Hi
I’m trying to figure out how to set up a newsletter using the announcement list. Can someone please direct me / advise me on how to go about this. If this is not feasible and someone knows of another way to set up a newsletter on Dreamhost, I could use some help.
Thanks
Marlene
Here’s the wiki file on setting up an announcement list:
Announcement Lists
It’ll help you set it all up. Dreamhost requires that all members of a list are opt-in, so you’ll need to have them sign themselves up (there is a way to import contacts from another list and email them requesting them to join). It’s all in the wiki document though.
I find it easier to use Discussion Lists. To do Announcements, you have to log into the Panel and create the Announcement there.
With Discussion, you can heavily restrict the list so only you can post to the list. Then you can use your email client to create the message and send it to your list that way. Subscriptions work the same way as Announcement, as explained above.
-Scott
Just checking into announce lists, and I’ve found that I can’t format them well (or at all).
For example, pressing return at the end of a paragraph results in just one long rambling paragraph in the resultant email. Even though there may have been many in the initial announcement.
Am I missing something?
An Announce list is just an email distribution system. Where are you creating your announcements?
-Scott
I am just using the form found in the panel of my account under announce lists. Then by clicking on mail.
If I try to write the announcement in Word, or in my mail client, then copy it over to there. I get the same result.
Sorry, my bad. I was thinking of the Discussion List.
If Announce lets you use HTML format, export your Word document as HTML and copy that into the Announce window.
-Scott
Just tried that. Saved a doc in html. Tried to paste it into the window, with no success. Opened the doc in a browser, cut and pasted, still no success.
Is anyone out there using an announce list? Or should I just set up a discussion list?
Thanks for any info!
Brad
When sending a message to the announce list, there is a setting:
Is this HTML? [ ] Preview as HTML in a new window. (not necessary for plain text)
Are you leaving that checked or unchecked when submitting the form?
Your browser should be adding a CR-LF pair when you hit return when typing in the message. These should be preserved in the body of the email message as well.
However when the message is sent a Content-Type header is included that will say either “text/plain” or “text/html”
If your messages are sent as “text/html” that would explain the run-on. In HTML, you would need to add BR or block elements as necessary for paragraph formatting. A CR-LF pair is either stripped or reduced to a space character in HTML. You should see this effect in the preview popup window if you click on the link.
openvein.org -//-
It’s probably just something that I not quite getting, I am sure.
I have checked the html box, even tried it both ways. Still no automatic CR-LF. If I manually enter a “
”, then I get a line feed, but not otherwise. Tried in Firefox and IE.
When I type:
Hi
There! “
” (without quotes)
Welcome!
… I get:
Hi There!
Welcome!
Confusing?
That’s normal. HTML doesn’t break lines unless it either hits the end of the window or you give it a bracketed br
-Scott
I think that I get it. You can only get an automatic CR-LF sequence if you use plain text. If you use HTML, they are not put in automatically and you have to use the ‘br’ (etc…)
That’s not working for me very well. 
Going to have to look for another solution.
Thanks for the help all.
Brad
[quote]I think that I get it. You can only get an automatic CR-LF sequence if you use plain text. If you use HTML, they are not put in automatically and you have to use the ‘br’ (etc…)
That’s not working for me very well. Going to have to look for another solution.[/quote]
Techincally that is incorrect. When the current line ends is called a linebreak, not a “CR-LF sequence”. In HTML a CR-LF pair will be ignored or treated as space character instead of causing a linebreak, except in certain elements or conditions.
One thing that you could do is to use a web page with a copy of a WYSIYG HTML editor. Visit http://www.htmlarea.com/ - AreaEdit and click on “Demo”. Type some text in, then find the button “< >” and when you click it, it will toggle to show you the HTML source. You can then copy and paste that into the web panel for the message.
In addition, if you must send the message as text/html, but you want to suggest the mail client display with a monospace font and interpret CRLF as a linebreak, you can enclose the content in
tags.
openvein.org -//-