Applies To: □ PoliteMail Desktop ■ PoliteMail Online □ PoliteMail M365
Version: □ 5.0 □ 5.1 □ 5.2 ■ 5.3+
Beefree integration with PoliteMail is one of the newest features with version 5.3, and while the experience is a very smooth one, there are some things at this early juncture that you should be aware of.
Smart Attachments are not currently available in Beefree.
This is actively being worked on. As a workaround, you will need to obtain the URL of the Smart Attachment, and then add a URL block in Beefree:
- Switch to the PoliteMail Builder, select 'Add Content', and click on Smart Attachments.
- From the list of available Smart Attachments, click and drag the one you want to the main composition window.
- Click on the 'View Code' button to view your message's html.
- Look for the part of the HTML that references your Smart Attachment. It will look something like this:
href="<your file url">text name- Copy the file URL to your clipboard. You can then delete the message and switch back to Beefree to insert into a Code Block.
Feedback or Open Visibility is added to the bottom of a Template instead of at the cursor.
This is due to how Beefree handles all added content from outside of the Beefree Editor. By default, it is automatically added to the bottom of a message. As a workaround, once added you can use the blue crosshairs button to drag the Feedback row wherever you want.
SVG files are blocked or create an error.
Because SVG files contain some .xml data, it is currently blocked by PoliteMail's Content Security Policy (CSP), which protects you from any potentially malicious code. As a workaround, there are a number of free .svg to .png converters online. Once converted, .png files will display with no issue.
Collaborative Editing is not available with the Beefree integration with PoliteMail.
Some functionality is available only with paid Beefree accounts using Beefree's web application, and not currently available with third-party providers such as PoliteMail. This is being actively researched.
Folders to hold my content is not available in Beefree.
Folders are currently a feature only available in the PoliteMail Builder, but this is something that is being looked into while still providing an intuitive user interface.
There is no option to export the HTML.
Beefree does not currently support the option to export the message as HTML when integrated with another provider such as PoliteMail. You would need to sign up for an account with Beefree, create the message in the Beefree Editor outside of PoliteMail, export the HTML, and then import it into, say, your Outlook desktop or other application.
My padding is off when I view the message in Outlook for the Desktop.
Users of the desktop version of Outlook may notice the padding varies between it and the "new" Outlook. Beefree is an online application and as such will render better in the new Outlook, which is also online and uses the latest rendering engine. Outlook for the Desktop, unfortunately, is old, and it is a technical challenge to have perfect consistency among all platforms.
Rounded corners as well as background images are not displaying in Outlook.
This is a known issue with Outlook, as shown in Beefree's documentation. The desktop version of Outlook does not support rounded corners or background images.
The hover effect doesn't seem to be working.
The hover effect, such as a button turning a different color when the mouse is placed over it, is not supported by all browsers, and is not supported in the desktop version of Outlook. See Beefree's documentation for more information.
Beefree Rendering in Outlook for the Desktop
Beefree templates generally work well on Outlook for Desktop, but users should expect some limitations and possible rendering issues, especially with complex layouts or responsive elements.
- Simple designs (single-column, web-safe fonts, basic formatting) are most compatible.
- Desktop Outlook does not support rounded corners of an image and will default to square corners. Users who want rounded corners will need to edit the image before uploading.
- Desktop Outlook does not support background images.
- Responsive features are less reliably supported on Outlook Desktop, since Outlook tends to strip out style tags and media queries crucial for mobile responsiveness.
- Complex layouts or advanced elements (multi-column, CSS-based styling, buttons with custom code) may not render as intended; Outlook can ignore, alter, or remove HTML elements including conditional comments, which affects appearance.
- While Beefree uses techniques like VML and conditional comments for Outlook compatibility, Outlook’s rendering quirks mean that results may still vary depending on the exact Outlook version.
- For best results, use Beefree’s preview and send test emails before finalizing, as the visual result in Outlook can differ from the Beefree editor.
