Attachments Instead of Embedded Pictures using IOS 14 Mail

YALL: I was looking through here a few months ago to try and figure this out and I'VE DONE IT! (Okay, it wasn't me, it was the person I was looking for the answer for but I digress)

Once you attach the photo and it is "embedded".... tap on the photo itself, in the email, and you should get the option to "send as attachment". Select and voila! Problem solved. RIDICULOUS that Apple support doesnt know this.

Tonight (03/02/2021) via chat Apple Support have confirmed they removed this feature from the inbuilt "Mail" App but don't know why or when or If its going to be re-instated "not fixed as it working as they intended".

Even Apples own staff are saying its happening on there phone too.

I've just purchased a new iPhone SE - SW 14.4 (Jan 2021), i still have my old iPhone 6s - SW 14.2 . I re-set both phones and my old iPhone attaches photos as separate attachments where's my new iPhone SE embeds photos within the email.

Support say there is no paper or information released of when this was going to be removed at the time. i purchased this phone solely for email/photos use which now doesn't work as expected. I i had know this before i would of gone with Samsung rather Apple!

Apple, at least include both options and give the end user a choice to either attach or embed.... don't just remove something then expect to get continued support by customers purchasing your products.

Shaon94 wrote:

So the only solution you can find is to blame someone else for a change that APPLE made. Microsoft changed nothing Apple did.

Since the fundamental cause of all the issues y’all have been having, here, and in other, similar Discussions, is strictly due to the failure of a very tiny subset of email clients (a single email client and its derivatives, so far as anyone within this entire Community has been able to find), and since Apple has absolutely no control of any of this very tiny subset of email clients; Apple can do nothing to truly solve this issue.

As I’ve written before:

«Yes. There was some change in either the way Apple Mail defaults in the format used for authoring emails, or in choosing a newer version of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) used (or both), which, apparently, has triggered Outlook to change the way it renders (displays) an email.

However, that does not negate the fact that if Microsoft Outlook would allow you, the user, the right to perform bulk attachment operations, regardless of the way Outlook may choose to render (display) an email, this would have never been an issue.»

Any other attempts at a “solution”—short of correcting the fundamental causal issue—is but a fragile “workaround”: subject to being easily broken by any of the network of myriad interactions involved in email transfers.

Some history:

Back in the early ‘80s, all we had was plain-text (text/plain) emails, and attached files always had to be handled separately.

In those days, attached pictures, to an email, were more analogous to photographs enclosed within the same envelope as a typed or handwritten letter: the receiver had to, sort of, integrate them in their own mind.

Then, in the latter ‘80s, as we were having access to word processing—wherein we could integrate formatted text and images, at least, there was a push for similar capabilities within emails. After all, we now had that capability in “snail”-mail.

So, a number of rich-text formats came into being. The main one that is in most use, these days, is the one based upon the same HTML standard as webpages, text/html.

This used and still uses the same old email attachment methodology used in the early ‘80s, but references the attached files within the body-text of the email to integrate formatted text with images, and other multimedia files, in a manner like unto webpages, to provide a “word processed” email document.

So. The intended purpose of email continues to be facilitating human-to-human electronic communications.

Any attachment (or otherwise) of pictures, or other files, is strictly to facilitate that purpose: in this case, in a manner like unto word processing.

Hence, the attachment of pictures/images/etc. is incidental to the fundamental purpose—not, in any way, «fundamental», in and of itself.

Hence, using email as a means of transferring pictures, and other files, is, fundamentally, «some divergent purpose», compared to the fundamental purpose of email.

However, fortunately for y’all, there does not appear to be a “push” to replace the old attachment mechanism for images/pictures/etc., within the International Internet Standards that govern emails.

So, there is no excuse—at this time—for any email clients to prevent their users from performing bulk attachment operations (such as bulk-saves), upon their received emails, regardless how any given email client may choose to format (render) said emails.

Unfortunately, what has hit you, and all other afflicted parties, here, and in other, similar Discussions, is a tiny subset of email clients (only a single email client and its derivatives, so far as anyone within this entire Community has been able to find) that violates the aforementioned principle.

Furthermore, since none of that tiny subset of email clients is within Apple’s control, Apple has no way of correcting the actual problem.

ds-0125 wrote:

having same issue. Looking for solution.

Don't think anyone cares WHO made the change. We just want to find a fix!!

I agree.

Unfortunately, it’s not about a “change”, so much as it is a misbehavior that is only found within a very tiny subset of email clients (in fact, so far as anyone, here, has been able to determine, it only pertains to a single email client and its derivatives).

Since Apple owns none of those misbehaving email clients, there’s simply nothing that Apple can “fix”.

Apple is adhering to International Internet Standards, with regard to email creation and transfer. There’s nothing better that they can do.

The thing is, NatsudRovert, that there is no such thing as «embedded» pictures, or other files, in emails—by the very International Internet Standards governing email creation and transmission—the very standards Apple (and most everyone else) is following.

The only difference is the formatting of the created email:

• if formatted as plain-text (text/plain), since there is no formatting possible, the pictures and other files can only display as a list of files;
• if formatted as rich-text (such as text/html), the pictures and other files may be displayed inline with formatted text, just like with webpages.

Since, either way, the pictures, and other files, are included as attachments—according to the International Internet Standards governing email creation and transmission, and as verifiably followed by Apple Mail—there is simply no excuse for any email client not to allow users to perform bulk attachment operations (such as bulk-saves) upon any received email.

In fact, investigations have show that all but a very tiny subset of email clients (consisting of only a single email client, and its derivatives, so far as any investigations have found, so far) properly provide their users with such capabilities, regardless how the received email may appear!

Since Apple owns none of these misbehaving email clients, Apple has nothing that they can “fix”.

The only actual fix must come from the manufacturer of that very tiny subset of misbehaving email clients.

All anyone else can do are workarounds, for those misbehaving email clients.

(It is unfortunate that the “techs” you spoke to were so ignorant of what actually goes on with emails. [That assumes, of course, that your portrayal is not “colored” by your own misunderstandings.])

I have a work around. It's not good, but it's better than Outlook for IOS. You can send a text message to an email account. Select the photos like you normally would but use the text app instead of the mail app. If it's only a couple of photos, you'll get the email with the photos as attachments. If it's a lot of photos, it'll upload the photos to ICloud and you'll get the email link to be able to download them. The download is a zip file with all of the photos. It's not perfect, but it works.

The first time I tried this, my work mail server blocked the messages from coming in. They were flag as potential spam. I was able to get my address listed as trusted. the second test came through in no time. All of the text messages you send to an email account will be from the email address "your phone number"@"your carriers id".com.

I hope this helps. If not, we'll need someone to create a bot to submit feedback on this at an annoying rate.

Do whatever you wish, cubsfanbudman. It”s no “skin” off my “nose”, or the “nose” of anyone else, here.

However, it may be to your benefit to see my comment to Shaon94, at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251811052?answerId=254383008022#254383008022 .

Have you noticed how nobody else agrees with you that Apple making a change that screws up the way messages are sent and received is Microsoft's fault?

We must all be pretty stupid not to recognize that all problems with Apple's fourth-rate email client are Microsoft's fault.

Share more of your wisdom, please.

Actually, DCP1234, all people that have actually studied this issue agree with me, since I agree with all of them.

Unfortunately, they have all become sick-n-tired of the perpetual complaining and misdirection of blame due to so much misunderstanding.

I remain as the sole stalwart trying to “fight the tide of ignorance”.

(Have you not noticed that I’m the only one here with a level past 2? Actually past 1, with the exception of léonie, who is at level 10, but didn’t even address the actual issue, this time. On another version of this Discussion, one of the others that helped us all see the root cause, actually recommended that I give up on y’all.)

Let’s not over complicate simple things.

Apple made billions of dollars last year and the year before and the year before that... If that’s the case I don’t know why haven’t developed their own app to invests in their own company so customers get a better product.

NatsudRovert wrote:

Let’s not over complicate simple things.

Apple made billions of dollars last year and the year before and the year before that... If that’s the case I don’t know why haven’t developed their own app to invests in their own company so customers get a better product.

Apple has developed many of their own Apps. So, I don’t know what that is about.

Additionally, Apple is their own company, and they are dedicated to helping «customers get a better product.» So, again, I don’t know what that is about, either.

Since Apple doesn’t own any of that tiny subset of email clients that prevent their users from performing bulk attachment operations (such as bulk-saves), there is simply nothing Apple can do about that tiny subset of email clients with this failing.

Apple’s not going to prevent users from using such poor software, if the users want to.

On the other hand, the users of such poor software can make a difference by insisting that such software be corrected, by its manufacturer. (Hint: that’s not Apple.)

See, for example, the post https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251839875?answerId=253924826022#253924826022, and the Discussion that user linked to. (Within the Discussion that user linked to, you’ll be able to find the post of the user that recommended I give up on y’all.)

I’m far from being alone in my assessment of the actual situation, DCP1234.

Yeah. I could list dozens of glaring flaws in Apple's "Mail" email client and I could also read your links, but I have more interesting thinks to do than debate whether it's a good thing for my iPhone to prevent me from replying to a message without altering it's formatting in a way that's a pain in the as for the people I'm corresponding with. I'm sure you can explain to me why Apple's crap don't stink and all frustrations of working with its email client are someone else's fault, but I don't need to. It's client is unpleasant to work with. Therefore it is bad software.

And I hadn't even mentioned working with people who let their iPhones alter PDF attachments so they can't be opened when forwarding (yes those people have a setting they should correct, but again Apple's email client is obstructing effective communication. No bueno.

It's remarkable that you know I'm wrong about the defects I'm talking about without me even telling you what they are. It's almost like you know that any criticism of any Apple product or service is wrong without even needing to know what the criticism is.

You must be extremely clever.