mikemyersN8

Q: Using Mail app with jpg attachments

I have a two-month-old MacBook Pro running El Capitan.

 

It came with Apple's Mail app.

 

I need to be able to send original jpg (or jpeg) images as an attachment that can be opened by anyone on any computer, using any mail service.

 

I have tried everything I can think of, but when sending a 'jpg' image as an attachment, to either 'GMAIL' or a Windows device, the attachment becomes embedded which is useless to me.  I need to send an "attachment" just as I might send a data file, or a 'zip' file, or anything else - whatever the attachment is should make no difference.

 

I can't get this to work.

 

All the Apple technicians who have taken control of my laptop and tried it on their own have failed.

 

There are people at Apple who tell me this works fine - but not for me.  If the email shows up on GMAIL or another computer, and has the "paperclip" icon, things work properly.  If the paperclip icon is not there, I can only save a copy of the image.

 

 

As a test, I purchased and installed the "Airmail" app.  Works fine.  No problem with attachments.

Another option is to send the image as a compressed file.  That works.

Another option is to put the image into a folder, and attach the folder.  That seems to work.

I can get the image to my iPhone, and mail it from there - no problems.

 

Can anyone advise what I need to buy, or change, or do, to fix this?

 

(If there is no answer, what is the best professional email program to buy?)

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 13, 2016 12:26 PM

Close

Q: Using Mail app with jpg attachments

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by mikemyersN8,

    mikemyersN8 mikemyersN8 Sep 13, 2016 12:36 PM in response to mikemyersN8
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 13, 2016 12:36 PM in response to mikemyersN8

    I should add that most of the time I expect to be sending an original, full-size, jpg image to people using a Windows PC and Microsoft Outlook, and also to those using the Windows PC and GMAIL. 

     

    I can attach samples of what I see....

     

    This is my GMAIL folder - only the second email, with the paperclip at the right, can be saved from the attachment.

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-12 at 11.19.46 PM.png

     

    This is what I see when I open the email with the paperclip, allowing me to download it:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-12 at 11.20.41 PM.png

     

     

    ....and this is what I always get when I select any email without a paperclip icon, to try to save the image - I can only save a copy of the embedded image, and the computer will create a new file name for the image.  All the EXIF data will be lost...:

     

     

    Screen Shot 2016-09-12 at 11.21.34 PM.png

  • by Hawkaye,

    Hawkaye Hawkaye Sep 18, 2016 7:38 PM in response to mikemyersN8
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 18, 2016 7:38 PM in response to mikemyersN8

    Mike, in summary you can change attachment behaviour, but it's universal.

     

    If Mail is open, quit it. Open the Terminal (Applications → Utilities) Enter the following command:

    defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing -bool yes

    Once you restart Mail.app any email messages that you send or receive will display attachments as icons, not inline. If you later you decide you want to change your preference back to viewing attachments inline simply repeat the above command but change the “yes” at the end to “false” (without the quotes). Note that this method is universal. Meaning all attachments, including those that are simply graphics (such as in email signatures) will be sent as attachments -  so your messages may no longer have the desired appearance.

    This is referenced from: http://katiefloyd.com/blog/get-rid-of-inline-attachments-in-apple-mail-revisited

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Sep 18, 2016 11:03 PM in response to mikemyersN8
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Sep 18, 2016 11:03 PM in response to mikemyersN8

    Send Plain Text emails.

  • by mikemyersN8,

    mikemyersN8 mikemyersN8 Sep 19, 2016 7:19 AM in response to Hawkaye
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 19, 2016 7:19 AM in response to Hawkaye

    Hawkaye, I would like someone at Apple to try this out, before I start adjusting settings that I don't understand.

     

    The problem isn't changing the attached images to appear as an image or an icon - I can do that by selecting "windows friendly attachments".  The problem is to get the receiving system (in my case, GMAIL) to treat the image as an attachment, so I can click on "save as" and save the original image to my computer.  I found some other commands that I can try:

     

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------

     

    The Terminal command to enable in-line attachments (attachments appear as documents displayed in-line)

    defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing 0

     

    The Terminal command to disable in-line attachments (attachments appear as icons)

    defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing 1

     

    Quit Mail.app

    Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app

    Copy one of the boldface command strings above by triple-clicking that line.

    Paste it into Terminal

    Wait for the Terminal prompt to reappear

    Reopen Mail.app

     

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----

     

    Actually, I couldn't care less how the images appear, image, icon, whatever.  My goal is to get GMAIL to show the email with the paper clip indicating an attachment, which will allow me to save the attached file.

  • by mikemyersN8,

    mikemyersN8 mikemyersN8 Sep 19, 2016 7:21 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 19, 2016 7:21 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Terence, while I shouldn't have to do that, if it works I'm all set.  I will look for those settings now, and try it out.  You're right, if the email is going to be "plain text", the image can not be included in-line.   Very smart!!!!   Thanks!!!

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Sep 19, 2016 8:19 AM in response to mikemyersN8
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Sep 19, 2016 8:19 AM in response to mikemyersN8

    The issue is that there is very little standardisation in email. it has evolved enormously, but there is no central agreement for how things should work, except from the very earliest days - hence using plain text. The issues you refer to crop of from time to time between Mail and other apps on other OSes, and between other apps/OSes and mail. It's because there is no standardisation.

  • by mikemyersN8,

    mikemyersN8 mikemyersN8 Sep 19, 2016 9:09 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 19, 2016 9:09 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Update - I was wrong.  Plain text didn't work any better.  No paperclip.

     

    If I rename the attached file from 'image3.jpg' to 'image3.abc' everything works fine.

     

    The Mail.app software sees that the attachment is an image, so it messes things up.  It shouldn't do anything at all, just send an attached file along with the email.  I don't understand what is so difficult to understand????

     

    If Apple considered that there are serious professionals using the MacBook Pro, and not just consumers, they would fix this problem so everyone can use Mail.app  ....not just consumers.

     

    I am getting rather fed up with the whole process.  How something so simple and basic can be so messed up.....    the whole problem is with Mail.app   and as soon as I find something I like more, it's going to be history.  Even if I have to buy another copy of Microsoft Office!!!