All-New Image Viewer for All-New Yahoo! Mail
- Posted May 20th, 2008 at 8:27 am by Ryan
- Categories: All-New Mail, General, New Stuff, Screencasts, Tips & Tutorials
If you are an active emailer of images, you’ve probably already noticed this recent enhancement. But just in case you hadn’t (and because I was excited to test out a different screencasting tool) I wanted to give you all a demonstration of the all new image viewer we’ve incorporated into the All-New Yahoo! Mail.
Never before has it been so easy to get a quick look at images in your inbox! Hope you enjoy the video, and please feel free to make any suggestions for other features you would like demonstrated or explained.
Ryan Knight
Community Manager
Yahoo! Mail
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- 63 Comments
May 20th, 2008 at 8:40 am
What version of Yahoo Mail includes the picture preview?
I enjoy this blog and recall that the previous manager of the blog would occasionally post the current version number of YMail so we could check where we were as new versions were rolled out.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Also, this does not seem to work with pictures attached from picasa even though they are listed as attachments, the preview dialogue does not generate for images forwarded from picasa.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Looks like a great idea Ryan. Very well thought and executed.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:18 am
This is acutally a quite cool improvement, now I can see the pics without the need to totally download them, also I like the slide show feature!
May 20th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Yep, it really is a very welcome addition. I too am having problems with images sent from Picasa though. Any ideas?
May 20th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
It is nice that a lot of new features are being added. However a lot of since last week have been having trouble get the mail program to load at all.
Now the email program has been fixed and it loads we are still having problem with folders and inbox opening and with emails opening. I was told last friday that engineering was fixing the problem and would be fixed momentarily. It is now Tuesday while better it is far from fixed. Help!!!!!!!
May 20th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
really great feature, i will use it a lot. it makes looking at photos so much easier.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Yeah that’s great and all, but I’d be really happy if you would allow us to insert images rather than attach them when sending an email.
May 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Previously, when someone included pictures in an email there were full size images and thumbnails, but now, apparently due to this “upgrade,” there are only thumbnails, so to see a larger version of the picture you have to click on it, and to see the full size picture you have to download it, what a pain!
May 20th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
This is a downgrade, not an upgrade…besides 75% of the time IT DOES NOT WORK in my mail. Example, an email has 5 attached pictures, at best only 2 of the 5 thumbnails will display, even if I wait a minute or more for the mail to load.I have had like 100+ such emails). Moreover, numerous times recently, email will have only 1 (one) picture attached and the thumbnail will not display. All I see is a thumbnail “holder”. If this worked right, I guess I could live with this downgrade, but so far over the last few weeks it works worse than beta software.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
I think this is a great addition if it will work quickly.
What I would like to see is a way to open a tab in YMail to browse the web. That way you can see if you have a new e-mail, IM, etc. without having to keep switching between tabs.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
[…] Ryan has more details, including a screencast, if you’re interested. […]
May 20th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Great! Long overdue.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
drag and drop for adding images would be an improvement over the attaching of files that takes forever.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Hello Picasa users,
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It seems we have some confusion about the differences between attached images and inserted images. Don’t feel bad, I was confused at first too :).
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The image viewer works on attachments only (many email clients and services use a paperclip to represent). Any images that are embedded within the content are handled by your security preferences.
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They are part of the message content, not attachments.
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It looks like the Picasa emails you guys are referring to are inserting the images into the message body, and not as attachments.
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Ryan
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May 20th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Ryan, thought the photo viewer was an excellent idea. Really like these rolling improvements… makes me glad I paid the $AUS20 premium for Yahoo mail.
One thing that YM cannot do & the online help emails from Yahoo support staff don’t know how to get around this problem is - sending .MHT files as attachments.
These are whole webpages saved as a single file. New YM just keeps cycling through scanning for virus’s, non stop.
At the end of my tether with this one. Another bug for you but I did not know where to report it. Ryan, can you report this to whoever on my behalf.
Sorry about going off topic.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Thanks for the Picasa explanation Ryan.
So please can you tell us how we can change our security preferences so we can see photos inserted into the message body? I can’t find anywhere I can change this.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
BTW, my Picasa photos look like attachments. I still get the “Download all” option at the top of the email, and a paper clip next to the email in my inbox. Not sure if this contradicts what you said or not.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:06 am
I have noticed that there may be an issue with the new image viewer for users of the Firefox browser. Any photos I have received as attachments usually appear broken in the thumbnails. I have to download to view or log in using Internet Explorer. Any thoughts?
I do like the inclusion of the “Download All” option. Excellent feature. BIG time saver.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:27 am
An option to expand the attached images inline instead of slideshow for those who prefer it to be inlined (as it happened in the previous version) would be wonderful.
Slideshow, Download All features are a great addition.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:45 am
[…] Mail sigue actualizando funcionalidades y ha añadido una que permite ver en modo presentación las imágenes adjuntas en los mensajes de correo […]
May 21st, 2008 at 8:47 am
I’d love to use the new mail, but the Home tab just too annoying. When I click on Mail I want to see my inbox and not another version of my My Yahoo page. Is there any way to turn the Home tab off in options?
May 21st, 2008 at 8:53 am
@Stephen,
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Hopefully the fact that I didn’t explain it well the first time says more about how confusing this is than it does about me
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When images are inserted within the body of a message (sometimes called embedded or inline) the sender can either use code to point to a location on the web…or send the images along with the message. Technically the images are attached to the message, but are not what most email would classify as an “attachment”.
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Given that traditionally attached images are usually sent for viewing purposes, and there isn’t really any way to know which images embedded within a message are decoration (or samples, signatures, design elements, etc.) those images are treated differently.
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That’s where the preference I described comes in. For security purposes we block images from people you don’t know. You can adjust that within Mail Options > Spam > SpamGuard.
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You can choose to always show images for messages in your Inbox, show only from Contacts or certified senders (my favorite), or block all images.
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BTW, I’ve already shared this feedback with the appropriate groups, so see if we can’t make it clearer.
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Ryan
May 21st, 2008 at 8:53 am
I also would like to be able to insert pictures into emails.
I also would prefer to go back to the other way of viewing pictures, where they appeared full size and then had the thumbnail at the bottom.
When you think about how Incredimail offers both of those options for FREE (plus a whole lot more) but us paying Yahoo! customers don’t even have that it’s pretty sad. Give us paying customers some more perks. Feels like we just downgraded not upgraded.
May 21st, 2008 at 9:06 am
@Michael & Michelle,
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I’m not sure I completely understand (but I would like to) where your frustration with the thumbnails is coming from. If a user were to insert a large image within the message you see the full sized image (without the new image viewer), but depending on your connection could take time to load.
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If the same sender attached the image the conventional way you would get a faster opening of your message, and then could click the thumbnail to preview the full sized image before downloading.
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Ryan
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May 21st, 2008 at 10:40 am
Thanks for the detailed response Ryan.
I’ve tried to adjust my security settings as you’ve mentioned, and it’s not working. There must be more to the way Picasa attached pictures which is stopping them from displaying. It’s as if Yahoo Mail doesn’t recognise them as images.
Can you (or anyone else reading this) get Yahoo Mail to display Picasa-sent images in the email? They used to display fine until a few weeks ago.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:24 am
Hi again Stephen,
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I just tested a Picasa image email in my Yahoo! Mail and it worked fine. Depending on your settings the image should appear automatically, or there would be a link within the header of the email allowing you to show the images.
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If not can you take a screenshot of what you are seeing and send it to ymailblog1[at]yahoo.com.
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Ryan
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May 21st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Have sent a screenshot - thanks for taking a look.
My Picasa is set to send photos using Picasa Mail. That must be relevant, since I’ve just tried changing the settings to send via Gmail, and the photos are visible in the slideshow in Yahoo Mail.
Could be a problem with Picasa Mail rather than with Yahoo Mail from the sound of it.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I would love to find out more about this feature, but the video plays for about 1-2 seconds before it pauses for 20-30 seconds. I can only handle that for so long. I had the same problem with a previous video that was posted on this blog. I tried in both IE7 and Firefox. Very annoying.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Someone above mentioned that the broken/not displaying thumbnails was a FireFox issue. I will check this out again but I am sure that I was having the problem of some displaying and some not in both Firefox and IE. That said, if this is a Firefox only issue, I am surprised Yahoo would deploy a change that was broken in Firefox but worked only in IE.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I just went and read some of my Yahoo mail in IE and sure enough the same problem. Only about 50% of the thumbnails display, the other 50% show thumbnail holders only. So this is not just a Firefox issue.
BTW, I have been using Yahoo mail for the last few years because Gmail started doing this same thumbnail instead of full size picture thing long ago and I prefer the full sized attachments.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:40 pm
@Jay,
It could be your connection, even when you had DSL if you are downloading a lot of stuff at the same time (music, video) it might be dropping some of those requests.
Why dont you try it from a friend’s house? or another computer? That way you will know if it is your connection.
May 21st, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Ryan, the frustration with seeing a thumbnail instead of the full picture is exactly that…..I want to see the full picture not a thumbnail of it. Also if I send an email I want to be able to insert the picture where I want it & have it displayed in full view, not have it as a thumbnail or attachment that has to be viewed at the bottom of the email.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Hi Michelle,
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Thanks for the comment. I think I get what you are saying so I’ll try to address both. There is a trade-off with the viewer automatically providing thumbnails. By not loading full size versions of each attached image, something that can take a long time if the images are as large as many of the newer cameras default to taking, the message and the previews load MUCH quicker.
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In many cases you can load the full message, and click to open the image viewer for a single large image, before a message with multiple large images finishes loading.
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Like I said, that has to do with how fast your computer can download large images, and would be the same with any email client accessing images.
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Onto the the picture insertion. To my knowledge that wasn’t possible before the image viewer, but is a new feature you would like nonetheless.
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I’m compiling all feedback (positive and negative) about the image viewer, and will be going over all points with the product team, so your voice will be relayed.
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Thanks,
Ryan
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May 21st, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I am waiting for video player also like image viewer.This is a good feature in yahoo mail.
When video player will be there?
Thanks,
Deb
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:10 am
Great Great feature, many thanks.
All I miss is:
1. Gmail Conversation like view.
2. Bi-Di writing support.
Thanks.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 am
This looks great and all, but I haven’t been able to log into my e-mail in days. I’m getting an error that the address is redirecting in a way that can’t complete, so I can’t even log in to try out this new feature.
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 am
[…] All-New Image Viewer for All-New Yahoo! Mail. ← Anterior | Inicio Comparte esta anotación […]
May 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Thanks for the new photo attachment options - but, I have to ask “What happend to Yahoo’s Inline Photo capabilities?”
That was such a nice ability to have - being able to insert a photo into an email body and have it large enough to see properly. All of a sudden, it was gone from my mail options - hope it is able to come back! TY
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Plsssssssssssssssssssss
plsssssss, tell me why till now we cannot attach several files at once (using for example the Ctrl or Cmd buttons)
this would be so helpful and unique for Ymail.
Peace out
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:34 am
Hey, I’m still trying to get Y-Mail to recognize that I have win XP. I’ve been trying for over a year, but it always says my os can’t handle it. Nobody at Y! seems to be able to solve this problem (or they don’t care). I use FF2, WinXP sp2; you know, normal stuff. So I can’t get the cool stuff. Dang.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:44 am
Why don’t you just go back to the old PhotoMail? It worked very well & everyone liked it. Then you went to that Flikr thing & we were limited in our uploads unless we wanted to pay. As a result I cancelled my Mail Plus pay service and use a free program from H-P called snapfish for sharing unlimited photos.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:51 am
I have trouble with the all new mail loading about 4 out of 5 times. The new feature is great, but I can very seldom use it as I have to go back to the Classic version most of the time.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[…] Mailer: Ever downloaded photos from someone’s email and wish you hadn’t? The new image preview feature in Yahoo! Mail will help you avoid future said hassles. It helps make it easier for you to […]
May 24th, 2008 at 3:07 am
From the above comments, sounds like almost all of us hate the new “features” and wished mail worked the way it used to work (and it did work unlike it does now). To address my connection issue, I am on 6mb download Comcast cable, with a dual core processor and 3gb of RAM running Vista Premium. So the problem I am experiencing with 50% of the thumbnails NOT displaying ( both in Firefox and IE) is at Yahoo.
May 24th, 2008 at 11:33 am
the new image-viewer is awesome. i like how these mail attachments will now always fit inside my browser window.
thanks
jon
May 24th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
[…] Yahoo! Mail, agrega nuevo visor de imagenes [+] […]
May 26th, 2008 at 11:06 am
The viewer is great!
Like Wissam i’d als like to attach several files at once (they are uploading at the same time so…).
Grtz
May 27th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
i like the look of new y-mail.all features and stuff.the great thing is that i can upload all files in the same time.i received some nice videos and sweet songs from my contacts via e-mail and i could saw and listen then while surffing of reading my mail.i like the new skin and content so THANKS
May 27th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Here is a comment I received from the yahoo team when I wrote that my attachments are not showing up with thumbnails nor the view option. The only option I have is to download them one at a time or all. I understand from your video that it is as attachments not inline images that should display with thumbnails and the view option.
Hello,
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Mail.
Thanks for pointing out the problematic emails. The issue lies with the
way the emails are forwarded. The sender’s mail program forwarded the
images as attachments as opposed to inline. This is why the images are
showing as attachments and not displaying in the body of the email. I
hope this helps address your issue, and if you have any further
questions or concerns, please let us know.
Be sure to check the Official Yahoo! Mail Blog for more information and
the latest updates about Yahoo! Mail!
May 28th, 2008 at 6:36 am
I absolutly hate the new image viewer. It does not work as you say it should and the mail team doesn’t seem to know how to handle it. I just keep getting answers that are too technical or just don’t seem to pertain to the subject.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
This is for Ryan & Baxter,
Thanks so very much for showing everyone how to use the new attachmenet feature. Because of you & BAXTER , I decided to switch to the new Yahoo home page. I have had Yahoo for over 4 yrs.now and was so happy with the homepage I did not want to change, but after seeing you & Baxter and how easy downloading pictures were I was very happy.There is just one question, what has happened to the paste button from the compose box where you can copy & paste some thing for a draft or compose for an e-mail? It has been a safety thing of mine to cut,copy & paste only items I want to send from an e-mail I receive to elimate a page full of other peoples names & e-mail addresses. It was taken off and now I can no longer do this.I really liked the paste button being there so when I compose I can cut all the names from sent e-mails. Any help on this?? Thanks for the GREAT JOB you all do at Yahoo.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Hi Linda,
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Thanks for the feedback. We understand that based on the different ways a sender can choose to send an image to you, and what email service/client they use, a recipient can have different experiences with the image viewer. It looks like we need to circle up with customer care and help teams to get clearer information out there.
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The image viewer should only appear when the sender use the Attach File option within their email. Embedded or pasted images will not be handled the same way.
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If someone sends you a fancy HTML email with background images or banners, those wouldn’t make sense to place in a slideshow. However if someone sends you pictures as attachments, there’s a very good chance that a slideshow option would be helpful.
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Ryan
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August 27th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I like the slideshow feature, but previously Yahoo mail was showing all the attached images in full size one below the other (similar to embedded images) below the message content. I miss that very much ever since this slideshow upgrade and trying to find an option to revert back to that.
It would be great if an option could be added for switching between slideshow view and embedded view.
And from the comments over here, I think most people are referring to feature on how yahoo mail automatically created the embedded view of the attached images previously..
May 29th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Love the new feature. Keep up the good work.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm
[…] 2008 Cette petite amélioration au produit permet aux membres Yahoo! Courriel de visualiser les images envoyées d’une façon plus optimale et sans téléchargem