Graphics do not show in my email.

There are many reasons why emails that contain images show up either with a big red X where the image should be or a string of text instead of the picture. Usually, this has to do with the settings on your computer and the way the images are being sent in the email.

HTML in an email may not actually contain an image - it may contain a reference to an image that is downloaded separately. Microsoft Outlook 3 in particular, is known for causing problems with default settings for images. There are some fairly easy things you can do to try to fix the problem.

Check Settings

The easiest things to check are the settings in both Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. First, go to Internet Explorer. Open Tools and then Internet Options. Choose Advanced and find Multimedia. Make sure the item "Show Pictures" is checked.

Once you've done that, go to Outlook Express and click on Tools. Choose Options and then go to Security. Find "Virus Protection". If the option "Do not allow attachments" is checked, clear it and then chose Apply.

Firewall

It's possible that you have too much security in the form of firewalls on your computer. Windows comes with an installed firewall, but when it is coupled with third-party security that also has firewall protection, you can run into trouble. Try disabling the Windows firewall and see if that solves your image problem. To do this, go to Start and then Control Panel. Find Windows Firewall and click on the General tab. You can turn it off with one click. This is safe as long as you have another security system in place that has it's own firewall.

Registry Fix

You can also try to fix the problem in the registry. Close Outlook and navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security\OutlookSecureTempFolder . You can then see the folder in this key - it will probably be something similar to this: %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKxxxxx\. Delet all of the files you find in the folder and restart Outlook.

Delete Browsing History

Sometimes deleting your browsing history can help with images not showing in emails. Go to Tools and then Internet Options and delete the Browsing History. Go to Start and then Control Panel. Choose Internet Options and then General tab.  Under Browsing History, choose Delete.

Hopefully one of these options will get your images back in your emails - let us know if you need any more help.

Kat Delong | August 4th, 2009
Tags: block image, cannot view images in e-mail, e-mail graphics, unblock image
Categories: Email

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