Emailing your Pictures

Windows Vista The simplest way to email a picture in Windows Vista is to locate the picture you want to send and right click on it. From the drop down menu, select send to and then mail recipient and a dialogue box will appear. Select the Medium option and then click Attach . and a new blank email will appear with a default message. Alter this if you prefer and add your own message as normal. Now enter the recipients email address and the subject and click send . The recipient will see your email with the picture shown as an attachment. The advantage of this method is that windows will automatically optimise the file size of the photo for sending and receiving by making it a smaller size. This means the email will be quicker to send and receive. If you wish to send several pictures at the same time, then select these by holding down the shift key , clicking on the required photos. Then right click and follow the above procedure. Windows XP As before, go the folder where the picture is stored and click on the photo you want to send. On the left hand pane under File and Folder Tasks click email this file . A dialogue box appears. Now click the option make all my pictures smaller and click ok . This will open a new email with the picture included as an attachment with a default message. If you do not see a task pane on the left hand side, click Tools - Folder Options and a dialogue box will appear. Click the option Show common tasks in folders to make it appear. You can alter this default message and add your own message if you wish. Enter the email address of the intended recipient and the subject and click on Send . Alternative Method The alternative procedure is to open a new email as normal and click Insert from the menu. For Vista, from the sub menu select pictures and then from file . Browse to the picture you want to send and click on it. Click on insert and the picture/s will appear in the body of the email. If you do not want your pictures shown in the main part of the email, proceed as for XP below. For XP, from the sub menu, select File Attachment . Browse to the picture you want to send and click on it. Click on Attach and the picture/s will be included as an attachment. The disadvantage of this method is that the picture size is not optimised for emailing and will be sent at its original size. This method is fine if you want to preserve the full image quality (maybe for your recipient to make a large print from) but otherwise, the previous methods are recommended to optimise the file sizes for viewing and for smaller prints. If you want to upload your picture files to the web or to put on your own website, then they too should be optimised first - but that s another story. I am a photographer and author who enjoys computing, and both digital and film photography. I like writing about computer and photography topics and passing on hints, tips and wrinkles to others based on my experiences. You may like to visit my web site at: picturememory.co.uk for an in depth look at the whole field of digital photography for helpful advice on getting the best results from your hobby to maximise your enjoyment of this fascinating subject.