Picture attachments to e-mails

[David1354]

If I am sending a number of pictures as attachments in an e-mail and include one in error how do I remove that attachment ?

 

[MacInWin]

Click on it, press Delete.

 

[lclev]

I wish I could tell you how. I googled, experimented and drove myself nuts this morning trying to remove an attachment from an email. We must be missing something here. I did send one email from one of my accounts to another and the remove attachments finally wasn't grayed out. When I selected the email with the attachments and clicked on remove attachments they all were removed. That was obviously not a solution - my idea being send it to myself, remove one of the attachments and resend.

I guess I never thought about it. Previously I used Outlook on my Windows computer which will list the attachments as files and deleting was as simple as selecting and pressing delete.

I will keep looking as this bugs me. Surely Apple was not so short sighted to not think of this.

Lisa

 

[lclev]

Click on it, press Delete.

I can't get it to work. Try putting several pictures/documents in an email then try the select delete. I can't get it to work for me.

Lisa

 

[MacInWin]

Lisa, Maybe I'm not understanding what the issue is. Simply selecting an attached picture and then tapping the Delete key makes it go away. Does that not work for you?

I'm talking about a message being composed to send. Once sent, you can't change it. Also, on received email messages you cannot delete attachments, only save them or import to Photos.

And to list attachments as files, simply click on them as you compose the message and then "View as icon" and they turn into file icons. In this case, it works on received images as well.

 

[MacInWin]

It works every time for me. One thing, I use the Classic layout (Mail/Preferences/Viewing, check the box). I don't know if that makes any difference.

EDIT: It does make a difference! I just tried it and in Classic you can delete images, but with the box unchecked you cannot. Wow! Bug? Design? Who knows?

 

[IWT]

Hi Jake, Lisa

I'm so glad there is a consensus because I cannot delete a photo from an email in composition either. I was testing this out in order to reply to the OP and had to give up.

One thing you said, Jake:

Also, on received email messages you cannot delete attachments

What you could do is have the email open, click on Message and the last on the Drop Down list is "Remove Attachments".

Quite useful if you have imported the photos or dealt with the attachment, (any kind), and want to keep the email message but dispose of its attachments.

Ian

 

[lclev]

I can not delete a photo in either mode either. Not sure why that would not be an option or why some can and others can not.

Lisa

 

[MacInWin]

Let's tackle it from another direction. How are you attaching the pictures? I use the paperclip icon at the top of the message menu. My pictures are in .jpg and .tif files, sometimes .pdf or even .png. But all of them attach and can be deleted. Are you using the "Photos browser" function? I'll go test that to see if it's different. BRB

 

[MacInWin]

OK, I did a quick test. I opened the "Photos browser" icon, it found my picture files that are in Photos, then I selected one and dragged it to the email window and dropped it. It showed up as in line. I then right clicked on it and selected "show as icon" and it did. Then I moved the cursor to just past the image and hit Delete (it deletes backwards) and it deleted the image. Clicking the image and Delete didn't work, but clicking to the Right of the image (putting the cursor past the image) and Delete did back up over the image and it disappeared.

I also tried with Classic view unchecked, i.e., what is now the "new" appearance. Created new message. Used paperclip to add image, showed up inline. Right-clicked the image, selected "View as icon" and then moved past the image and used the delete key. Gone. Used Photos browser, added an image, viewed as icon, moved past and Deleted over and it disappeared.

Am I the ONLY one for whom it works that way?

 

[pm-r]

Am I the ONLY one for whom it works that way?

Nope. Same here Jake, but I only ever use "Mail "Classic" view. Also now using Mavericks 10.9.5.

Even then getting the thin black selection line on an in-line attachments to show properly on the right side of the attachment could sure be better in order to use the delete key to remove any in-line attachment.





- Patrick
======

 

[IWT]

OK, I did a quick test. I opened the "Photos browser" icon, it found my picture files that are in Photos, then I selected one and dragged it to the email window and dropped it. It showed up as in line. I then right clicked on it and selected "show as icon" and it did. Then I moved the cursor to just past the image and hit Delete (it deletes backwards) and it deleted the image. Clicking the image and Delete didn't work, but clicking to the Right of the image (putting the cursor past the image) and Delete did back up over the image and it disappeared.

I also tried with Classic view unchecked, i.e., what is now the "new" appearance. Created new message. Used paperclip to add image, showed up inline. Right-clicked the image, selected "View as icon" and then moved past the image and used the delete key. Gone. Used Photos browser, added an image, viewed as icon, moved past and Deleted over and it disappeared.

Am I the ONLY one for whom it works that way?

Got it Jake! I didn't have to "show as icon" or make any adjustment at all.

Simply 1. imported photos via paperclip; 2. used the File > Share > Email option to get pictures into an Email; 3. also dragged and dropped photos from Desktop into Email.

To Delete, I did as you said, Click to the Right of each photo and hit backspace (no need for Cmd + backspace).

Well done Jake! But what an unintuitive way to delete something. Not clicking ON the object, but to the RIGHT of it. Never would have thought of that.

Ian

 

[badshoehabit]

Easy with Thunderbird...

 

[lclev]

Clicking to the right of the picture and hitting delete works for me too. I don't use the classic mode. I did import photos using the paperclip, photo icon, and also just by dragging them in out of finder. Your method of deleting worked with each import method. Not real intuitive but thanks Jake for figuring it out.

Lisa

 

[pm-r]

Your method of deleting worked with each import method. Not real intuitive but thanks Jake for figuring it out.

Odd, I'd never really noticed nor encountered the need to use such a method to remove any inline image in Mail email. To delete any such image I've always just clicked it to select it or them and then hit the keyboard's delete key. Poof gone.

What does seem a bit odd is there isn't any useable delete function shown in the Edit menu or right-click (control-click) options. I never noticed that before either. Mavericks 10.9.5.





- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

Patrick, the select/Delete/poof method worked, sort-of, in the Classic view, not the new view and not consistently in Classic, either. But going past the image and using the Delete key from there does the "backspace" over the image and it disappears in all modes. That's the real issue, the inconsistency of what seems intuitive. I usually go the easy way first, selection and Delete, but if that fails, I move to the right and Delete and it disappears every time.

 

[pm-r]

the inconsistency of what seems intuitive

Thanks Jake, and I don't know how users manage to use Mail efficiently in any other view other than Classic view, but to each their own. And unfortunately Apple even dropped some of the proper same-subject thread highlighting in all OS X versions after Mavericks.

Unfortunately, that inconsistency thing seems to have been infiltrating a lot of Apple's OS Human Interface Guidelines for some time recently now.

And I don't know if it's going to get worse or not:
Apple releases redesigned macOS Human Interface Guidelines
https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/05/apple-releases-redesigned-macos-human-interface-guidelines/





- Patrick
======

 

[lclev]

Is this an indicator that eventually we will need to have Siri do everything for us???? We humans will just become mild irritants to our devices? Imagine when they begin to talk to each other about their human interface.....

Lisa

 

[pm-r]

We humans will just become mild irritants to our devices? Imagine when they begin to talk to each other about their human interface…/QUOTE]


LOL!!! ;D Ain't that about the truth, and maybe the way some developer programmers would like things to work. And just send money…




- Patrick
======

 

[David1354]

Thanks for all your helpful comments and suggestions. if you attach to e-mail with paperclip tp send photos don't you have to export photos to pictures? I find it quicker to select from photos and click the top box with upward arrow to compose them in an e-mail. Find now with your suggestions that if I place my cursor in top left-hand corner of photo attachment to delete and press my middle far right button on keyboard( used for dropping cursor down -whats it called?) the attachment disappears.Great.