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Email Broadcasts may look different than intended in Microsoft Outlook due to the version of Outlook your recipient is using. This article helps you troubleshoot Email Broadcasts to fix common display issues in Outlook.

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What makes Outlook different?

The Email Visual Editor is designed to provide you with the tools to create stunning Email Broadcasts for all email clients. Nonetheless, some common email display issues can occur when your email recipient views an HTML-based email in Outlook, specifically Outlook 2007 to present. This is a result of Outlook’s use of Microsoft Word to render HTML emails. Microsoft Word is designed to support print designs, which can result in display issues when it comes to your Email Broadcasts. We recommend determining the version of Outlook most of your subscribers use and designing and testing your Email Broadcast for that version. The preview shown in the Visual Editor provides a trustworthy indication of how your email will appear in the majority of inboxes, however, we encourage you to test your Email Broadcast with the version of Outlook used most by your contacts.

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Troubleshoot Outlook display issues

Although Outlook is designed to support print designs, there are a few tips and tricks to give your subscribers an enhanced visual experience when viewing your Email Broadcasts with Outlook. First, enable View in Web Browser link. Enabling the View in Web Browser link located at the top of your Email Broadcast built with the Visual Editor gives your recipient the ability to experience your Email Broadcast as intended by opening the email in a web browser instead of viewing Outlook’s interpretation of your email: Next, consider the following tips and tricks provided in this guide when creating and designing your Email Broadcast with the Email Visual Editor.

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The video block play button is not showing

Kajabi helps you communicate to your recipients that a video is available for viewing by natively adding a play button to your thumbnail image when using a Video section. However, recipients viewing your Email Broadcast with Microsoft Outlook 2000-2016 will not see the video play button displayed over your video thumbnail image. The best method of communicating to your recipients that the thumbnail image leads to a video is by using image editing tools like Canva to edit your image prior to uploading. Use image editing tools to design your thumbnail image with the play button edited into the image. Read how to optimize a video section in Email Broadcasts for more details:

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Split blocks display incorrectly in mobile view

Split blocks in the Email Visual Editor (Text and Text, Image and Image, Image and Text) are designed to dynamically adjust to the screen the email is viewed on. This enhances your recipient’s visual experience with your Email Broadcast on both desktop and mobile devices: However, Outlook only renders email in desktop view. This can result in compressed or cut off sections with split blocks in your Email Broadcast. This particular Outlook display issue is best resolved with the View in Web Browser link. The default setting for your Email Broadcasts enables the View in Web Browser link, but if you’ve disabled it during the editing process, consider re-enabling the section to address varying email client display issues such as Outlook issues. Enabling the View in Web Browser link located at the top of your Email Broadcast gives your recipient the ability to:
  • Experience your Email Broadcast as intended (compared to Outlook’s interpretation of your email).
  • Share your Email Broadcasts.

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Buttons display differently than customized

The Visual Editor gives you the flexibility to design your email buttons according to your brand and design vision. However, recipients viewing your Email Broadcast with Outlook will always see buttons in full width. Additionally, only the text inside the button will be clickable. To remedy this display issue, use image editing tools like Canva to create an image of a button and upload the image into your Email Broadcast. Then, add your link to the image by customizing the image action. This will enable your image to behave as a button, allowing your recipients to click the image of your button and be redirected to your linked URL. This solution is similar to creating a thumbnail image with a video play button edited into the image to communicate to your recipients that there is a video available. In this case, you can create an image of a button linked to a URL to communicate to your recipients to click the image and access the link. Read how to optimize a video section in Email Broadcasts for an example of editing your image with Canva.

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Animated GIFs display as static images

Outlook renders your animated GIFs as a static image and will only display the first frame of the GIF. If your GIF displays an offer, headline, or call to action, be sure to include it in the first frame of your GIF. Use GIF creation tools like EZ GIF or GIPHY to create and embed an animated GIF: