Email photo as attachment, not embedded, in iOS 14

As many members have reminded us, Apple don't see this Forum. We have alrrady had three updates from iOS14 so I think we can safely assume Apple has no intention of changing anything. They would see it as a retrograde step.

Mystified-OZ:

Are you still confusing the way any given email client may choose to render (display) a received email, vs the way that all associated files (photos, images, music, audio, etc.) are attached to the associated email?

Such is completely independent of how any given email client may choose to render (display) a received email, and has not changed, and is highly unlikely to change in the foreseeable future!

The only problem, then, is in the way a small subset of email clients (with Microsoft Outlook being the only known member, so far) disallow you, the user, to perform bulk attachment operations, such as saving, merely due to how said email client has chosen to render (display) received emails.

No, it is not a problem for iPhone users. It is a problem for Outlook users. You need to get Microsoft to fix it.

The “fix” for Apple would be to revert to an obsolete standard that no one except Microsoft expects. It’s not going to happen.

This is what Lawrence Finch and I have been telling y’all for quite some time, Mar-10:

«Regardless how any given email client may choose to render (display) your received email, all files associated with your email are attachments! Pure and simple.

This is a very old part of the email Internet standards, and is highly unlikely to be changed in the future!

Additionally, as has been well demonstrated—including by way of workarounds—the problem is strictly in any email clients (Microsoft Outlook is the only one that has been demonstrated to have the issue, as far as I know) that refuse to allow you, the user, to perform bulk attachment operations simply because of how the email client has chosen to render (display) your received email.

Sure. There was a change in either the default way Apple Mail formats authored emails, or in the implementation of a newer version of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Internet standard used to transfer email from Apple Mail to your chosen SMTP email server (going to a Microsoft Exchange email server seems to be the only troublesome link, here), or both; that seems to have triggered the issue that already existed in Microsoft Outlook. (Emphasis added)

Yes. Y’all are encouraged to send Feedback to Apple, via their Feedback webpages.

However, there is simply no guarantee that changing the default authoring format, in Apple Mail, will actually solve the issue.

It might, but no guarantee!

(As for Apple changing the implementation of a newer version of the SMTP Internet standard, I highly doubt that Apple will back-out of such a change, simply because Microsoft hasn’t made the transition, yet.)»

Just because a change that Apple made triggered a preexisting issue within some third party software, does not imply Apple’s change was illegitimate. In fact, it is quite likely that Apple’s change is more in compliance with current Internet standards than Microsoft’s well known penchant for “dragging their feet” on Internet standards compliance.

What you will get, Mystified-OZ, are the actual files on your device.

If your original images are JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg), then so will be the sent files.

However, the default file type for pictures you take on your iPhone are an even more compact file type.

If you want the pictures you take, on your iPhone to be JPEG, then you’ll need to change the default of your Camera to Most Compatible, rather than High Efficiency.

Be aware, however, that JPEG photos will use more of your iPhone’s internal storage.

In terms of the format for pictures you take on your iPhone, Mystified-OZ, this is quite a separate issue to the topic of this entire discussion.

This is probably another change between iOS 13 vs. iOS 14, but is a completely separate issue, even though it affects your particular use-case.

Others have, likewise, found either ways to update their Windows software to handle the new, more up-to-date and more compact format; or have changed the file format used on their devices.

Simply another example of the unending “march” of technological advancement.

What version of iOS were you using, MWoodleaf?

In versions of iOS prior to iOS 14, making sure the email signature had no formatting (no HTML), so it was plain-text, was a “solution”: it allowed the email to default to plain-text.

Of course, regardless of the formatting of the email, photos (and other files) are always attachments. They can be nothing else!

It’s only a tiny subset of email clients (Microsoft Outlook seems to be the only one known, at this time) that change what they will allow the user to do with the attached photos (files) based solely upon how said email client chooses to render (display) such received emails!

Scamp468:

See https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251807601?answerId=254039196022#254039196022 and https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251807601?answerId=254041751022#254041751022.

Both above, here.

I'm having the same issue, but only on my iPhone 7 and not on my iPhone X. I talked to apple support and they said that the functionality has been removed from older phones (why?). I have connected with them again asking whether the iPhone SE has or does not have the functionality and so far they havent been able to answer for some reason.

They also just informed me that the functionality should have been removed from all iPhones and that my iPhone X still having it is a bug.

The Apple Mail App still, and has always, attaches attachments to emails, ahungryhungarian.

That has never changed, because the attachment feature of files to emails is a very old part of the Internet standards, for email, and is unlikely to change in the forceable future.

Microsoft Outlook seems to be the only email client that confuses appearance with functionality/reality/actuality, based solely upon how the email client (Outlook) chooses to render/display a received email, the way some users seem to confuse appearance with functionality/reality/actuality.

What ever you think this issue is from I firmly believe it is caused by iOs 14 for the following reason:

Like I said I use this to send photo at work mostly. I have a personnal hotmail (now outlook) account and we also have a telus exchange email server for our work email adress. The issue appears with both adress no mather where I acces them (through outlook, outlook website or telus website).

Secondly we all use iPhone at work ranging from old iPhone 6 up to iPhone 12. I have an 11 pro. Everyone who updayed to iOs 14 have the same issue. All the other who are still on iOs 13 are fine. My manager told me about the signature issue since he experienced it in the past. I told him I tried it and that was not my issue. Now that he updated too he has the issue. He’s using an iPhone 8. So you are telling me that around 30-40 people using apple product at work are now understanding a simple issue? Something changeg but I don’t know what.

by the way I reported the issue to the bug reporter.

It doesn't matter which email client is in use. Apple is embedding. Period. And they should give you the option to embed or not rather than adopt the cavalier attitude that everyone will learn how to operate the new Apple way. This is arrogant, plain and simple. It's also shoddy coding.

RichardTS wrote:

… BTW embedding is NOT the same as attaching.

Actually, they are the same, fundamentally. They only appear different, due to the way they are rendered (displayed).

This is why the distinction between appearances vs. functionality is so vitally important.

I have yet to find a single person, for whom the entirety of the issue is appearance.

It always “boils down” to functionality.

It’s just that people have been “conditioned” by the way a certain email client changes its functionality based only upon the way it chooses to display (render) your received emails.

Just think about what you are saying. You basically saying “you don’t need two ways because we figured it all out for you. You just need to shut up and get with the program”.

In addition to the “conditioned” response to appearances, that a certain email client has instilled in so many, there are further aspects to be considered:

1. The old plain-text (text/plain) email authoring format was going “extinct” even back in the ‘90s.
2. By the Internet email standards, all files (pictures, images, PDFs, music, movies, etc.) are attached to emails. This has been true since email attachments were first standardized, and is unlikely to change, in the foreseeable future.
3. Since all files are sent as attachments, there is no excuse for any email client to disallow bulk attachment operations (such as bulk-saves), based only upon how said email client chooses to render (display) any given received email.
4. So long as there is an email client that violates 3, above, trying to get that email client to “do the right thing”™️, by way of any other email client, is doomed to be extremely fragile: subject to being easily broken by any tiny changes in the web of interactions in the process of transferring emails.
5. (One most do not seem to want to consider.) Using email as a tool for transferring (potentially large numbers of) pictures from a remote camera (such as your phone) to a remote computer (including other phones) is a case of trying to use a tool that was not created for your intended purpose: This, inevitably, leads to conflicts between your use case vs. the (consensus) purpose of the tool y’all are using: for email, the (consensus) purpose of the tool is human-to-human communication, where files, such as photos, are simply a part of said human-to-human communication. As a result, email formats that incorporate files, such as pictures, inline with the rest of the email document—the way word processing documents, and webpages do—is the norm, far from the exception.

Such are the realities, whether y’all wish to admit such, or not.

I’m sorry I’m the bearer of such unwanted news.

RussTuff wrote:

…

Whats more.... it;s so much easier to do things with the picture when it's attached.

Actually, as I have been repeatedly pointing out:

«Since all files are sent as attachments, there is no excuse for any email client to disallow bulk attachment operations (such as bulk-saves), based only upon how said email client chooses to render (display) any given received email.»

If you are seeing this misbehavior, within any email client, then it is that email client that needs to change.

Miguel2533 wrote:

This is so annoying, I use my Iphone for work purposes a lot to send picture and can't send it as an attachment because apple is

embedding pictures

🤦🏻‍♂️

The pictures are attached to the email, regardless how the email may be rendered (displayed).

Appearances are not the reality, especially in this case.

Hence, there is no excuse for email clients that refuse to allow users to perform bulk attachment operations (such as bulk-saves) based only upon how said email client may choose to display (render) your received emails.

So, if you have an email client that changes what it will allow you to do based purely upon how it chooses to render (display) your received emails; you may know, with certainty, that the problem is not in the appearance, but in the email client.