Lead spaces and Outlook Express?

Microsoft, with all their infinite "wisdom," did not think that a line
of text should ever begin with a blank space, hence Outlook Express
automatically "moves it to the left" for you.

Despite this "bug" and despite a couple of other limitations, I still
feel that Outlook Express is the best newsreader and e-mail program
available.  (For the past half a year or more, PC Computing does too...
they've been listing it as #1 on their monthly "A-List" for quite some
time now.)


K.A. Lundberg wrote:

> Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed
> in Outlook Express?  It seems that all lines with just
> one blank space at the beginning will move all the way to
> the left skewing the drawing.  Lines that begin on the first
> space or that have two blank lead spaces stay put.
> Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is this a
> problem with Outlook Express?

Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed in Outlook
Express?  It seems that all lines with just one blank space at the
beginning will move all the way to the left skewing the drawing.
Lines that begin on the first space or that have two blank lead spaces
stay put.  Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is this a
problem with Outlook Express?  Also anyone know how to get the sig box
to be a WYSIWYG?

Below is the sig I was playing with, it is suppose to be a feather
writing.  Any suggestions for improvement without increasing the
number of lines too much?

Thanks.

     .,... ,...,..,....,.. ,..,..,
   /`     \               \       \
  (  Kalei -- klu...@mnsinc.com  \_____
   \ ==============================/"""""`---Too many swords...
    '. ICQ: 23969466   /    /     /           Too few feathers.
      `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`~~~~`~~~~'

"K.A. Lundberg" wrote:
> 
> Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed in Outlook
> Express?  It seems that all lines with just one blank space at the
> beginning will move all the way to the left skewing the drawing.
> Lines that begin on the first space or that have two blank lead spaces
> stay put.  Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is this a
> problem with Outlook Express?  Also anyone know how to get the sig box
> to be a WYSIWYG?
> 
> Below is the sig I was playing with, it is suppose to be a feather
> writing.  Any suggestions for improvement without increasing the
> number of lines too much?
> 
> Thanks.
> 

.     _.,... ,...,..,....,.. ,..,..,           
.   .'      \\              \\      \    ~|~ _  _   _ _  _  _    _   _  _ _| _  
.,'`.\_Kalei_--_klundber@mnsinc.com__\\___| (_)(_) | | |(_|| |\/_\VV(_)| (_|_\...  
.`=_-,--------------------..---..----.----`~|~ _  _   |` _    /|` _  _ _|_|_  _  _ _ 
.   `=._ ICQ: 23969466   //   //    /       | (_)(_) ~|~(/_VV ~|~(/_(_| | | |(/_| _\...
.       `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~''~~~~''~~~'
Maybe a little long,could make nib longer and go back to regular text for
the words.

-- 
       <`.THE PRINCE ,'>
        `.`/""""""\,','
  SEE HIS (  /   \ \' SEE HIS
   FACE    \/<> <>\/   SMILE
           /   W   \
         ,'\_|||||_/`.
       ,','   |||   `.`.kro...@gtcom.net
      <,' TIME TO DIE `.>Remove no.to.spam to reply

.----- On Tue, 24 Nov 1998 08:48:45 -0500, K.A. Lundberg posted:
|Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed in Outlook
|Express?  It seems that all lines with just one blank space at the
|beginning will move all the way to the left skewing the drawing.
|Lines that begin on the first space or that have two blank lead spaces
|stay put.  Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is this a
|problem with Outlook Express?
'-----------------------------
This is an Outlook Express 'bug' ... although it's not a real bug since
Microsoft probably intended it that way - why I don`t know.

.-----------------------------
|Also anyone know how to get the sig box
|to be a WYSIWYG?
'-----------------------------

Ahh, a semi-simple question!

Make an HTML file (you know what one of those is, right?) and hit browse...
you will then be allowed to load the HTML file from your hard disk and the
sig will be taken from that instead of the sigbox.

Hope this helps,
-Martin
    _
   / \                                  |||||
  ( M )_     |\/| _..__|_o._           | o o |
   \_// \    |  |(_||  |_|| |          |  >  |
     ( G )_       /\_|_| o._  _        | \_/ |
      \_// \     /--\|_|<|| |_>         \___/
        ( A )mart.atkins bigfoot.com   __| |__
         \_/           '@'            /  \_/  \
http://voices.vossnet.co.uk/a/atkins/ascii.htm |
------------------------------------------------
If you are new to the newsgroup, please read our
   FAQ list - posted weekly and on the web at
 http://vibes.vossnet.co.uk/i/ighaig/ascfaq.htm

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

K.A. Lundberg wrote in message <73ee09$m6t$1...@callisto.clark.net>...
|Below is the sig I was playing with, it is suppose to be a feather
|writing.  Any suggestions for improvement without increasing the
|number of lines too much?
[ 8< ]
|     .,... ,...,..,....,.. ,..,..,
|   /`     \               \       \
|  (  Kalei -- klu...@mnsinc.com  \_____
|   \ ==============================/"""""`---Too many swords...
|    '. ICQ: 23969466   /    /     /           Too few feathers.
|      `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`~~~~`~~~~'


How about:


Too many swords           7"""""7""""""7""""""7"""""""7""""""""""-,
   Too few feathers,-===='Kalei/ klu...@mnsinc.com /ICQ 23969466_;
                         '.    \       \      \      \              ;
                          ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Or:


Too many swords           7"""""7""""""7""""""7""""""7""""""""""-,
   Too few feathers,-===='_____/______/______/______/________/ /__;
                         '.    \      \      \      \         \    ;
                          '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
                          Kalei  klu...@mnsinc.com  ICQ: 23969466



- -
   _ _____________________ praseodymium59!nepenthe.fsn.net
  |_)  _  _   _  _   _   _|      _ _  .      _ _    _   _
  |   |  (_| _) (-` (_) (_| (_| ( | | | (_| ( | |  |_` (_|
                         ___._|____________________._)_._|
  http://nepenthe.fsn.net

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGPfreeware 6.0 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com>

iQA/AwUBNlxEJErGoYLAe66MEQJO9ACgkCozSxgJwxFtFT+OKuilAyjGphsAoIDQ
Z6taRtUtVzmI9Kv/Jf7IDUnU
=dQgY
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

.----- On Wed, 25 Nov 1998 21:08:57 GMT, Martin Atkins posted:
|.----- On Tue, 24 Nov 1998 08:48:45 -0500, K.A. Lundberg posted:
||Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed in Outlook
||Express?  It seems that all lines with just one blank space at the
||beginning will move all the way to the left skewing the drawing.
||Lines that begin on the first space or that have two blank lead spaces
||stay put.  Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is this a
||problem with Outlook Express?
|'-----------------------------
|This is an Outlook Express 'bug' ... although it's not a real bug since
|Microsoft probably intended it that way - why I don`t know.
|
'--------------------------------

.------------------------------------------------.
| Outlook Explode                      [_][O] [X]|
|-------------------------------------------+----|
|.-----. .-----. .-----. .-----. .-----.    |mga |
||WRITE| |SEND.| | GET | | DEL | |EXIT |    | mga|
|'-----' '-----' '-----' '-----' '-----'    +----|
|------------------------------------------------|
|Outlook Expl|||From     |Subject      |Recieved |
| - InBox.-----------------------------.         |
| - OutBo| Warning                  [X]|---------|
| - Sent |-----------------------------|         |
| - Draft| Sending messages with this  |         |
| + news.| program makes messages      |---------|
|   o alt| look crap to anyone not     |         |
|   o alt| using it                    |         |
|        | .-----------.  .---------.  |         |
|        | |Send Anyway|  |Uninstall|  |         |
|        '-+-----------+--+---------+--'         |
|            |                                   |
|            |                                   |
|------------------------------------------------|
|Ready.                                       [?]|
'------------------------------------------------'


-Martin
    _
   / \                                  |||||
  ( M )_     |\/| _..__|_o._           | o o |
   \_// \    |  |(_||  |_|| |          |  >  |
     ( G )_       /\_|_| o._  _        | \_/ |
      \_// \     /--\|_|<|| |_>         \___/
        ( A )mart.atkins bigfoot.com   __| |__
         \_/           '@'            /  \_/  \
http://voices.vossnet.co.uk/a/atkins/ascii.htm |
------------------------------------------------
  The email address in my Reply-to is ROT13'd
If you are new to the newsgroup, please read our
   FAQ list - posted weekly and on the web at
 http://vibes.vossnet.co.uk/i/ighaig/ascfaq.htm

I open the message, then save it as a text file, then edit it from there.

>Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed in Outlook
>Express?  It seems that all lines with just one blank space at the
>beginning will move all the way to the left skewing the drawing.
>Lines that begin on the first space or that have two blank lead spaces
>stay put.  Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is this a
>problem with Outlook Express?  Also anyone know how to get the sig box
>to be a WYSIWYG?
>
>Below is the sig I was playing with, it is suppose to be a feather
>writing.  Any suggestions for improvement without increasing the
>number of lines too much?
>

Martin Atkins wrote in message <366...@news.vossnet.net>...
>.----- On Wed, 25 Nov 1998 21:08:57 GMT, Martin Atkins posted:
>|.----- On Tue, 24 Nov 1998 08:48:45 -0500, K.A. Lundberg posted:
>||Is there something about the number of lead spaces needed in
Outlook
>||Express?  It seems that all lines with just one blank space at the
>||beginning will move all the way to the left skewing the drawing.
>||Lines that begin on the first space or that have two blank lead
spaces
>||stay put.  Am I doing something wrong in the mail program or is
this a
>||problem with Outlook Express?
>|'-----------------------------
>|This is an Outlook Express 'bug' ... although it's not a real bug
since
>|Microsoft probably intended it that way - why I don`t know.


__________________________
I thank everyone for the input.  I must have just been lucky that the
little ascii art I've done bypassed this problem somehow until now.  I
like Outlook Express as a mail program probably because I'm more
familiar with it than other windows based mailers....my favorite still
remains a DOS based mailer that I can no longer use with my ISP.  My
further question is: Do problems like this exist in other major
mailers that I should be aware of when sending ascii art even when the
program is set up to receive/send non-proportional fonts?

Below, I hope, is the sig with suggested changes (thx krogg).  One
thing I noticed is that Outlook Express will color change an e-mail
address so spaces must separate the addy from the rest of the line.  I
hope I have gotten Outlook Express reset as not to corrupt the sig in
transmission.


      _.,... ,...,..,...,... ,..,.,
    .'      \\              \\     \
  ,'.\ Kalei - klu...@mnsinc.com _\\_______
  `=_-;===================..===..==//""""""""`~~Too many swords...
     `=._/ ICQ: 23969466 //    //  /             Too few feathers.
         `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~''~~~~''~~'

.----- On Wed, 2 Dec 1998 15:08:35 -0500, K.A. Lundberg posted:
|
|I thank everyone for the input.  I must have just been lucky that the
|little ascii art I've done bypassed this problem somehow until now.  I
|like Outlook Express as a mail program probably because I'm more
|familiar with it than other windows based mailers....my favorite still
|remains a DOS based mailer that I can no longer use with my ISP.  My
|further question is: Do problems like this exist in other major
|mailers that I should be aware of when sending ascii art even when the
|program is set up to receive/send non-proportional fonts?
'----------------------------
As far as I`m aware, Outlook Express is the only email/newsreader that has
this 'feature'... I use Free Agent for Newsreading and Outlook Express for
email... the news module in Outlook Express lies dormant :o)

.----------------------------
|Below, I hope, is the sig with suggested changes (thx krogg).  One
|thing I noticed is that Outlook Express will color change an e-mail
|address so spaces must separate the addy from the rest of the line.  I
|hope I have gotten Outlook Express reset as not to corrupt the sig in
|transmission.
|
|
|      _.,... ,...,..,...,... ,..,.,
|    .'      \\              \\     \
|  ,'.\ Kalei - klu...@mnsinc.com _\\_______
|  `=_-;===================..===..==//""""""""`~~Too many swords...
|     `=._/ ICQ: 23969466 //    //  /             Too few feathers.
|         `~~~~~~~~~~~~~~''~~~~''~~'
|
|
'----------------------------

It's fine, and I suspect it would have been before... you see only users of
Outlook Express (and maybe a few others) would have their newsreader
interpret it as a hyperlink as it is not encoded into the message unless you
specifically say so in a rich email message. It's the recieving newsreaders
that add the hyperlink, not the sending ones.

Byez,
-Martin
 ___________________                          ____      \
|  _______________  |              |\    /|  /         | \
| |+    /\        | |              | \  / |  |    ____/___\
| | +  /__\-"""""-| |              |  \/  |  |    |   /   \
| |  + /`.\ o o o | |             /        \_\____/  /     \
| | + /____\ ' '  | |      __-]=-' - -  ------------------------->
| |+  /. ' \ _____| |    _/             Martin Atkins
| |  /______\     | |   /         mart.atkins @ bigfoot.com
| |_______________| |\_/     http://vibes.vossnet.co.uk/i/ighaig/
|                :: |            ASCII Gallery asciiart.htm
|___________________|-------------------------------------------->  
   |_____________|
  /_______________\  Merry Christmas to All!
  |_______________|  and a happy new year too....
If you are new to the newsgroup, please read our FAQ list - 
             posted weekly and on the web at
      http://vibes.vossnet.co.uk/i/ighaig/ascfaq.htm