It is not recommended that you use a Word Processing program to compose emails. It is better to use the in built purpose designed Write Formatting Bar. Word Processing programs are designed to create documents and they have a more complex and varied formatting range.

When you copy paste into Thunderbird Write window, some formatting may change as the choices you selected in MSWord may not be available, so alternatives could be inserted. Also, you will bloat your email with loads of unnecessary html and css code.

This can also result in problems for the recipient if they choose to reply as the pre inserted html and css coding will be auto inserted into the reply and could effect what they need to write.

Documents created in MSWord are best saved as a document and then attached to the email. This means the recipient can save the document and open it using the appropriate software to view the information exactly as you intended it to look. The email itself could then be short, to the point and stating that all details are in the attached document.

Sometimes it might be necessary to copy a section from a word document to clarify a point. Try: 'Edit' > 'Paste without formatting'

Sorry, but what is the Write Formatting Bar?

thanks,

The font and font size you set for the viewing emails in the Message Pane is also used as the default for Writing emails. Please note, that this is only shown in the Write window and is not hard coded unless you choose to use anything from the Formatting Bar. This means that when the recipient reads the email, the settings on the recipients computer will be used if they have specified what they want to see. This is very useful, as they may be using a different OS or need settings with larger font size to read emails.

This is where you set the default font and size: Via 'Menu Bar' 'Tools' > 'Options' > 'Display' > 'Formatting' tab or via 'Mail toolbar' 'Menu icon' > 'Options' > 'Options' > 'Display' > 'Formatting' tab

Fonts & colours: Default font: eg: Arial Size: eg:14 click on 'Advanced' button make sure all the font sizes and minimum size = eg:14 click on OK

'Tools' > 'Options' > 'Composition' > 'General' tab It is best to leave this as Font: 'Variable width' and Size: 'Medium'

click on OK to save and close Options.

re :what is the Write Formatting Bar?

You can choose to write an email in Plain Text or in HTML. HTML does not mean you need to know any code, it just allows you formatting choices.

This is where you set up to use HTML: Via 'Menu Bar' 'Tools' > 'Account Settings' > 'Composition & Addressing' for the mail account or right click on mail account name in Folder Pane and select 'Settings' then select 'Composition & Addressing' for the mail account

select: 'Compose messages in HTML format' make any other selections you want to use. click on OK

Click on 'Write' to compose a new email. The 'Write' window should now show a 'Formatting Bar'. This will be below the headers - From To Subject

If you cannot see the Formatting Bar: 'View' > 'Toolbars' > 'select 'Formatting Bar'

The image shown below shows how to select and what the Formatting Bar looks like.

If for any reason you want to send a Plain Text email, hold down 'Shift' key and click on 'Write'. This will open a Write window designed for you to compose plain text emails, but only for that email.

Very helpful! So it sounds like pasting text from a simple word processor like TextPad would be far better than using Word?

As a word user, I hope you are familiar with the Normal.dot file that word uses to hold all your styles, fonts etc. When you paste from word the entire file (or that is what it looks like to me) is converted to a Cascading Style Sheet form and included with the pasted information.

So you paste three words and a1,000 lines of CSS code get pasted in with them. This can happen repeatedly with each paste until the document is so complex with all these inline Styles that in the end the document just founders under it's own complexity.

Based on some experiments I have done. Copy and pasting the text The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

LibreOffice appears to offer far better pasteability. (I think I made up a new word) adding only three lines of inline CSS compared to words. slightly more than 1,000

For my experiment I used Word 2013 andLibreOffice 5 and a Thunderbird Daily Build.

I had never heard of Textpad until you mentioned it and having looked at their web site, I think it is no better than the built in Thunderbird composer, it only handles plain text files and costs £16.50. Libre office and Notpadd ++ are free. as in speech and as in beer.

Or you could just paste using Ctrl+Shift+V which is on the menu as paste without formatting, this leaves all that nasty CSS behind.