Outlook Attachment Filter:

September 22, 2009 8:48 AM

When I receive email through MS Outlook, pictures, links and objects like that appear as attachments to the email. When I open them with the email browser on my iTouch, these objects are present in the body of the email. Can this Outlook action be changed?

I have tried every option I can find in Outlook to change this behavior, but so far nothing works. I'm beginning to wonder if this is just the way Outlook works. I don't like it.

posted by Rad_Boy to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

Are you viewing the emails as text only? Tools--> Options--> Mail Setup--> Uncheck "Read all mail in plain text"
posted by Big_B at 8:55 AM on September 22, 2009

Tools--> Options--> Mail Setup Preferences--> Email Options --> Uncheck "Read all mail in plain text"
posted by Big_B at 8:56 AM on September 22, 2009

Also its called an ipod touch not an itouch (no such thing as an itouch).
posted by majortom1981 at 9:07 AM on September 22, 2009

Response by poster: "Read all mail in plain text" is unchecked. Please, more suggestions!
posted by Rad_Boy at 9:24 AM on September 22, 2009

I don't know whether Outlook can do this, but if so the option should be called similar to "Show attachments inline".

In addition to that an email can consist of different variants. If the iPod touch shows the RTF version while Outlook shows the HTML version, finding the above option will not suffice. You will still need to configure Outlook to show the same version as the iPod.
posted by oxit at 9:44 AM on September 22, 2009

Also its called an ipod touch not an itouch (no such thing as an itouch).

Ground control to Major Tom. iTouch is a widely used nickname for the iPod Touch™. Besides, he can call it anything he wants to as long as he was understood, right? 'tis the point of communication, after all.

Rad_Boy, it would help to know what version of Outlook you are using? 2007?
posted by inturnaround at 11:14 AM on September 22, 2009

Response by poster: Good point, it's Outlook 2003.
posted by Rad_Boy at 12:26 PM on September 22, 2009

It's possible that Outlook is being stopped from automatically downloading images. Check Tools > Options > Security > Change Automatic Download Settings.
posted by booticon at 1:30 PM on September 22, 2009

This is most likely "just the way Outlook works". An email can contain HTML content which can have images in it. Outlook will display images in HTML. An email can also contain attachments, regardless of whether the main message is in plain text or HTML. Outlook simply does not show attachments as part of the main message.

The iphone, as a UI decision, appears to simply append attached images to the end of the email body.

I don't know if 2003 has this but 2007 will list attachments in a bar at the top of the mail message and let you preview them easily.
posted by Wood at 1:59 PM on September 22, 2009

Good point Wood. If the sender creates an HTML e-mail with an image in their signature, for example, as long as the options are right in Outlook it should show it in-line with no issues.
posted by booticon at 2:42 PM on September 22, 2009

For context, just about every email virus ever works by taking advantage of bad attachment / mime handling in outlook. Between the fires they have had to put out, and how bad the code must have been to be so vulnerable before that, I would not be surprised by any attachment display error in outlook.
posted by idiopath at 8:17 AM on September 23, 2009