[Closed] Cut & paste from Writer to Apple Mail

[jackrcook]

The problem has to do with line spacing.
I draft an eMail message in writer. I use the default font, default line spacing etc.
When I paste it into the message to be sent, the text assumes a larger line spacing than text typed directly into the eMail or than was originally displayed in OO Writer. Take notice of the hard returns shown.

Do you have any suggestions as to what might be responsible for this behavior?
I will attach a sample screen shot.

[John_Ha]

If you copy all four paragraphs above into Writer and View > Non printing characters ..., it will show you what is causing it.

Try:

1 Try pasting into your email with Unformatted (similar to Writer's Edit > Paste Special > Unformatted ...)

2 Define a new paragraph style called email where Format > Paragraph > Indents and spacing > Gap below paragraph ..., is set to zero

3 Download the magic PureText and paste with Windows+V - it strips off all formatting. It is exceptionally useful for writing emails - select all the email text > Cut > Paste with Windows+V and all the text is immediately formatted to the default when pasting.

4 First paste into a simple editor (like Windows Notepad) and then copy what you pasted. Simple editors strip formatting.

[jackrcook]

Thanks John_Ha,
I tried your suggestions #1 and #2 originally to no avail.
Keep in mind that I am not using Windows, I am using a Mac (OS 10.11.4)
Any other thoughts?? Perhaps from a Mac user?

[John_Ha]

Copy the email text into Writer and upload the .odt file so it can be examined.

[jackrcook]

Copying text from eMail to OO Writer does not make any sense. The text started there...that has us going in circles.

[RoryOF]

If you give us a copy of the original text from Writer and the pasted text back into Writer, we can see how what has happened has happened.

[John_Ha]

Copying text from eMail to OO Writer does not make any sense. The text started there...that has us going in circles.

It makes a great deal of sense. We are not magicians - we need facts to solve your problem, facts which you appear unable to give us. You have pasted an image which is virtually worthless for diagnostic purposes.

Pasting the email and the Writer text back into Writer allows us to compare the email text attributes with the Writer text attributes so we can see what is different between it and the Writer text.

If you refuse, I cannot help you further.

[jackrcook]

John_Ha,
Attached is an OO Writer file containing text created in Mac Mail and then some text created in OO Writer as requested for analysis.
I look forward to your help in finding a way to prevent the extra blank line at the end of paragraphs when pasting OO Writer docs into eMail.

[jackrcook]

Here is another alternate sequence of cut and pastes in an OO Writer file and the resulting screen shot showing the extra line spaces. Both are attached.
Attempts to delete the extra line spaces just delete the "return" and move the text to the end of the preceding line.

[Bill]

There are many examples of similar problems discussed on Apple sites. Have you tried any of their suggestions? I have no experience with Apple Mail.

[RoryOF]

At a guess (and it is only a guess) this is a manifestation of the CR LF problem that has affected Windows/Apple text interchange for years.

[John_Ha]

The files show nothing obvious. That being said, I was hoping that the .odt file would include the sequence of text which appears in the email image with the problematic blank line. I wanted to see what was causing the blank line. So

1 Type a few paragraphs in Writer.
2 Type a few paragraphs in the email.
3 Paste the Writer content into the email - this produces the blank line.
4 Copy the entire text now in the email and paste it into a new, blank Writer document. Do not use Paste Special.
5 upload an image of the email, and the .odt file, so they can be compared.

You might also like to save the email as a .eml file (which you can do by dragging the email onto the desktop, or by Edit > Save As ...), and upload it too.

[RoryOF]

I could get nothing obvious from them either. Files generated by John's latest sequence of instructions should be helpful.

[jackrcook]

At a guess (and it is only a guess) this is a manifestation of the CR LF problem that has affected Windows/Apple text interchange for years.

I am ready to subscribe to your explanation and close the issue after making still another test.

This time I used the Mac TestEdit program to create some text. I then pasted it into an eMail draft (see attachment) and it came through as expected without extra line spaces.

Seems there is a lack of one to one compatibility between OO Writer and Mac eMail.

[floris v]

I have similar problems when I paste text from Writer into a Thunderbird mail message. But I blame Thunderbird. Or rather, I suppose that it's too much to ask that an e-mail editor with limited formatting capabilities should be able to flawlessly paste formatted text from an advanced program.
If you write your message text in Writer because it's more powerful as a text editor, but not because of the formatting, I'd say, go ahead, but before pasting the text in your mail editor, paste it into TextEdit, as you have already done, then copy & paste from that to your mail app.

On a side note: we don't close threads in this forum, we only lock a thread when the debate gets too heated. You can tag it as [Solved] though if a solution or workaround for your problem has been offered, even if you don't quite like the solution or the idea of a workaround.

[John_Ha]

I have similar problems when I paste text from Writer into a Thunderbird mail message.

TB now formats text typed into the email with a 2.12 mm gap after paragraph, which is why you see the gap when you paste Writer text which has gap after paragraph = 0.