Since emoji are an integral part of the Unicode character table and have become a standard, they can be used widely in emails. However, many users are not able to find out how they can use emojis, as some email services make use of special codes that lead to the creation of emojis on the receivers’ end, whereas in other email services, emojis are clearly present, so users can simply select the right ones.
Displays that differ by device
Unfortunately, the terminals interpret Unicode characters in their own way. Some of them do not even know how to display them.
On computer: watch out for old bones!
It is on a computer that the differences are the most glaring. The users of Windows XP, which in 2017 still represents 8% of the market (more than Mac OS!), Thus see a nasty square instead of any emoji. Windows 7 users (48% of the market) see them appear in black and white.
On the other hand, the users of the most recent operating systems are happy: Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Mac OS 10.7 and later manage emojis perfectly, display them in color, even if they each have their own graphics.
There are some exceptions, however: Gmail perfectly displays the emoji, regardless of the operating system. To do this, it bypasses the latter and directly supports the display of emoji. Clever, even if the service takes the opportunity to impose its own icons.
On the messaging software side, Outlook 2016 displays them correctly in the message body but delivers them in black and white in the subject. Thunderbird meanwhile is content with black and white.
On mobile: everything rolls
Emojis work well on smartphones, as iOS manages emojis since 2010 (iOS 4), Android since 2012 (Android 4.1 Jelly Bean).It can thus, be considered that all smartphones correctly display the pictograms.Only the appearance differs according to the terminals.
When can we use emoji?
In conclusion, when we are about to insert an emoji in an e-mail, we must always remember that it will not necessarily appear the same way in all recipients.
It is therefore advisable to use emojis only if the recipients of your messages meet one of its 3 conditions:
- they use a recent version of Windows (Windows 8.1 or Windows 10)
- they are on Mac (and use Mac OS 10.7 or later)
- they read their email on a smartphone
How to send an emoji in practice?
Most “big” web mails allow you to insert emojis into the body of emails, directly from the message-formatting bar.This is the case for Gmail, Outlook.com, SBCGlobal email and Roadrunner email. LaPoste.net and the Orange Mail, meanwhile, offer a very limited number of pictograms, reducing to smileys.
Some software programs have integrated the emojis and allow to insert the pictograms directly from the message-writing window.
For software that does not have an insert command, you can copy (Ctrl + C or Cmd + C) the emojis of your choice and paste them (Ctrl + V or Cmd + V) into the body of your messages. You can do the same in the subject of emails!