

The profile in question has quite a lot of configurations done to it so
I'm
loathe to just bail on it. Nearly all the mail lives on the IMAP account
so
it's not like I'm worried about losing the mail messages. It's all the
other
program configurations that I'm worried about.

I'm curious as to what is telling this particular account to mangle the
display
in this manner? I have a bad feeling there's some combination of
OE/IE/service
pack/hotfixes that are causing the problems. Trouble is, which one(s)?

-Bill Kearney


"PA Bear" wrote in message
...
> In the message window: View>Encoding> Is Western European (ISO)
enabled?BR
> BR
> Your current Identity may be damaged, especially if its the default
Main
BR
> Identity.  Try one or more of your accounts in a new Named
Identity
BR
> (File>Identities>Add new identity).  Assuming all is well,
import messages BR
> from the old Identity before deleting it
(File>Identities>Manage BR
> Identities).BR
> BR
> Don't use Inbox or Sent Items to archive messages.  Move them to
local
BR
> folders created for this purpose.BR
> BR
> Disable Background Compacting and frequently perform a manual compact
of
all BR
> OE folders while "working offline".  More at BR
> http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com/files/maintain.htm.BR
> BR
> Your anti-virus application's email scanning feature can also cause
such
BR
> corruption.  Disable it.  It provides no additional
protection.BR
> -- BR
> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)BR
> MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE), AH-VSOPBR
> BR
> Are You Ready for WinXP SP2?BR
> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspxBR
> BR
> WinXP SP2 Release NotesBR
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;835935BR
> BR
> AumHa ForumsBR
> http://forum.aumha.orgBR
> BR
> Bill Kearney wrote:BR
> > I've also confirmed that OE6 itself is not broken.  On the
same
box, BR
> > logging inBR
> > as another user and setting up a profile with the same IMAP
mailbox
BR
> > everythingBR
> > works fine.  Messages are displayed properly, not as the
HTML
source BR
> > gibberish.BR
> >BR
> > So it seems there's "something" wrong in either the
mail
profile for that BR
> > userBR
> > or in that user's HKCU that's affecting it.  Any
suggestions as
to which?BR
> >BR
> > -Bill Kearney BR
>

I already stated access to the mailbox from another account on this box did not
show the same errors. Give me a little credit here, I've been in this business
since '79 and know my way around a mail message, html, mime and i18n standards.

The message itself is fine. Save it to disk as a .eml file, open it with a text
editor and it's fine. OE6 is "doing something" to it when it opens it. What
it's doing is then being carried forth into replies or forwarded messages.

Turning on/off the read plain text was among the first of my choices, as was
checking encoding and accessibility. This account, it's windows profile, has
something "wrong" with it that's manifesting itself in OE6 showing pseudo-html
source.

-Bill Kearney


"Robert Aldwinckle" wrote in message
...
> > Quit OE6, fire up a shell on the remote box and use pineBR
> > to read the mail and it's clear that it's just a plain text mail
messageBR
> > and has no HTML in it whatsoever.BR
> BR
> A better proof would be for you to view the source of the message:BR
> Press  Ctrl-F3.   Are those HTML tags in there?BR
> BR
> Your example looks as if you have  Read in plain text 
checkedBR
> and the message has no plain text component.   Therefore,BR
> the source of its  HTML  component might be viewed as plain
text.BR
> Your other mail reader could just be ignoring the HTML tags suchBR
> as  <br/>  etc and thus make it appear as plain text.BR
> BR
> BR
> HTHBR
> BR
> Robert AldwinckleBR