MS-Publisher for Email Layout

Create Html for Email with MS-Publisher

First of all we must say, that creating a HTML template for Email with MS-Publisher is not the best choice. This question is often asked, so here comes a small instruction how it can be done. A better choice will be using a real Html-Editor such as MS-Frontpage or Dreamweaver.

This document is related to MS-Publisher 2007. (Some menu titles are translated from german and could spell slightly different)

1. Convert your publisher Project into a web project:

select menu File->Convert to web-publication

Follow the instructions, do not create a navigation bar

2. Choose Extras->Design Detective

Check all options in the new pane and analyse problems. Especially when text is converted to image, when

• a special font was used
• some areas in the design are overlapping

Improve the layout so that no more problems are shown

3. Convert to HTML-Version, that is good enough to be sent as email

Unfortunately, there is no such menu in Publisher.

Here is the trick:

• Select menu File->Send Email->Email Preview

This opens the webbrowser with a document in the windows temp-folder.

Again, check if any text was converted to image. Try to mark single words in your webbrowser. If you can, everything is fine. If not, the text was converted to an image. Close your webbrowser and redesign your layout.

4. If the HTML looks good in the browser, export it to a new directory:

• Create a new folder on your hard drive
• in MS InternetExplorer, select menu File->Save As..
• Select Option to save as "Webpage, complete"
• Save to your newly created folder

5. Now open BulkMailer and

• select Email->New email (Html)
• Email->Load Webpage from File
• select the above saved HTML file.

This all may work good for you, but all at all it is much better to use a real HTML editor and to have all the skills needed. Maybee this would be a good task for your webdesigner.