Troubleshoot inserting objects

The type of object I want to embed doesn't appear in the Insert Object dialog box.

Outlook can't find the source program for the object you want to embed. You need to install the program and restart your computer before you can embed the object.

Embedded objects are lost when sending Internet e-mail.

To send and receive embedded objects when using the Internet e-mail service in Microsoft Outlook, both the sender and the recipient must use Microsoft Outlook Rich Text message format. If the recipient's e-mail program does not support Microsoft Outlook Rich Text message format, send the object as an attachment instead.

To ensure that you send the mail message as Rich Text, do one or both of the following:

Select Rich Text format as the global setting for messages

Use this global setting if you send e-mail almost exclusively to others who also use Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange Client.

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Compose in this message format list, click Rich Text.

Specify Rich Text format for individual contacts

  1. In Contacts, double-click the contact you want to open.
  2. Double-click the contact's e-mail address.
  3. In the Internet format list, click Send using Outlook Rich Text format.
  4. Click OK, and then click Save and Close.

I want the embedded object rather than an icon to appear in my item.

  1. Right-click the icon, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  2. Click the View tab, and then click Display as editable information.

I can't view or make changes to an object in my message.

If you received a message with a linked object in it, the file the linked object refers to could exist on a server that is temporarily unavailable or that you don't have permission to open. For information, contact your administrator.

The sender might not have provided the UNC address for the file the linked object refers to; for example, \\Data\Spreadsheets\File.xls. Request this information from the sender.

You might not have the source program necessary to view the object. If the source program is not set up, convert the object to the file format of a program you do have set up.

I want to insert part of a file, but Outlook inserts the whole file.

When you insert a linked object from a file into a Microsoft Outlook item, Outlook uses the entire file the linked object refers to. You can, however, insert part of a file as a linked object if the program the file was saved in supports linked objects.

Insert part of a file

  1. Copy the part you want to insert from the original file.
  2. In Outlook, click in the body of an item.
  3. On the item's Edit menu, click Paste Special.
  4. In the As list, click a format, and then click Paste link.

    If the program the file was saved in doesn't support linked objects, you can click Paste on the Edit menu to paste part of a file directly into an item, but you won't be able to maintain a link to the original file.

The Object or Paste Special command is not available when I try to insert an object.

To insert an object into a Microsoft Outlook item, you must be using the Rich Text message format. HTML and plain text message formats do not support object linking and embedding. Change the message format to Rich Text.

How?

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Mail Format tab.
  2. In the Compose in this message format list, select Rich Text.

When I double-click a linked object or embedded object, a "cannot edit" error message appears.

This message appears when the source file or source program can't be opened.