Lines on test email?

SOLVED
Go to solution
LauraP25363
Participant

Hello,


I am working on an email to be sent on Sunday and notice lines in the test email that don't appear in my editor. I've attached a screenshot of these lines, and there are more further down the email. If it helps I am using Outlook 2016.

 

Thank you

 

lines.PNG

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
William_A
Moderator

Hello @LauraP25363 ,

 

We're sorry to see you've run into this issue. This is a widespread bug with Microsoft Outlook that affects all ESP emails, not just Constant Contact. There are currently no legitimate workarounds for this issue, however, it only seems to affect Outlook. Microsoft is aware of the issue and we're closely watching for fixes that are made available. If any are made available, we will take advantage of them. The primary issue is that the lines are random, the next test or live send, they could end up in different positions or disappear entirely.

That said, there are a couple potential workarounds you could try:

  • Change the color of your inner background to match the outer background This way if the lines appear they'll still be the exact same color, and won't be seen.
  • Drag a block like a divider next to the affected block to create a column layout. Add all the affected blocks to one column. Delete the block/divider in the other column, so that the content is back to one column. We've seen this workaround have some success, but nothing is guaranteed due to the sporadic nature of the glitch.

I've still gone ahead and tracked your case for our engineers, but again this is something we and other ESPs are having to rely on Microsoft to figure out, as it is only affecting Outlook 2016 and 2018.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William A
Community & Social Media Support

View solution in original post

6 REPLIES 6
William_A
Moderator

Hello @LauraP25363 ,

 

We're sorry to see you've run into this issue. This is a widespread bug with Microsoft Outlook that affects all ESP emails, not just Constant Contact. There are currently no legitimate workarounds for this issue, however, it only seems to affect Outlook. Microsoft is aware of the issue and we're closely watching for fixes that are made available. If any are made available, we will take advantage of them. The primary issue is that the lines are random, the next test or live send, they could end up in different positions or disappear entirely.

That said, there are a couple potential workarounds you could try:

  • Change the color of your inner background to match the outer background This way if the lines appear they'll still be the exact same color, and won't be seen.
  • Drag a block like a divider next to the affected block to create a column layout. Add all the affected blocks to one column. Delete the block/divider in the other column, so that the content is back to one column. We've seen this workaround have some success, but nothing is guaranteed due to the sporadic nature of the glitch.

I've still gone ahead and tracked your case for our engineers, but again this is something we and other ESPs are having to rely on Microsoft to figure out, as it is only affecting Outlook 2016 and 2018.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William A
Community & Social Media Support

Thank you very much!

SLafary747
Participant

It seems like this has been a bug for over a year? any end in sight on when it will be fixed?

PowerInnAlliance
Regular Participant

Hi! We've been having the same issue, but I think I just figured it out.

 

Under 'Design' go to 'Buttons & Dividers' and change the color to white. Save and sent a test email to yourself - I did this and, NO LINES!! #Yaayyy I hope it works for you!!

OADN
Occasional Participant

You guys really need to try harder to fix this issue instead of posting the same boilerplate language for 4 years... Here is the number to Microsoft: (800) 642 7676

AnneC27
Occasional Participant

Still happening, can't get rid of it.

  • Avatar

    Support Tips

    Social Media

    "There's a multitude of ways to engage your audience through us using your social platforms - via ads, social post metrics, email links, and more! " - Will

    See Article
  • Avatar

    Support Tips

    Call-To-Action Links

    "Target your most engaged contacts by creating a segment. Create a special offer or show your appreciation!" - Caitlin

    See Article
  • Avatar

    Support Tips

    Welcome Your Audience

    "Greet new contacts with one or more automated Welcome Emails depending on their interests or your business goals." - Nick

    See Article