Email utilizes a variety of processes to successfully communicate text. At times this can include converting one method of communicating text to another. Encoding allows varying representations of a character to be handled unilaterally across different computers and languages. This article explains how encoding affects email sent from your Absorb LMS Portal, how to determine where a character display problem originates, and what can be done to correct it. Some of the corrective steps described here fall outside the Admin Experience (AE) and must be performed by your organization's Information Technology (IT) team.

This example showcases how different values represent the same character between encoding methods:

In the above example various Unicode Transformation Format (UTF) encoding methods are showcased. UTF-8 is a memory efficient industry standard method of encoding. UTF-8 is the preferred encoding method of Absorb LMS and is what our system will use when distributing email. This is true whether sending the email directly or in handing the message to a custom Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server. There are encoding methods other than the above; when another encoding method is in use, conversion errors may be encountered.

Encoding Issues

A common encoding issue, as it relates to email, would be a conversion error. A conversion error occurs when the original version of the email was encoded with one method and then received and processed by a different encoding method. An example of this can be showcased here:

Additional examples of the issue may be:

• A word appearing as another.
• Loss of special characters, or additional spaces in a sentence.
• Umlauts appearing/disappearing throughout a sentence.

Common Sources of a Conversion Error

A conversion error can originate at several points between the Message Template and the recipient's screen. Identifying the likely source narrows down who needs to act, and the following table summarizes the most frequent causes:

For more information about how your Portal hands messages to an external mail server, see Custom SMTP: Overview and Custom SMTP Configuration.

Diagnosing an Encoding Issue in Absorb

Prior to making any changes in Outlook, or your email client, it is important to confirm whether the issue as it is being encountered is specific to your email client, or to the Message Template itself in Absorb. To confirm where the issue is being encountered, the below steps can be taken. This example references an Online Course Enrollment Message Template but these same steps can be replicated for almost any email template in Absorb.

Before You Begin

The comparison test relies on receiving the same message at more than one destination. Gather the following before you start:

• A test User whose email address uses the affected domain.
• A test User whose email address uses a domain outside your organization, such as a personal address.
• Access to the internal inbox in the Learner Experience (LE) for at least one test User.
• A record of the exact characters that are displaying incorrectly, so the same characters can be compared across each result.

Running the Comparison Test

Send the same message to each destination in turn and record how the affected characters appear in each one. Complete the following steps:

1. Access the Admin Experience (AE).
2. Confirm which Message Template is displaying incorrectly.
3. Trigger that message for the test User on the affected domain.
4. Review how the affected characters appear in that inbox.
5. Trigger the same message for the test User on the external domain.
6. Review how the affected characters appear in that inbox.
7. Review the same message in the internal inbox in the Learner Experience (LE).
8. Compare all three results against each other.

Interpreting Your Results

Following the above test, you will end up with one of the following results. Expand the result that matches what you observed to see the likely cause and the recommended next steps:

For instructions on opening Code View and a list of the supported tags and attributes, see HTML Message Templates Best Practices. For guidance on editing and resetting templates, see Message Templates.

How to Resolve an Encoding Issue in Outlook

If following testing the remaining issue appears to be a conversion error between the email being distributed and the email account/domain receiving it, the next best step will be to modify the encoding settings in the email account/domain. The available options depend on which version of Outlook the recipient is using, and several of them are administrative changes rather than end user changes.

Confirming Which Version of Outlook Is in Use

Microsoft currently ships more than one Outlook client, and the encoding controls differ between them. Confirm which one the affected recipient is using before attempting the steps below:

Changing Encoding in Classic Outlook for Windows

In classic Outlook for Windows, the recipient can change the encoding applied to an individual message. The message must be opened in its own window first, because the Actions menu does not appear when a message is only highlighted in the reading pane. Complete the following steps:

1. Access classic Outlook for Windows.
2. Double-click the affected message to open it in its own window.
3. Click the Message tab.
4. In the Move group, click Actions > Other Actions > Encoding to see what encoding is in use.
5. Click More.
6. Click Unicode (UTF-8).
7. Confirm that the message now displays correctly.
8. Close the message.
9. Click Yes when prompted to save your changes to the message.

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the Web

Neither new Outlook for Windows nor Outlook on the web provides a per-message encoding control, so the steps above cannot be completed in either client. Microsoft directs affected organizations to apply an encoding policy at the server level instead. Recipients in these clients have the following options:

• Ask your Information Technology (IT) team to apply an organization-wide encoding policy, as described in the next section.
• Open the affected message in classic Outlook for Windows, where the per-message control is still available, if your organization still permits that client.
• Confirm whether the same message displays correctly in a different email client, which helps your Information Technology (IT) team isolate the setting responsible.

Organization-Wide Encoding Settings

When the issue affects every recipient on a domain rather than one mailbox, a per-message change will not resolve it. The settings below are administrative, sit entirely outside Absorb LMS, and must be reviewed by your organization's Information Technology (IT) team:

• The encoding applied to your organization's remote domain configuration in Microsoft Exchange.
• The preferred encoding for outgoing messages configured for classic Outlook clients.
• Any encoding setting deployed to devices through Group Policy or a device management tool.
• Any mail gateway, filtering service, or security appliance that processes messages before they reach the mailbox.

What Absorb Support Can Assist With

Absorb Support can help confirm that a message left your Portal as expected, but cannot alter settings within your mail environment. The following table outlines where each responsibility sits:

Absorb is unable to troubleshoot custom code used in a Message Template. If your template contains custom Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), test it in an internal environment to determine the cause of the issue.

Related Articles

The following articles provide additional context on message configuration and email delivery in Absorb LMS:

• Message Templates
• HTML Message Templates Best Practices
• Advanced Text Formatting with Absorb's HTML Editor
• Best Practices for Email Deliverability
• Custom SMTP: Overview
• Custom SMTP Configuration

References and Sources

The following external resources were referenced in this article:

• What Are Unicode, UTF-8, and UTF-16?
• The Importance of Content-Type Character Encoding in HTML Emails
• How to Change the Character Encoding in Outlook