How to remove ALL text formatting?

[K1200]

I've run into a problem trying to "neutralize" text fields before handing them to the e-mail client via Send Mail. The following method works for most fields I've tested with:

Paste [select; Main::Message]

Set Field [Main::Message; TextFormatRemove (Main::Message)]

Send Mail [To: $Address ; Message: Main::Message]

HOWEVER, some messages that are placed in the outgoing message block have sections of text either with textcolor=white or with some undefined font. Simply dragging over them causes them to appear and, I suppose, pick up the formatting from the e-mail program. But before that, they're invisible to the user. (The e-mail client is Thunderbird).

A search of the forum produced suggestions from a couple of years ago like: Set Field[ "Status(currentFieldContent"] ... and Evaluate(Quote(Field))

In FMP 8 is there a sure-fire way to remove all formatting? Even when the source of the text is XTML?

Thanks for any help.

[Lee Smith]

You did a good job in your search, those were a couple of ways that were often recommended in v6 and below. However, v8 has TextFormatRemove Function that may be the answer you are looking for.

Take a look at the online Help by doing a search for TextFormatRemove.

HTH

Lee

[K1200]

Thanks for the response.

I read FileMaker's knowledge base entries and they confirmed what my books say: TextFormatRemove should work ... and that's what I now use. But is there some problem using a Set Field instead of a Replace?

[Lee Smith]

Why, are you experiencing some kind of problem using the Set Field? That would have been my first choice of script steps too. In fact, I tested using the Set Field and it worked.

Are you wanting to do this to more than one record/Field at a time?

Lee

Edited July 17, 2006 by Guest

[K1200]

The problem is that the end result -- the text handed to the e-mail client -- apparently still has some type of formatting that causes portions of the text to be invisible when previewing the e-mail (before clicking Send in Thunderbird). There seems to be a loose correspondence to where colors/styles have been removed. Portions of the text are visible; other portions are not.

I'm only performing the Send Mail on one message at a time.

Edited July 17, 2006 by Guest

[K1200]

OK, I've isolated the problem -- and it doesn't seem to be FileMaker -- at least not directly.

The Thunderbird e-mail client sets portions of the text invisible whenever one of the words in that line/area is flagged by the e-mail SpellChecker (uses red underline, like FMP).

And for an equally obscure reason, moving the cursor in the e-mail text block (using Right Arrow key) past the end of a flagged (but invisible) word causes it -- and all adjacent words -- to magically appear.

Seeing is (dis)believing! For now I'll turn the T'bird spell check off as a workaround. Then I'll investigate on the Mozilla site.

[K1200]

"The problem does not lie with you set" (FileMaker) -- it's Thunderbird. I found these recent Mozilla.org posts regarding spellchecker + blanks:

"Returned to edit a 'Draft' email, but just got a blank email with a (large) number of red lines. No text, just the lines. Had to turn off the spellchecker to read the letter."

"When you save an e-mail message into your Drafts folder, all the lines containing a spelling mistake (ie., words with a dotted red line) appear blank. The only way to get them back is to highlight the line with your cursor or do a select all (ie. CTRL+A)"

"I am having this problem with the spell check. It always comes of with words that are not visible, when scanning the message for errors. It seems it is scanning the code instead of the message. It will come up with words like "Arial", and "MsoNormal" when checking."

The remedy? Well, CTRL-A works to make the text visible ... and so does minimizing and then maximizing the T'bird window (in T'bird 1.5.0.4 anyway).