Is JavaScript supported in an email message?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-mail_clients
Old clients, such as Lotus Notes, Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook Express, and Windows Live Mail all seem to have supported some sort of JavaScript execution. Nothing else does.
It seems like a bad idea security-wise, so I would expect this to be a feature that won't always be around, even in these clients.
Short answer
No
Descriptive answer
It depends. But the email is not guaranteed to behave in the way you want it to. Different email clients handle JS differently. Most of the newer email clients do not support any of it since it is potentially very dangerous to support script execution in a desktop application which contains so much of your personal info.
I had a use case where I needed to use JS in an email. I tried out on the web client of outlook and desktop client as well, and it turns out outlook just wipes out the script part of your HTML email. There might be some other email client which does support JS execution, but given that you cannot control the client where your email would be viewed in the client machine, it's not a good idea to embed any scripts in the HTML email.
Its advised to keep your HTML email as simple as possible, no JS, and the least CSS you can do with (because, again, different email clients have varying support for CSS as well) eg: outlook's web client was not even recognizing an HTML button tag in the email. I had to use an anchor tag and some CSS on top of it to mimic the display of a button.
Bottom Line - Don't rely on Javascript when working with HTML email content.
No, generally speaking email readers do not allow javascript.
Other answerers have suggested that the answer is "No."
On the other hand, an html attachment will probably get opened in an environment that runs Javascript.
EDIT: It was suggested that I haven't properly answered the question so here goes a more complete effort.
Summary: I would expect that many or most users receiving an html-formatted email containing embedded Javascript will see it run and have run tests to confirm that this is true in some environments. But Javascript WILL be blocked for some users.
The protocols (specifically RFC2854) explicitly address scripting (within the text/html message body type) with the statement that:
In addition, the introduction of scripting languages and
interactive capabilities in HTML 4.0 introduced a number of
security risks associated with the automatic execution of programs
written by the sender but interpreted by the recipient. User
agents executing such scripts or programs must be extremely careful
to insure that untrusted software is executed in a protected
environment.
So the protocols do support Javascript, but which user agents do?
My (ancient) email reader uses a table to specify which viewer software to use for each mimetype, diverting html content to my favorite web browser. Almost all current web browsers support Javascript (and some issue dire warnings when you try to turn it off!) Do modern email agents include internal html interpreters and, if so, is the javascript turned on or off? I've checked documentation on Thunderbird and find that javascript seems to be turned on by default but can be turned off: http://codeverge.com/mozilla.support.thunderbird/simple-html-tags-reference-docume/2030160
I have noticed that some (?many?) users now access their email from a browser directly (webmail is one such platform) rather than running separate email software. All such platforms which I have tested so far do run any Javascript embedded in the html of the email message. However some such environments, depending on user security settings, do not automatically fetch external links (Javascript or pictures or other) and so can only run external Javascript from a file which is included as an attachment to the message. The same would be true of any offline email reader on a device without a current internet connection.
The above applies to javascript embedded in the main message part of the email body. One can also have html explicitly given as an "attachment", which if saved and then opened would be displayed in a web browser, wherein Javascript is available with very high likelyhood. Therefore, one might included a second copy of the javascript enabled email as an html attachement with an alternative text/plain main body and/or tag in the main text/html directing the user to the attachment.
I've been thinking about this because some of my acquaintances insist on sending me "email greeting cards" which consist of a text message directing me to a link which I've found so unsatisfactory that I refuse to even consider loading it just on principle. I have written and sent email greeting cards with interactive graphics and music and even games using embedded javascript and been satisfied with the result.
Therefore, I maintain that the correct answer is "Yes" both on the grounds that the protocols specifically address scripting and on the grounds that all the email agents I personally use ran the Javascript in my test emails.
You aren't going to get executable JavaScript onto a server and into a mail client. But emails DO support links, you can always link to your content within an email.
For most mail clients, no.
No email client support javascript due to security concern
Try to send a mail with this HTML content
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<button onclick="this.innerHTML=Date()">The time is?</button>
</body>
</html>
It may be, but mail clients won't read it & mail servers may reject it. So leave it out.
Javascript is not supported in emails.
You can view an email with JavaScript working with Windows Live Mail, but can't add JavaScript to a new email you wish to send.
JavaScript also works with saved .eml files.
Mozilla Thunderbird version 60.7.0 can't view or add JavaScript.
(If you save an eml file with Thunderbird, the code will work if file is then loaded with Live Mail)
You can send an email with JavaScript using PHP code.
Some email websites may support it, but the few I used don't. (AOL, uk2.net, GMail)
Short answer: No it is not supported in an email message
Long answer:
I have tested it with two email readers. Outlook (online) and OE Classic. As OE Classic is very outdated (I use it on windows 7), it does support JavaScript and I tested it with an alert button. However, the newer Outlook does not even support buttons, which showed up as plain text. So to conclude JavaScript is only enabled on some, usually older, email readers but not on new ones such as Outlook.
I'm using Mimekit to construct emails containing a PDF attachment. This works well in every case, except when the recipient has an iPhone. On an iPhone, the email appears in their inbox with a paperclip symbol next to it. However when they open the email there is no attachment present.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can resolve this?
Regards,
Adam
The solution was to add the attachments to BodyBuilder.Attachments instead of BodyBuilder.LinkedResources.
i have created a function which send an email having large HTML data containing many in-line styling and images.
HTML body is set to true.
The Email appears fine in GMAIL with all styling and images but in Outlook the format got distracted.
Do outlook requires something more to make email exactly like in Gmail?
Thanks for any help
Thanks #Me.Name
your link help me to solve the issue, steps mentioned in below link help in creating HTML for outlook view
http://robcubbon.com/create-html-email-newsletters-outlook/
I've built a small client applicatoin in c#.
I am sending the emails via gmail.
When I format my html and add underlines, using the following format:
<span style="text-decoration:underline"> hello </span>
Gmails ignore my underlining. Is there any workaround?
Thank you
email clients are notoriously bad at standards compliance,
Try the <u></u> tag around your text and see how that works for you.
There is actually a group trying to establish some standards in html for email clients.
They also have a list of recommendations on what issues exist in certain email clients, for instance gmail.
Update
This question has gotten off on the wrong foot. Let me pose the question as follows:
Let's say I wanted to show my StackOverflow "flair" badge in the signature of an email in Outlook. Obviously, I would want the image to be refreshed whenever I reply to an email or forward the email. Now, assuming the I (and others) have decided to allow images to be downloaded from me (who in this case we'll call a "trusted source") then they would see my flair badge refreshed on subsequent loads. If I copy and paste this badge into a new email then the image will not refresh on subsequent page loads because Outlook has embedded the image and severed the link to original image.
I completely understand everyone's comments about spam but this question is more about Outlook VML and manipulation of it. If the answer is always and forever "spam! Off with his head!" then that's fine. I get it but it seems to me that there may be situations where someone may not want the default behavior of Outlook to modify an email that it has already accepted.
Original Questions
We have an internal mail system that dynamically generates and sends HTML emails. We have a web beacon generated by an HTTP handler. The system works as expected: users recieve emails and we track opens as the web beacon is called.
The problem occurs when someone takes that same email that they just received (and we just tracked) and copies & pastes the content (including the web beacon) into a new email in Outlook. Outlook embeds all images instead of maintaining the URL back to the web beacon.
Is there a way to generate an image through an HTTP handler such that the src of the image is maintained when pasted in Outlook?
No. There is not; That's how Outlook works.
Not only that, your use of "web beacons" is the primary reason that I and many others have our e-mail clients configured not to load external images at all except from trusted senders.