Question marks and strange characters

[Stacey]

A problem has just started with Outlook 2003 in the past month or so. I have
three instances that when replying to emails, the wording is converted to
either question marks or strange characters. I actually just tried copying
and pasting the characters into this email and they were converted back to
regular text! I just tried pasting the question marks but they stayed as
question marks. The three different circumstances are as follows:
-replying to an email that comes from a blackberry - these are normally
converted to question marks.
-replying to an internal email that comes from our sales system - converted
to strange characters
-replying to an an internal email that has been forwarded with an attached
fax that has been received.
I see that other people are having the same problems but there doesn't seem
to be any fixes or even suggestions listed? Thanks.

Thanks,
Stacey

 

[Pat Willener]

What encoding is being used (Format | Encoding)?
What mail format are you using (plain text, HTML, RTF)?
If not plain text, what font are you using?

 

[Emily Lin]

Hi Stacey,

Before you reply the email message, is it in question marks or strange characters? Or the original email message shows properly.

Check the following points to see if it works.

#1 check the encoding in the original message
===============
1. Open the original email message. Click View > Encoding > make sure that it is in a correct encoding. If not, click More > and set
a correct encoding for the message.
2. Reply to the message. What is the result?

Note: If a message has already been received without the proper encoding, it may be restored by editing the message, then set the
correct encoding. However, the multibyte characters may already have broken apart into single garbage characters; in this case it is
too late. Question marks may be repaired with the correct encoding.

What is the result?

#2 disable Word as email editor
=================
If the issue only occurs after you replying the message, temp disable the Word email editor if you use it.

In Outlook, click Tools > Options > in the mail Format tab, uncheck the option "use Word as email editor". Click OK. Reply the message
again. What is the result?

#3 test the issue under Outlook in Safe Mode
======
1. Quit Outlook. Click Start menu, and click Run.
2. In the Open box, type: "Outlook /safe" (without the quotation marks).
Notes: There is a space character between Outlook and the forward slash (/).
3. Click OK.

#4 Create a new Outlook profile
======
A new profile is a new environment for us to use Outlook. To create a new profile is only for a test to see if the problem is related to
the corrupt profile of Outlook. Creating new profile will not do any damage to the old profile.

1. Quit Outlook. Go to Start menu > Control Panel > Mail, click Show Profiles¡­
2. Select the "Prompt for a profile to be used" check box. Click Add¡­
3. Type the profile name as "new outlook profile", click Ok.
4. Select Add a new e-mail account, click Next. Follow the wizard to configure your account in the new profile
5. After you restart Outlook, choose the new outlook profile and test the issue again.

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Emily Lin

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
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--------------------

 

[Emily Lin]

Hi Stacey,

I will be out of office during Jan 28th to Feb 5th.

If you have any reply, please reply to the newsgroup and my backup engineer will reply you as soon as possible. In addition, if you need
to send log files/screen shots via emails, please email it to the address (e-mail address removed) . Thanks for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Emily Lin,
Microsoft Online Partner Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

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--------------------

 

[Robert Zhao [MSFT]]

Hi Stacey,

I'm just writing to check how's everything going? If you have any questions or needed further help on this issue, please feel free to post back.

Sincerely,
Robert Zhao
Microsoft Online Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
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When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
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[drewlab]

Hi Stacey,

I'm just writing to check how's everything going? If you have any questions or needed further help on this issue, please feel free to post back.

Sincerely,
Robert Zhao
Microsoft Online Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center

Get Secure! -www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights..

I am having a similar issue. Two individuals in the office have the
Japanese language pack installed, and it works just fine for the body
of emails. (WinXP-Office 2K3 SP3) They are able to view and type with
the Japanese characters. However the subject line of emails sent to
them in Japanese, are displayed with question marks and not the
characters. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Drew

 

[Robert Zhao [MSFT]]

Hi Drew,

The e-mail subject is not coded as Unicode manner, so that if the system locale is not match the language from the sender, the text in e-mail subject may be
unreadable. For example, user with English locale may not view the subject correctly when the e-mail is sent from user with Japanese locale with Japanese
text in the subject.

Since this issue is different from the original one, it is suggested to open a new post so that other customers who encounter the same problem will check the
answers or provide their comments.

Sincerely,
Robert Zhao
Microsoft Online Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

--------------------

 

[Pat Willener]

You need to run Outlook in Unicode Mode to preserve multibyte data in
the Subject and other header lines. See this article for details:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ork2003/HA011402611033.aspx

 

[Robert Zhao [MSFT]]

Hi Stacey,

How's everything going? Do you have any update on this issue or needed more help? Please feel free to post back if you have more questions on it.

Have a nice day!

Sincerely,
Robert Zhao
Microsoft Online Support
Microsoft Global Technical Support Center

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

--------------------

 

[dennisreid]

Hi Robert

I am also experiencing a similar problem. We have a Manager at my company
who receives meeting invites that appear as question marks, which after a
couple of days, change back to the original text that it was sent in.

Do you have any advise on this?

Thanks

Dennis