Outlook 2007 GIF images

[Luke R]

I was extremely surprised to discover that we can no longer view animated
gif's in emails in outlook 2007, which i think is absolutely stupid
especially considering you could in previous versions and the functionality
has been removed in the newer version.

So my question. I have been sent a .gif in an email, it doesnt animate, but
how can i save it to disk and open in in another app which WILL animate it?

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

File->Save As.

As for the removal - it is a security issue and I would hope that you would appreciate Microsoft removing one more vector for infecting your computer.

Guess not.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Luke R asked:

| I was extremely surprised to discover that we can no longer view
| animated gif's in emails in outlook 2007, which i think is absolutely
| stupid especially considering you could in previous versions and the
| functionality has been removed in the newer version.
|
| So my question. I have been sent a .gif in an email, it doesnt
| animate, but how can i save it to disk and open in in another app
| which WILL animate it?

 

[Luke R]

Thanks.

If Microsoft wants to implement all these security measures then that's
fine, but what annoys me is when there is no option to turn it off so that I
can have my pc work the way I want it to without these limitations. I don't
mind Microsoft implementing security measures but not at the expense of
usability.


"Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]"
File->Save As.

As for the removal - it is a security issue and I would hope that you would
appreciate Microsoft removing one more vector for infecting your computer.

Guess not.


--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Luke R asked:

| I was extremely surprised to discover that we can no longer view
| animated gif's in emails in outlook 2007, which i think is absolutely
| stupid especially considering you could in previous versions and the
| functionality has been removed in the newer version.
|
| So my question. I have been sent a .gif in an email, it doesnt
| animate, but how can i save it to disk and open in in another app
| which WILL animate it?

 

[Brian Tillman]

If Microsoft wants to implement all these security measures then
that's fine, but what annoys me is when there is no option to turn it
off so that I can have my pc work the way I want it to without these
limitations. I don't mind Microsoft implementing security measures
but not at the expense of usability.

So you'd rather see little pictures dance than save yourself from a virus
infection. Go figure.

 

[Luke R]

If i had ever had a virus on my pc because i was moronic enough to open
suspicous emails and run no anti virus software, then maybe i would be
inclined to agree with you. But i dont. A feature like that would be good
for a home user or someone with little pc knowledge, but for people who have
worked with computers for years and only open emails from trusted senders,
then its just an annoyance. It should have been an option that was turned on
by default but available to change.

How does one execute code from an image file anyway? If Microsoft was
allowing embedded code within an image file to be executed then wouldn't it
make sense to stop that from happening rather than just stopping people from
being able to exchange images?

Maybe getting a virus would be a blessing in disguise anyway. It would
prompt me to reinstall XP again so that I don't keep getting blue screens in
clickonce with vista.

 

[Brian Tillman]

How does one execute code from an image file anyway? If Microsoft was
allowing embedded code within an image file to be executed then
wouldn't it make sense to stop that from happening rather than just
stopping people from being able to exchange images?

Zip your images up and send that file. Microsoft in no way is stopping the
exchange of images. only the display of the animation from within Outlook.

Maybe getting a virus would be a blessing in disguise anyway. It would
prompt me to reinstall XP again so that I don't keep getting blue
screens in clickonce with vista.

What's stopping you, if that's what you'd prefer?

 

[Luke R]

Im sure there is a long way to do it. My point is why should we be forced to
do it the long way, when the convenient way has worked for so long now?

 

[F. H. Muffman]

Zip your images up and send that file. Microsoft in no way is stopping
the exchange of images. only the display of the animation from within
Outlook.

Heck, can't you still simply attach the file even without zipping it? It
isn't the sending of the file prohibited, it's the automatic viewing, I
thought.

 

[Dave Harry]

If there's a vulnerability in the GIF rendering engine, it's going to be no
less vulnerable than saving it to file and opening it with the other MS
viewer.

That's just silly, IMO.