How to Insert a Picture into the Body of an Email in Outlook

Sometimes the picture is the message — a screenshot of the error, a photo of the damage, a chart from the report. Dropping it into the body of the email, where it's visible immediately, is clearer than attaching a file the reader has to open. Here's how to do it and how to stop Outlook turning it into an attachment anyway.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web:

1. Click in the body of the email where you want the picture.
2. Click Insert → Pictures (you may need ⋯ first), then This device.
3. Choose the image and click Open.

Classic Outlook:

1. Click in the body where the picture should go.
2. Click Insert → Pictures → This Device…
3. Choose the image and click Insert.

The picture appears at the cursor, in line with your text. If you had an attachment in mind, use Attach instead — that's the difference between inline and attached.

The fastest way to show someone what's on your screen:

1. Press Windows + Shift + S and drag over the area you want.
2. Click in the email body and press Ctrl + V.

The screenshot drops straight into the message. On a Mac, press Cmd + Shift + 4, then paste.

Dragging an image file from File Explorer into the body also works — drop it on the text, not the attachment area.

Click the picture and drag a corner handle to make it smaller while keeping the shape. Dragging a side handle squashes it. In classic Outlook, right-click → Size and Position lets you type an exact width.

Big photos from phones are often 4,000 pixels wide; shrink them to around 600 pixels so they fit the reading pane and don't bloat the email. In classic Outlook, File → Info → Resize large images when I send this message does this automatically.

Alt text describes the picture for people using screen readers, and shows if the image fails to load. Right-click the picture → Alt Text (classic) or Add alt text (new Outlook) and type a short description.

Classic Outlook: Insert → Pictures → Online Pictures searches the web. In new Outlook, copy the image from your browser and paste it. Be mindful of copyright for anything you didn't make yourself.

The picture shows as an attachment, not in the email. Two usual causes: the email is in Plain Text format, or your cursor was in the subject or attachment area. In classic Outlook, click Format Text → HTML, then click in the body and insert again.

The recipient sees a red X instead of my picture. Their email program blocked images. Nothing you can do except ask them to click Download pictures — or attach the file as well.

The email is huge. Inline pictures are still part of the email size. Resize before sending, or share large images as a OneDrive link.

Click in the body, Insert → Pictures (or paste a screenshot), drag a corner to shrink it, and send. If Outlook attaches it instead, check you're in HTML format and your cursor was in the message text.