Encoding E-Mail - System.Net vs System.Web

[Ed Bitzer]

Do I have any control of the encoding used to send plain text
messages. Using System.Net.Mail the source shows the
Content-Transfer-Encoding as quoted-printable; Using System.Web.Mail
the source shows the Content-Transfer-Encoding as 7bit. A pdf
attachment is encoded with base64 for both. My big concern is
assuring that some of our 200 plus residence do not get odd looking
characters in the community email we send. Several use Macs, many web
mail, a few Thunderbird and many OE and Outlook. We have had problem
sending via Comcast Web mail.

 

[Cor Ligthert[MVP]]

Ed,

As long as you use true ASCII (the first 7 bits of every code page), then
you will only have problems if the other side is expecting not the basic 26
characters of most West European languages (in upper and lower) characters
and modern Arabian cifers.
However then never sent your messages as HTML because that is controled by
the client computer.

What PDF is doing with a document is not under your control, however they
have made it to be showed exactly as the maker created it.

Cor

 

[Ed Bitzer]

Cor,

Understand I should not have a problem if I send ASCII pintables 32
thru 126 (although there are some odd conditions with the equal sign
66) however having said this I wondered why, when I viewed received
messages that those sent using system.net.mailer indicated they were
encoded with "quoted-printables" and those sent with system.web.mail
showed "7-bit." Is this just a change in the net framework for which
I have no control and I believe you are saying that I should not be
concerned..

Also understand that when I add a pdf attachment encoding is required
and in both cases base64 was used for the attachment which understand
the Mac's will accept.

Ed