# Hotmail Reply Function Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229 "2003-09-02T23:18:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/1 "2003-09-02T23:18:08Z")
For the life of me it’s driving me crazy–how do I send a Reply on Hotmail with the text embedded in the message? Every single time I try to do it, it has the message as a text attachment instead. I don’t want that! None of the options help at all (or at least the self-evident ones I’ve tried). Cheers, AG ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/2 "2003-09-03T02:05:14Z")
In my Hotmail, it’s Options \> Reply-Related Settings (in the Additional Options column) \> Include Original Text When Replying. Mine is set to Auto. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/3 "2003-09-03T15:52:56Z")
Yeah, mine is too. _But it doesn’t do it!_. Or rather, it does automatically include the original text–but as an attachment, not as imbedded text. It’s a pain, and there must be some way around it (I would think). Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/4 "2003-09-03T16:19:27Z")
No answer, but I’ve been wondering this myself. Most of the time, I get the text when replying, but from certain people (and only those people), I have it as an attachment. Any ideas why? ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/5 "2003-09-03T17:04:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\*No answer, but I’ve been wondering this myself. Most of the time, I get the text when replying, but from certain people (and only those people), I have it as an attachment. Any ideas why? \*\* If that’s the case, then it may be how the sender formats the email sent to you. Plain text messages probably show up correctly when hitting Reply To, but if they originally sent it in HTML or RTF format (the other 2 formats available in MS Outlook), it probably attaches those messages. Hotmail probably keeps the original format of the message on it’s servers and parses it out to text when you view it in your web browser. Just guessing at that though. **ArchiveGuy** , if you’d like to test that out, email yourself from Hotmail. Then hit Reply To and see how the original text shows up in the new message. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/6 "2003-09-03T17:30:52Z")
Try this: In the compose new message window, below the Subject line and directly under “Attachments” there’s a drop down menu that shows “Tools”. Click on that and select “Insert Original Text” from the drop down menu. Does that work ? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/7 "2003-09-03T18:58:28Z")
I suppose cut and paste (Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V) are out the question for some reason? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/8 "2003-09-03T19:04:15Z")
> [@](#): > > In the compose new message window, below the Subject line and directly under “Attachments” there’s a drop down menu that shows “Tools”. Click on that and select “Insert Original Text” from the drop down menu. I don’t have that option in my drop-down menu–only Spell Check, Thesauraus, etc. > [@](#): > > ArchiveGuy, if you’d like to test that out, email yourself from Hotmail. Then hit Reply To and see how the original text shows up in the new message. This worked. The original text came up in the Reply, so I’m assuming your guess about the format of the message may well be correct. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there’s much I can do about it, then–especially since the e-mails that arrive that are supposedly in this format are indistinguishable from others that aren’t (the fonts, paragraph formations, etc. are the same). Still, thanks **horseflesh**. If anyone has any other ideas/solutions, I’m all ears… ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/9 "2003-09-03T19:06:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I suppose cut and paste (Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V) are out the question for some reason? Well, no, not out of the question. Just inconvenient. No, not _that_ inconvenient, but still, which is easier: scrolling down to highlight the whole (or partial) message and then copying and pasting, or hitting the Reply button and having it all happen automatically like it should? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hotmail-reply-function-question/199229/10 "2003-09-03T19:23:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy \* > **I don’t have that option in my drop-down menu–only Spell Check, Thesauraus, etc.** Ok, try this: Go to Options/Reply-Related Settings/Including Original Text When Replying. Set it to “Manual”. Then go to the reply compose message window and select “Insert Original Text” from the “Tools” drop down menu (note that you would have that option only when replying not when composing a new message). Does that help ?