Types of formatting and features preserved in Excel 2002 workbook sent as body of HTML e-mail message

Microsoft Excel has the ability to send a worksheet as the body of an HTML e-mail message. This article identifies the formatting and features that are and are not preserved when a message recipient opens a worksheet in Excel.

To send an Excel worksheet as the body of an HTML e-mail message, follow these steps:

1. Select the worksheet that you want to send.
2. On the File menu, point to Send To, and then click Mail Recipient.
3. Click the tab of the worksheet that you want to send in the message.
4. In the To box, type the recipient's e-mail address, or select the address from your address book. If you are using Microsoft Outlook 2002, you can also type a message in the Introduction box.
5. After you have finished editing the message, click Send This Sheet.

If the recipient is running Microsoft Outlook 2002 and Excel 2002, after double-clicking the message to open it, the recipient can click one of the following commands on the Edit menu:

• Edit Message: Allows recipient to edit the worksheet directly in Outlook.
• Open in Microsoft Excel 10: Starts Excel 2002 and opens the worksheet.

NOTE: As a general rule, if you need to e-mail an entire workbook, send the file as an attachment. If you just want to send the active worksheet and nothing on the worksheet refers to data or formulas on another worksheet, you can send the worksheet as the body of an e-mail message from Excel and most items will be preserved.

Items That Are Preserved

The following items are preserved when a worksheet is sent as the body of an e-mail message:

• Cell formatting, including the following:
  • Text number format
  • General number format
  • Number number format
  • Scientific notation format
  • Time number format
  • Date number format
  • Fraction number format
  • Font color
  • Fill color
  • Patterns
  • Borders
  • Horizontal alignment
  • Font name
  • Font size
  • Font style
• AutoFilter (including the criteria in effect at the time the e-mail was sent)
• Array formulas
• Simple formulas including cell references and worksheet functions
• Charts and their associated properties (the data must be on the same sheet as the chart)

Items That Are Not Preserved

The following items are not preserved when you send a worksheet as the body of an e-mail message:

• Database queries
• Conditional formatting
• Data validation
• Defined names
• PivotTables
• Links and cell references to worksheets other than the active worksheet (these formulas are converted into their respective values instead)

For more information about how to send a worksheet as the body of an e-mail message, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type Send a worksheet as the body of an e-mail message directly from Excel in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.