Gmail displaying plain text instead of HTML in emails - how to fix?

Other Questions Gmail
1

I’m having trouble with my email system. I added a plain text version to avoid being marked as spam. But now Gmail shows the plain text instead of the HTML version. Here’s what I did:

var email = new MailMessage(sender, recipient);
email.Subject = subjectLine;
email.Body = htmlContent;
email.IsBodyHtml = true;
email.Priority = MailPriority.Normal;

var plainText = new ContentType("text/plain");
var textView = AlternateView.CreateAlternateViewFromString(textContent, plainText);
email.AlternateViews.Add(textView);

The email has two parts:

  1. Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
  2. Content-Type: text/plain

The first part is bigger and should be HTML. I set IsBodyHtml to true, but it’s not working. Any ideas on how to make Gmail show the HTML version?

2

Your issue seems to stem from mismatched content types. The HTML content is incorrectly labeled as ‘text/plain’, causing Gmail to default to the plain text version. To rectify this, ensure your HTML content is properly labeled with ‘text/html’ content type. Here’s a revised approach:

var plainView = AlternateView.CreateAlternateViewFromString(textContent, new ContentType("text/plain; charset=utf-8"));
var htmlView = AlternateView.CreateAlternateViewFromString(htmlContent, new ContentType("text/html; charset=utf-8"));

email.AlternateViews.Add(plainView);
email.AlternateViews.Add(htmlView);

This should correctly identify both versions, allowing Gmail to display the HTML version as intended. Always test across various email clients to ensure consistent rendering.

3

I’ve encountered this issue before, and it can be frustrating. The problem lies in how you’re setting up the email body and alternate views. Here’s what worked for me:

Instead of using email.Body for the HTML content, create an AlternateView for it. Then, add both the plain text and HTML views to the AlternateViews collection. Here’s a modified version of your code that should fix the problem:

var email = new MailMessage(sender, recipient);
email.Subject = subjectLine;
email.IsBodyHtml = true;
email.Priority = MailPriority.Normal;

var plainView = AlternateView.CreateAlternateViewFromString(textContent, new ContentType("text/plain; charset=utf-8"));
var htmlView = AlternateView.CreateAlternateViewFromString(htmlContent, new ContentType("text/html; charset=utf-8"));

email.AlternateViews.Add(plainView);
email.AlternateViews.Add(htmlView);

This approach ensures that both versions are properly labeled and Gmail should correctly display the HTML version. Remember to always test your emails across different clients to ensure compatibility.

4

hey emma, i had the same problem b4. try this:

make sure ur html view comes AFTER the plain text one. gmail usually picks the last alternative. so switch the order:

email.AlternateViews.Add(plainView);
email.AlternateViews.Add(htmlView);

that shud do the trick. lmk if it works!