Adjust These Automatic Download Settings

By default, Outlook 2003 and 2007 automatic download settings block pictures in HTML messages, except under two conditions. This page shows you how to control these settings in either version of Outlook.

Junk e-mail (spam) often includes hidden images in HTML messages that are used to identify e-mail addresses where someone opens the junk message.

That's on top of the sometimes pornographic images that some spam messages contain. To protect against either of those things, Outlook defaults to not displaying pictures in HTML messages unless one of these conditions is true:

• the message sender and recipient are listed in the 'Safe Senders' and 'Safe Recipients' lists used by Outlook's junk e-mail filter


• the pictures come from a web site that is in the 'Trusted Zone' security zone

Without going into the details of junk e-mail filter lists and security zones, let's leave it that I strongly urge you to use the default settings. The rest of this page tells you how to check and set those settings for both Outlook 2003 and 2007.

Check and Set Automatic Picture Download Settings in Outlook 2003

1. In the Outlook main window, click Tools, then Options to open the Options dialog box.


2. Click the Security tab in the Options dialog box.


3. In the Download Pictures section of the dialog box, click Change Automatic Download Settings to open the Automatic Picture Download Settings dialog box.



Control Outlook 2003 automatic downloads with these settings.


4. Set all four of the checkboxes that appear in the dialog box. You must set the Don't download pictures or other content automatically in HTML e-mail option before the two "Permit downloads" options can be set.


5. Click OK twice to return to the main Outlook window.

Check and Set Automatic Picture Download Settings in Outlook 2007

1. In the Outlook main window, click Tools, then Trust Center to open the Trust Center.


2. In the left Trust Center pane, click Automatic download.





Control Outlook 2007 automatic downloads with these Trust Center settings.


3. Set all six of the checkboxes that appear in the dialog box. You must set the Don't download pictures automatically in HTML e-mail messages or RSS items option before the other options can be set.

Note: Some of the options here pertain to RSS items and SharePoint Discussion Boards and not to e-mail. Still the same risks apply to these types of items, and unless you have a strong reason not to, you should be as cautious with pictures in them as you are with pictures in e-mail messages.
4. Click OK once to return to the main Outlook window.

• Return to the top of this Automatic Download page.


• Go to the E-mail Tips page.


• Go to the Living With Outlook home page.