My sis sent me an email with pictures embedded – visible right in the email – and I wanted to detach them to keep them in a photo album. I can left-click on a picture, at which point it gets a little dotted-line outline and resizing handles. I can then right-click on it, and one of the options is “Copy.” I do this…
But when it comes to trying to paste it somewhere, the word “Paste” is greyed out and nothing happens.
I asked her to send me the pics again as attachments, not embedded, and everything’s fine: I can copy 'em where I want.
How can I get IE8 to let go of embedded pics? I’m on Windows 7.
(I think that this is a new problem; I believe I used to be able to do it. But am not sure.)
After you copy the picture, it can be pasted into any image editing program, such as Irfanview. From there, you can save it in any graphic file format, or print it.
Alas, nope: that option doesn’t show under right-click.
(I mentioned that the resizing handles appear: only for show: no actual resizing is allowed. Not that I wanted to anyway, just amusing that a tool appears that isn’t allowed to be used.)
I don’t use those particular software apps (in particular, I don’t use IE) but here’s a suggestion you can try that might work: If you can get focus on the picture (that is, you get that dotted-line outline around it), you might be able to simply drag-and-drop the picture to your desktop (or to any other folder you have open that you could drop it into). Worth a try.
Alas, nope: tried that. (Just tried it again right now to be sure…) The cursor turns into a circle-with-a-diagonal “forbidden” symbol.
Seems darned unusual for MS themselves to violate the standard “working rules” for Windows apps! If I’d written a program that does this, they’d never certify it!
IE 9 most certainly allows you to right click on a picture and select “Save picture as…”. I would be very surprised if IE 8 does not allow that too, as it has long been standard browser behavior. Some web pages may block that behaviour, but I do not know why a webmail site would. Microsoft’s own windows live/hotmail/outlook site certainly does not. I just tried it (in IE 9).
But I am beginning to think that, contrary to your OP, you are not using IE or any other browser at all here, but the MS Outlook web client. It is no surprise that you can’t get a program that is not a browser to behave like a browser.
You’re right. I fat-headed it. I’m using Outlook 2010, but stupidly said I was using IE8.
But, still, the issue, I think, is valid. I am reading an email with pictures visible in it; I can click on one, and the picture “gets the focus.” It acquires a little dotted line around it. I can right click, and am allowed to “Copy” it. But it won’t “Paste” into a file folder…but it will Paste into Paint! This is REALLY CRAPPY PROGRAMMING! It violates Windows standards.
The fact that there is a two-step workaround satisfies my needs…just not my aesthetic sensibilities!
I don’t think so. You have never been able to paste things like pictures or text into folders, only into programs capable of displaying pictures or text. The only things you can paste into folders are files, files that have been copied or cut, as files, from a folder. Windows does not have any way of knowing what sort of file a bunch of data in its clipboard should be, so it can’t paste it, as a file, into a folder.
What is crappy here (if it is really the case) is that Outlook does not provide you with a simple way of saving a picture that appears in an email. My guess, however, is that it actually does, but you just have not found it, and you have not been helped by anyone here because you asked about IE and not Outlook. (I can’t help you with Outlook myself. I’ve never used it.)
Yes, you can only paste files…but many pictures are embedded into displays as files, or with links to files. I can right-click on the ad at the top of this page, and “Save Image As” a file to a directory. I can do this with many other forms of embedded photos.
The photos in the email are, in fact, identified as files. Below each photo is the file name (“photo300.jpg”). When my sister sends me the same email, and attaches the files in a different manner, they appear up in a separate bar in the email – there’s the “To” and “From” and “CC” windows, and an “Attachments” window. The same files appear there, with file names. “Photo300.jpg.” I can right click and “Save As” or I can “Copy” and then “Paste,” right to a directory.
I’m simply astonished that Microsoft didn’t extend this extremely obvious functionality to pictures (as files) which are embedded into the middle of the email, thus visible in the reading pane. It works with picture files that are embedded in a web site, but not with pictures embedded in an email…and yet it does work with pictures that are attached to an email. Why the distinction?
I know, but your complaint was that you can’t paste them into a folder (after copying to clipboard), which is a different thing, something that, contrary to your assertions, is not a normal Windows function.
Well, Outlook makes certain assumptions about images in emails. Specifically: if the image is an attachment, it assumes it’s not part of the content of the email. (These images can be moved to another app easily.) If the image is part of the content of the email, then there’s no need to make it available to save/move easily. (Since most images that are part of the content of an email are things like graphical borders or decorative images, this is mostly a non-issue.)
So without being too much of a jerk, the sender here is putting images in the email in the wrong way. They should be attaching the images as files instead of embedding them in the content of the email.
None of this helps fix your problem, I’m just explaining where the developers of Outlook are coming from.
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. . . is putting images in the email in the wrong way. They should be attaching the images as files instead of embedding them in the content of the email. . . .
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When I persuaded her to do this, everything worked the way it was supposed to (or the way I want it to, or whatever…) For my part, I always sent pics as attachments (or “included items” or whatever) and never as embedded in the text.
(Um…I don’t even know how! Do I have to change formats to HTML or RTF?)
In Outlook, you attach an image by dragging the file icon to the window or using the “Attach File” paperclip button. You embed an image by using the “Insert -> Picture” menu item.
I believe “Insert -> Picture” is greyed-out if your email is in text-only mode. If not, it probably automatically sets the email to HTML mode when you use it.
