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Getting Started > Working with Records > HTML Code for Note Fields and Workflow Email Messages

HTML Code for Note Fields and Workflow Email Messages

If the Enable HTML Formatting check box on the company profile is selected, then HTML formatting is supported in fields of the Note field type, including custom fields of that type. When using HTML code in a field of the Note type, you must use the toolbar in the HTML editor to apply HTML formatting to the text in the field. Tags that are entered as text while the HTML editor is enabled are not interpreted as HTML tags.

HTML Formatting in Workflow Email Messages

HTML formatting is also supported in the Message Body field in workflow Send Email actions. When you create a workflow Send Email action, you can select either HTML or plain text for the format of the message in the email. Note the following points when editing the message:

• Starting with Release 43, if you select the HTML option, then an HTML editor is available in the Message Body field, and you can use the toolbar in the HTML editor to apply HTML formatting to the text. Note that tags that are entered as text while the HTML option is selected are not interpreted as HTML tags.
• For Send Email actions that were created in a release earlier than Release 43, if the HTML option was selected when the action was created, then the next time the action is edited in Release 43 or later, the HTML editor is available in the Message Body field and any HTML formatting that is supported is automatically applied to the message the next time the action is edited and saved.
• When you create a Send Email action, you can toggle between the HTML and Plain Text options. Any formatting that you apply while the HTML option is selected is shown as HTML tags when you switch to the Plain Text option. When you switch from the Plain Text option to the HTML option, any supported HTML formatting that is included in the message is applied.
• Oracle CRM On Demand supports a subset of the elements that are supported in HTML5. If you save the message while the HTML option is selected, then the following happens:
  • If the message includes an HTML element that Oracle CRM On Demand does not support, then the tags for the unsupported element are removed from the email message when you save the workflow action. No error message appears. In the case of certain elements, the content of the element is also removed from the message.
  • If the message includes an attribute that Oracle CRM On Demand does not support, then the attribute is removed.
  • If the message specifies a property for the style attribute that Oracle CRM On Demand does not support for use with the style attribute, then the property is removed.
• If an expression within the HTML email message evaluates to a string that contains an HTML tag, then when Oracle CRM On Demand sends the email, the tag is encoded so that it is treated as text rather than HTML code by the recipient's email application.

  For example, assume that an email message contains the expression %%%[{Description}]%%% to return the value of the Description field, and that the Description field contains the following HTML code:

  <b>This is the description</b>

  In this case, when the expression is evaluated, the tags that are returned as part of the value of the field are not interpreted as HTML code. Instead, the value of the Description field appears in the email message exactly as it appears in the Description field in Oracle CRM On Demand, including the <b> and </b> tags.

• If the recipient's email application does not support HTML, then the email application determines how the HTML message is displayed for that recipient.

The rest of this topic provides details of the supported and unsupported elements for Note fields and HTML messages in workflow Send Email action.

Supported Elements and Attributes

The following table lists the elements that Oracle CRM On Demand supports for use in workflow email messages and in fields of the Note type, and the attributes that are supported for the elements. For information about the properties that are supported for use with the style attribute, see the Supported Properties for the style Attribute section of this topic.

For more information about HTML5, see the HTML5 specification on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web site.

Unsupported Attributes

If you edit a workflow Send Email action that contains an unsupported attribute in the email message, then the attribute will be deleted when you save the updated workflow action.

If you attempt to include an unsupported attribute in the email message when you create a new workflow Send Email action, then the attribute will be deleted when you save the workflow action.

If a field of the Note field type contains an unsupported attribute, and if the Enable HTML Formatting check box on the company profile is selected, then the attribute will be deleted the next time the field is updated and the record is saved.

Supported Properties for the style Attribute

The following cascading style sheet (CSS) properties are supported for use with the style attribute, which can be used with all of the elements that are supported for use in the messages in workflow emails and in fields of the Note type:

• color
• font-family
• font-size
• font-style
• list-style-position
• list-style-type
• text-align

If you use a property that Oracle CRM On Demand does not support for use with the style attribute in a workflow email message, then the unsupported property is removed from the style attribute when you save the workflow action.

If the Enable HTML Formatting check box on the company profile is selected, then:

• If an unsupported property is used with the style attribute in a field of the Note type on an imported record, then the property is removed from the style attribute when the record is imported.
• If an unsupported property was used with the style attribute in a field of the Note type before the Enable HTML Formatting check box was selected, then the property is removed from the style attribute the next time the field is updated or the record is edited in the record Edit page after the check box is selected.

Unsupported Elements

If you use an HTML element that Oracle CRM On Demand does not support for use in a workflow email message, then the tags for the unsupported element are removed from the email message when you save the workflow action. No error message appears.

If the Enable HTML Formatting check box on the company profile is selected, then:

• If an unsupported element is used in a field of the Note type on an imported record, then the tags for the element are removed when the record is imported.
• If an unsupported element was used in a field of the Note type before the Enable HTML Formatting check box was selected, then the tags for the unsupported element are removed the next time the field is updated or the record is edited in the record Edit page after the check box is selected.

When an unsupported element is removed, the content of the element is retained, except in the case of the following elements. For these elements, both the tags and the content of the element are removed for security reasons:

• <applet>
• <area>
• <base>
• <basefont>
• <button>
• <form>
• <frame>
• <frameset>
• <iframe>
• <input>
• <isindex>
• <label>
• <link>
• <map>
• <menu>
• <noframes>
• <noscript>
• <object>
• <optgroup>
• <option>
• <param>
• <script>
• <select>
• <style>
• <textarea>

Deprecated Attributes

Some attributes that were supported in the past have now been deprecated. The deprecated attributes are not automatically deleted from any existing workflow email message unless the workflow action is edited. Similarly, the deprecated attributes are not automatically deleted from a field of the Note field type, unless the record with the field is edited. However, the attributes might not work at all, or might not work as expected.

The following table lists the deprecated attributes.