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Why is "View as Icon" not available in the right click window of mail 5.1 on my iMac

Hi,

I have several iMacs in my office with Lion and Mail 5.1. I have a user who wants to View attachments as Icons to ensure all are attached prior to sending.

Unlike all the other iMacs, hers does not have the option "View in Place" and "View as Icon" when she right-clicks on the attachment.

I have found in other posts that you cannot set a defaul to ensure Icons or View in Place will always occur, and that the default depends on the type and size of attachment. I am not sure of that logic, but she can't even choose on an individual email basis.

How can those options be enabled?

Thanks

JD

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Mar 25, 2012 6:32 AM

Reply
6 replies

Mar 25, 2012 7:13 AM in response to Jim Dysart

Please read this whole message before doing anything.


This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.


Step 1


The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.


Enable guest logins and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box.


While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.


Launch Mail while logged in as Guest and set up an account. Same problem(s)?


After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.


Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in Mac OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.


Step 2


The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.


Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:


  • Be sure your Mac is shut down.
  • Press the power button.
  • Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
  • Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).


Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.


The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.


Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?


After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.) Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Mar 26, 2012 7:36 PM in response to Jim Dysart

Back up all data, then boot from your recovery partition (command-R at startup) and reinstall the Mac OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac didn’t ship with Lion, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

Mar 25, 2013 5:13 PM in response to Jim Dysart

I also prefer to see the attachments as icons within the body of the email message. A mix of jpegs, pdfs etc can look pretty messy and hard to follow for the receiver of the email message. One day I could no longer right click and choose the option to view attachments as icons.


The following is working fine for me:


Using Terminal to set the preference- (Terminal is in Applications>Utilities).


Open Terminal and type: (copy and paste the entire line is easier)

defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing -bool yes



I didn't need to restart Mail, you may need to. Now the attachments are viewing only as icons.



To restore inline attachment viewing type:

defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing -bool false



and you’re back to normal.



Hope this helps . . .

Jul 12, 2013 6:11 PM in response to simondbowler

Hi SB;

I found this even more elegant solution. "Attachment Tamer " which truly is brilliant! Surely only a matter of time before Apple incorporates this seemingly flawless and obvious solution into their OS.


http://lokiware.info/Attachment-Tamer


I recently convinced a business associate to replace their tired and crashed HP Notebook with a shiny new MacBook Pro. Her world very much includes interacting with PC users and this issue of not being able to be sure that the PC user was going to get her attachments in a useable form (i.e more than just the icon), almost made her abandon the (superior) Apple machine. Or worse, "throw it out the window"! Fortunatly this elegant solution from Adam Nohejl saved the day and she's now hooked and happy :-)


Enjoy!


Cheers

GC

Why is "View as Icon" not available in the right click window of mail 5.1 on my iMac

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