How can I get images to not resize AT ALL when inserted into emails (Outlook2010)

[pauland]

my laptop has a bigger problem as it is running at Full HD on a 13" screen. The text is horribly small but I dont dare run it at higher than 125% DPI.

Not that this has any relevance to the problem, I altered the WiFi in our house today and changed the settings on my Son's laptop. I checked the resolution on his screen - it's full HD 1920x1050 and really nice. The text is small but very readable. So the difference between a 13" and 15" screen is going to be a big factor in readability.

[shiphen]

to work in a particular way... and I am sure they probably expected those who needed to send precise images to attached them, zipped if necessary, it's what most of us would do I think

as Paul said there are other email programs

Yes attachment are a cleaner way of sending someone some graphics - but only sending a graphic is the main purpose of an email.

However for normal every day communication attachments are a diabolical way of communicating with someone as it means
a) and extra click from the
b) waiting for whatever that application is to open up

Awful.

If you include Apple about 10 to 15% of all email users still use Outlook/Outlook.com. However Xara is Windows not Apple software and so I imagine that a majority of users here will be using Windows not Apple as their base machine. So if we remove mobile and remove apple, that probably leaves I would guess about 20-30%, call it a quarter of all users on TalkGraphics using Outlook.

Unfortunately I cant find any metrics anywhere describing what percentage of users have changed their DPI - the whole subject appears to be total MESS - but surely most people where like higher resolution screens so surely SOME of you have changed your DPI *and* use Outlook.

Come on - own up!

In any case as I said above, other email programs are not an option for me due to constraints at work. And even it they were, I now have about 15 GB of old emails that I'll need to dip into regularly for some time to come yet, which would become painful to move in and out of if I suddenly were to use a new email client. Perfectly possible, yes but a pain - when my only real problem is something as STUPID as Outlook re-sizing images without permission.

PS Yes I have been trying other forums.

[handrawn]

is this any help?

Don’t resize embedded pictures based on window width

[shiphen]

is this any help?

Don’t resize embedded pictures based on window width

Not really

At the bottom of the page it says:
Note: Another common cause for screenshots to become smaller is when you are using screen setting with a dpi value which is higher than the default 96dpi (to make text appear larger on your screen). To overcome this see; Images resize and become unsharp upon sending and then links to here:

http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/unsharpimages.htm

On that page it suggested that I use IrfanView to change the DPI of the file itself. I tried this but it didnt help. In fact I tried JPG files with both 96DPI and 120DPI. But both time my images got make larger by Outlook(2003).

Right at the bottom of the second page it says:
Note: Another common cause for screenshots to become smaller is when you are using screen setting with a dpi value which is higher than the default 96dpi (to make text appear larger on your screen). To overcome this see; Images resize and become unsharp upon sending
And then links to here:
http://www.howto-outlook.com/faq/unsharpimages.htm

However non of the option there work either.


P.S. What very NEARLY works is to make the image SMALLER before sending it, which very nearly cancels out the fact that Outlook make my image 125% large at the time of sending IRRESPECTIVE of their DPI setting. However the correct multiple of pixels simply isn't available.

Yes, I can sent my emails from say Gmail, and yes the embedded images that they contain are perfectly sized. I don't want my clients replying to my personal email address! And worse if I *forward* the html that contains the image... guess what - ALL the images - including the GIF images are now 25% larger than they should be

But how utterly, utterly useless is this entire situation!!

I have now run the full gamut of emotions: From Frustration, to Anger, to wanting to kills someone at Microsoft, to despair, to genuine shock that Microsoft could be quite so utterly terrible, to finally thinking maybe I should sell my Windows machines give up and go Apple, back to indignant rage and fury.

Looking closely at the HTML that microsoft emails contain, (i.e. heaving with garbage unwanted, unhelpful code) and comparing it to say gmail code, it's clear that Microsoft have gone a long, long way down the wrong route. Microsoft seem to be rotten at the core. This is catastrophic news if true. And makes Xara itself into a deprecated dinosaur.

Really and truly it doesnt look good for Microsoft. In truth, if that's how poorly Microsoft writes its email applications, after DECADES to get it right, then surely we should all abandon Microsoft and therefore Windows itself. But go where? Surely not into the hateful hands of the all-conquering over-priced, dumbed-down, glossy, marketing machine that is Apple. And surely not the techie/geeky world of Linux?

But you know what? When all is said and done... now that I have calmed down... I still want to kill someone at Microsoft.

Truly.

[handrawn]

I can see making the image smaller being a problem if you work at 120% because the ratio of 100:120 is not helpful [100 is 83.333333...% of 120] 125% might be better [100 is 80% of 125]

If outlook is making them bigger regardless you may have to make them smaller still and keep those ratios whole number percentages

I still think it's a wrapping issue, but I haven't used outlook myself for years...

I rather like Microsoft, they empowered a lot of office work back in the day just as Apple did for graphics and, by and large, their products do what they were designed to - no worse than the competition

sorry it didn't help...

[shiphen]

handrawn - thank you so much for your attempt to help.

To recap, here's the current situation.

1. I have now (through work) upgraded from Outlook2003 to Outlook2010. But the exact same problem remains. [NIGHTMARE.]

2. my Windows text size DPI is set to "125%"
which it calls "Medium" and
which is "9 point Segoe UI at 120 Pixels per inch"
This allows me to:
a) Use readily view Xara at "1 pixel per pixel" by setting using the scroll wheel to zoom to 80%
b) Have text in my Window application at a half-comfortable viewing size

NEW TESTS
I have now re-run various experiments.
I have created a GIF of 351 x 80 pixels in size, with a series of vertical stripes which are exactly 1 pixel wide.
And I have created a JPG of exactly the same thing (at 100% quality).

I want the email that results contain embedded images that are 351 x 80 pixels, and have un-blurred vertical lines.

[ Btw, as you see I have set "Wrap text" in Outlook to "Top and bottom" in almost all instances. The only visible effect of this seems to be to cause the images to become indented by exactly 2 pixels. ]

Here is a shot of the email that is received in Gmail, with Chrome at a 100% zoom (and MSIE at 100% zoom renders in exactly the same way).

What happens is:

See "1." and "2."
The GIFs arrive at 100% of the correct image size: i.e. 351 x 80 pixels.
(And so have nice clean vertical lines on the images).

However, all the JPGs are a nightmare.

"3."
If I do nothing to the JPG it arrives at 439 x 101 pixels

"4."
Wrap text setting has not effect

"5."
80% size before being sent, creates an image 1 pixel too wide 352 instead of 351 pixels in Chrome and almost every pixel of the image is blurred as a result.

"6."
79% size before being sent creates an image of 346 pixels wide instead of 351, i.e. it is a full 5 pixels too small.

J

[pauland]

Here's a radical idea.

Before you send your message with the artwork, change your DPI setting to 100%.
Send Artwork.
Return DPI to whatever suits.

[shiphen]

OMG that's *deeply* unhelpful! The TalkGraphics forum software seems to have converted my nice clean GIF screenshot into a JPG which is a blurry MESS! I have no idea why, particularly as it managed to upload the test GIF and keep it staying as a GIF. I've tried twice, but same result.

OK here is a direct link to the screenshot, still as a GIF. Please use this instead.
http://www.traighgolf.co.uk/images/R...l_n_chrome.gif

Many thanks

J

[pauland]

Shiphen, I think we got the idea.

It's getting a bit repetitive.

Post #37 should solve your issue.

[shiphen]

Pauland

"DPI setting to 100%" -

Yes, yes - you're not telling me anything new. Of course that would work.

But you need to LOG OFF in order to change the DPI (!) and I send on average about 3 or 4 emails per day that including inserted images. Not helpful.