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Issue
When you open an email in Microsoft Outlook that includes your practice logo in the email signature, the image does not download or display. Instead of the logo, a blank space or a message such as “Click here to download pictures” may appear.
The missing image may display as a “no image” icon, similar to the example below:
FYI inserts the Email Signature into the email, but Microsoft Outlook controls whether externally hosted images are downloaded and displayed. This behaviour is controlled by Outlook security settings, image hosting, email format, or network settings.
Cause
Microsoft Outlook is designed to protect users’ privacy and security by blocking the automatic download of external images in email messages by default. This can prevent images, such as a logo hosted on an external server, from displaying until the user explicitly allows them.
Common causes include:
- Outlook’s security settings blocking automatic image downloads unless the sender is trusted.
- The email being sent as plain text rather than HTML, which does not support inline images.
- The image URL being broken or the hosting server being inaccessible.
- Firewall, proxy, or network settings preventing Outlook from accessing external content.
Note: You may need your IT Administrator to update Outlook, firewall, proxy, or antivirus settings.
Solution
Outlook allows you to manually download pictures for individual messages. This is the quickest option when you only need to display the logo once.
- Open the email.
- Right-click the image placeholder or information bar at the top of the message.
- Select Download Pictures.
Outlook will display the images for that message when it is reopened.
Add the sender or sender’s domain to Outlook’s Safe Senders list if the logo should display automatically for future emails from the same address or domain.
- Open the message and click the Junk drop-down on the toolbar.
- Select Never Block Sender or Never Block Sender’s Domain.
This allows images from that address or domain to display automatically in future emails, subject to your Outlook and network settings.
Update Outlook’s Trust Center settings to allow picture downloads. We recommend referring to your IT Administrator before changing these settings.
Note: These steps are not available for New Outlook. Use the solution above to add the sender to your Safe Senders list.
- Open Outlook and select File > Options.
- Select Trust Center from the left-hand menu.
- Click Trust Center Settings….
- Choose Automatic Download.
- Clear the checkbox for Don’t download pictures automatically in HTML e-mail messages or RSS items.
- Click OK to save the changes.
For detailed Microsoft guidance, refer to Block or unblock automatic picture downloads in Outlook email messages.
Note: If you prefer to keep automatic downloads disabled for security, you can allow images only from trusted senders or domains by adding them to Outlook’s Safe Senders list.
If the logo still does not display, check that the image is hosted correctly and the email is sent as HTML. Contact your IT Administrator if necessary.
- Ensure the logo image is hosted on a publicly accessible server with a valid URL. Outlook must be able to access this image online.
- Confirm the email is sent as HTML rather than plain text. Plain text emails do not support embedded or linked images.
For more information about setting up Email Signatures in FYI, refer to Creating Email Signatures.
For more information about adding images using the FYI Editor, refer to Formatting and Fonts using the FYI Editor.
If you are on a corporate network, confirm with your IT Administrator that Outlook can access external image URLs. Firewalls, proxy settings, or antivirus software can sometimes prevent Outlook from downloading images from the internet.
If the image still does not display after completing these steps, check the image URL, hosting access, and Outlook security settings with your IT Administrator.