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In-Line Images not displaying in-line

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  • 34 views
  • Last reply by Toad-Hall

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Incoming emails with In-Line Images are not displaying them in-line.

The message body looks something like this:

Blah, blah, blah... Here is a picture showing what I mean: Inline image And here are two more which show it in close up: Inline image Inline image Etc. Etc

All of the images are then displayed, but they are in a row, below all of the text in the message body. The filenames of the images are also shown in the 'Attachment' pane at the bottom, if I expand it.

I *DO* have 'View/Display Attachments Inline' enabled, and 'View/Message Body As...' set to 'Original HTML' as suggested in a reply to an archived question on the same subject.

Like this it is very confusing when trying to match the correct one of several images to a particular piece of text. I want to see them threaded in the correct places in the text, like they do in other email clients such as the one on my Android phone.

Incoming emails with In-Line Images are not displaying them in-line. The message body looks something like this: Blah, blah, blah... Here is a picture showing what I mean: ''Inline image'' And here are two more which show it in close up: ''Inline image'' ''Inline image'' Etc. Etc All of the images are then displayed, but they are in a row, below all of the text in the message body. The filenames of the images are also shown in the 'Attachment' pane at the bottom, if I expand it. I *DO* have 'View/Display Attachments Inline' enabled, and 'View/Message Body As...' set to 'Original HTML' as suggested in a reply to an archived question on the same subject. Like this it is very confusing when trying to match the correct one of several images to a particular piece of text. I want to see them threaded in the correct places in the text, like they do in other email clients such as the one on my Android phone.

Modified by Andy_P

All Replies (2)

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If you have 'Attachments' that are attached as image files eg: jpg and you have 'View/Display Attachments Inline' enabled, then you will see all the image attachments displayed inline and they will appear after the text because they are attachments.

The 'Inline' part of 'View/display Attachments Inline' does not mean show the images in various parts of the written content. It means those attachments can be viewed in the email content attached to the end of the email, so you do not have to open the attachments separately in a different program.

If the emails were actually included as part of the email content then they would be inline and not as attachments. You would not need to select 'display Attachments Inline' because they are not attachments.

However, if person sent the email as 'Plain Text' then plain text cannot display anything inline because plain text strips all formatting. So, the images would get shown as attachments.

It does not matter whether the person created the email using HTML - it depends upon what setting is selected for sending.

Even if you select View > Message Body as > Original HTML If it was only sent as Plain Text then ther is no HTML.

check the email: Select email so it is visible in the Message Pane. Click on 'More' and select 'View Source'

It will be a load of headers at the top, then the FRom, To, Subject and Date headers followed by:

  • Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
  • Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
  • Then the plain text message

If it was sent as html as well then you will also see something like this:

  • Content-Type: multipart/related;
  • boundary="------------2z0eRZxWSV06mdpT2R0f7ug0"
  • --------------2z0eRZxWSV06mdpT2R0f7ug0
  • Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
  • Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
  • Then the html head and body and text etc

At the end you will see the attachments eg: something like this:

  • --------------2z0eRZxWSV06mdpT2R0f7ug0
  • Content-Type: image/jpeg; name="name of file.jpg"
  • Content-Disposition: inline; filename="name of file.jpg"
  • Content-Id: <part1.NEd8cVcP.t2Cugn0V@domain-name.co.uk>
  • Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64

followed by a load of jumbly letters and numbers

Q: Do you see both plain text and html in the source of the email?

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Additional info :) If you have ever wondered where your various setting are located in Thunderbird:

  • In 'Account Settings' > 'Composition & Addressing' for any account
  • Composition
  • Select 'Compose m essages in HTML format'

This means you have chosen by default to compose using html formatting. So when clicking on 'Write' you would have the use of the 'Formatting Bar' offering various options.

You can always alter this by holding down 'Shift' key whilst clicking on 'Write' and then it will allow you to compose purely in Plain Text mode for that email.

In addition to however you choose to compose your email are the Sending options.

  • Settings > Composition
  • Under 'Sending Format' sub section
  • There are four options.
  • If you always compose using Plain Text , then use either 'Auotomatic' or 'Only Plain Text'
  • If you always compose using HTML, then preferably use 'Both HTML and 'Plain Text' but 'Automatic' should be ok.

If you always compose in HTML but for some reason are sending only in Plain Text then all formatting is striped and the recipient can only see the Plain Text even if they have the View > Message Body as > Original HTML because there is no html - it was stripped on sending. Maybe this is happening to that email you received. The recipient composed in html and then sent it in plain text. It will be interesting to see what you see in the 'View Source'.