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Maybe I am overlooking something, but everytime I try to insert HTML into my Thunderbird messages, it send them as attachments instead...For example, I want to send an email that displays an image....But I don't want to attach it to the message, I just want it to display the image...What am I doing wrong..? Or what do I need to do..?

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How do I either compose the message in RAW HTML mode and then send it, or make it so that it sends my HTML messages like I want them..?

This describes a similar situation to what you are encountering. Have you looked at and adjusted the settings they describe in this article? There may be a difference in the way Thunderbird handles "Insert->Image" vs "Attach Image".... I do not use thunderbird myself, so I can not be of much more help.


from Mozillazine Knowledgebase

Creating complex mails with inline images

Remote images

In an HTML-formatted message, you can send mail with a pointer to a picture rather than embedding the actual picture in the message. The advantage is that the message is much smaller. The disadvantage is that the picture is physically on another server; if the image is unavailable†™ ¢‚¬„¢¢‚¬Å¡‚¢†™‚¢‚¢¢¢‚¬Å¡‚¬¦‚¡¢‚¬Å¡‚¬†™‚¢‚¢¢¢¬…¡‚¬?now or in the future†™ ¢‚¬„¢¢‚¬Å¡‚¢†™‚¢‚¢¢¢‚¬Å¡‚¬¦‚¡¢‚¬Å¡‚¬†™‚¢‚¢¢¢¬…¡‚¬?your recipient will not see it. Some e-mail clients might also be configured to block remote images.

1. In the Compose window, select "Insert -> Image". The "Image Properties" dialog box will appear.
2. Fill in the "Image Location" field with the URI of the picture. You can type it in if you know it, or you can paste it in. For example, in Firefox, right-click on the image and choose "Copy Image Location". Then in Thunderbird right-click in the "Image Location" field to paste in the URI.
3. Put some words in the "Alternate text:" field. If you do not, Thunderbird will refuse to send the message.
4. Next, click on the "Advanced Edit" button. The "Advanced Property Editor" dialog will open.
5. In the "Attribute:" field at the bottom, type moz-do-not-send.
6. In the "Value:" field at the bottom, type true.
7. Press the "OK" button to exit the "Advanced Property Editor" dialog and then press "OK" again to exit the "Image Properties" dialog.

Images referred over CSS

If you create a new HTML-formatted message and use external URIs for images, Thunderbird will automatically download them and attach them as inline images. However, that does not work with images referred over CSS, meaning the absolute URI stays. The problem with this is that some mail clients (including Thunderbird itself) will provide the recipient with a security/privacy warning that external images will be excluded instead of displayed inline.

I am still digging and found this article describing how to edit the actual html of the message it specifically mentions a couple of extensions that are available.

and there is the about:config functionality is available using Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> General -> Config Editor

once editing the about:config parameters, you would want to change the settings of the key user_pref("mail.content_disposition_type", _X_ );

Of course this is all assuming you have already made sure that you are set to display inline images and this had not been disabled as part of a security hardening procedure. The "defaultsprefmailnews.js" file in your Thunderbird program installation directory contains most of the default settings. It uses a pref prefix rather than a user_pref prefix on any settings. For example, pref("mail.pop3_response_timeout", 45); . You should not edit that file. However, it's sometimes useful to view that file to find out what preferences exist and what their default values are.

And lastly I found these pointers:
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If you are unable to view images in messages you've received, try the following:



   * For images embedded in messages: make sure that the setting for "View -> Message Body As" is set to either "Original HTML" or "Simple HTML".



   * For images attached to messages: go to the "View" menu and make sure that "Display Attachments Inline" is checked.



   * For remote images: go to "Tools -> Options -> (Advanced if using 1.07 or below) -> Privacy -> General" and uncheck the box for "Block loading of remote images in mail messages." It is recommended that you keep this checked as your default setting, however, as spammers can use remote images to detect whether you've viewed messages they've sent to you.



   * If you are in offline mode, try changing to online mode: go to "File -> Offline" and make sure that "Work Offline" is not checked. Alternatively, you can click on the connection icon that appears on the Status Bar (normally at the bottom of the window). This is especially important for remote images.



   * Messages marked as Junk are normally "sanitized", meaning that they are displayed without any images or other HTML formatting. To change this behavior, go to "Tools -> Junk Mail Controls", click on the "Settings" tab, and uncheck the box for "When displaying HTML messages marked as Junk, sanitize the HTML".



   * If you are using Thunderbird with a proxy, it is possible that this is the source of the problem. Try adjusting your proxy settings and see if this helps. A few related forum threads are here, here, and here.



   * Messages composed/sent using a Word/Outlook combination may cause problems.



If none of that helps:



   * Verify that a firewall, proxy or ad filter didn't strip the image. Use File -> "Save Message As" to save the message as a HTML file with a .HTML file extension. Then double click on it in windows explorer and see if it displays the image.



   * If its a embedded image use View -> Message Source and find the headers for the MIME body part (the image). This will typically be after the message body and just before a big block of characters all run together (the base64 encoded image). Look for the Content-Type: header. Its used to tell Thunderbird what type of data it is so that it can pick the correct viewer. For example, a jpeg file would have Content-Type: image/jpeg;. If it has Content-Type: application/octet-stream; that means its generic 8-bit data so Thunderbird would ignore it. You'd have to either change the Content-Type: header or get whoever sent you the message to resend it using the correct headers.



Thunderbird only: For an easier way to toggle the settings for viewing messages as HTML/plain text or for blocking remote images, try the Buttons! extension. It gives you buttons that you can add to the toolbar to change these settings at a single click.

Thanks E, I'll try those out...

any report on the success or failure of this yet?

I am contemplating converting from outlook 2003 to thunderbird.....

I haven't gotten it to work yet, but that first post is what I'm trying to do, but when I send the message, it still is attaching it...But I'm going to keep looking, maybe its something else that I'm not doing...

are you sure the problem is not with the recipient? could be their mail software is set to prevent inline images and makes them attachments instead.

Got it to work E....

The instructions in that post must be dated, there is an option in the advanced edit however that you can check to do it...I am not sure how to clean HTML that way, but for single images, that works...I am thinking, however that there must be an extension for it...