2021.2

Designing HTML email in PlanetPress Designer
The problem of HTML email is that preprocessing and rendering engines break the HTML
email's layout. HTML tables, however, are mostly left untroubled. As they are supported by
every major email client, they are pretty much the only way to design HTML emails that are
universally supported. That's why Tables are heavily used to position text and images in HTML
email.
Nesting tables (putting tables in table cells) and applying CSS styles to each table cell to make
the email look good on all screen sizes is a precision work that can be a tedious and
demanding. Connect's Designer offers the following tools to make designing HTML email
easier.
Email templates: Slate and others
The most obvious solution offered in the Designer is to use one of the templates provided with
the Designer; see "Creating an Email template with a Wizard" on page521. The layout of these
templates has been tested and proven to look good in any email client, on any device and
screen size. The Tables in these templates are nested (put inside another table) and they have
no visible borders, so readers won't notice them.
Tip
Click the Edges button on the toolbar to make borders of elements visible on the Design
tab. The borders will not be visible on the Preview tab or in the output.
Litmus
There are several tools to preview how email will be rendered on a variety of clients. We
recommend using Litmus. Support for Litmus is integrated into the Designer; the Send Test
Email dialog has an option to "Send to Litmus".
Emmet
Emmet is a plugin that enables the lightning-fast creation of HTML code though the use of a
simple and effective shortcut language. The Emmet functionality is available in the HTML and
CSS source editors of Connect Designer. Emmet transforms abbreviations for HTML elements
and CSS properties to the respective source code. The expansion of abbreviations is invoked
with the Tab key.
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