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Sending

Why does my email not look the way I built it?

In short

Why does my Reply email look different from what I built?

Check plain-text sending mode first. When it is on, the editor drops the formatting toolbar and the source view, and sent mail carries no styling: which looks like a broken editor rather than a setting. Spacing problems around a signature are almost always stray empty lines, fixable in the source view.

Quick fix

  1. Open the sequence's settings and find Plain text sending mode in the deliverability section. If it is on, that explains missing formatting tools, missing source view, and unstyled mail.
  2. Turn it off if you want formatting, then reload the page so the toolbar and the source view come back.
  3. For spacing problems, open the source view and delete empty lines and stray tags above the signature.
  4. Use the sequence's Preview to check the result; the editor shows your template, Preview shows what sends.
  5. Send yourself a test before launching.

Didn't work? Contact Reply support; the team can check your account directly.

Symptom

One of: the formatting toolbar or the source-code button is missing; text you wanted as a link is plain; the signature has a gap above or below it; or the sent email looks nothing like the editor.

Most likely causes

CauseHow to recognize it
Plain-text sending mode is onThe formatting toolbar and the source-code button are gone, and you cannot make text clickable. It is a per-sequence setting, so one sequence behaves differently from another
Empty lines or leftover tags around the signatureFormatting works, but the gap above or below the signature is wrong
The signature was pasted from a word processorInvisible styling came with it and fights the editor. Often shows as odd spacing or a font that does not match
You are judging by the editor rather than PreviewThe editor renders your template; Preview renders what a specific contact will receive
The signature in the sequence differs from the one on the mailboxTwo places hold a signature, and the sequence's wins for that sequence

Diagnostic checklist

  1. Check plain-text mode before anything else. It explains the majority of "the editor is broken" reports in one look, and it is per sequence, so comparing two sequences is a fast test.
  2. Decide what you actually need. Plain-text mail often performs better for cold outreach. If you turned it on deliberately, the missing toolbar is the feature working.
  3. Open the source view for spacing problems. Empty paragraphs are invisible in the editor and obvious in the source.
  4. Check Preview, not the editor, for anything involving a specific contact.
  5. Check both signature locations – the mailbox's own signature and any signature inside the sequence.

Resolution

Plain-text mode is on and you want formatting

Turn it off in the sequence's settings, then reload the page. The formatting toolbar, the source-code view and link buttons return. Existing steps keep their text; formatting you add from then on is preserved.

Plain-text mode is on deliberately

Then nothing is broken. You can still write clear mail: use line breaks and short paragraphs rather than styling. Links appear as their full address, so keep them short and readable.

Spacing around the signature

Open the source view and remove empty paragraphs and stray line-break tags immediately before and after the signature. A signature pasted from a word processor often carries a wrapper that adds its own space; retyping it, or pasting it as plain text first, removes it.

The signature is the wrong one

Check both places. A signature set inside the sequence takes precedence for that sequence over the one on the mailbox, so a stale copy in the sequence keeps winning.

Verification

Send a test to yourself and read it in the mail client, not in Reply. Check the spacing around the signature, that links are clickable if you expect them to be, and that the font matches what you built.

Prevention

  • Decide plain-text versus formatted once per sequence, when you create it.
  • Compose directly in the editor rather than pasting from a word processor. If you must paste, paste as plain text and format afterwards.
  • Keep one signature. Two copies drift apart.
  • Preview a real contact before launching, not the template.

FAQ

Where is the source-code button?

Hidden while plain-text sending mode is on. Turn the mode off and reload the page.

Should I use plain text?

Often yes for cold outreach; plain mail looks personal and carries no styling to break. The trade-off is that you cannot make text clickable or style anything.

Why does my email look right in the editor and wrong when it arrives?

The editor shows your template. Preview and a real test show what sends. Judge by the test.

Still stuck? Contact Reply support

If these steps didn't solve the problem, the Reply support team can look at your account directly. Open the Reply Help Center and send the team a message.

To get an answer faster, include:

  • whether plain-text sending mode is on for that sequence
  • what looks wrong, and whether it looks wrong in Preview as well as in the received email
  • where the signature is set – on the mailbox, in the sequence, or both
  • which sequence and step

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