While it is easy to send such a picture file as a photo attachment it is important to take a couple of precautions before doing so.

1. First you should make sure that the picture file is either a .jpg or a .gif file. The reason for this is that most e-mail is displayed as a web page and these kinds of picture files will display directly on web pages. In other words, if you send either a .jpg or a .gif file as an attachment to an e-mail message, the picture will automatically display beneath the text of your message. If the file is not one of these then the person receiving the message with the attachment will have to use some program on their computer (such as a graphic package) to open and view the picture.

2. Second, you should make sure that the picture displays with a width that is not greater than about 400 to 500 pixels. (The width of most people's computer screen is 800 pixels.) Otherwise the person trying to view the picture will have to use the horizontal scroll bar to see the different part of the picture.

The first can be assured by specifying to your scanner that the picture is to be saved as a .jpg or .gif file if you are obtaining the picture file by scanning an ordinary paper photograph. If you are using a digital camera that does not save pictures as .jpg pictures you will have to use a graphics package to convert the picture file to .jpg.

The second can be assured by using a graphics package to determine the width of the picture in the picture file and if it is too large to change it to be a smaller size.

Most people have a graphics package (such as Adobe Photoshop) installed on their computer. If not one can use the Graphics Workshop Professional package. It can be downloaded and used as described in the online course at Graphics Workshop.

When one has a proper picture file to send it is done as follows:

1. Type your e-mail message as usual making sure that it is addressed correctly, has an appropriate Subject Line, and mentions that a picture is attached. You may also wish to include some description of the picture.

2. Click on the paper clip icon labelled Attach in the menu bar at the top of the new message window (the one you just typed the message in). The Insert Attachment window will appear. Browse to find the folder that contains the picture file that you wish to attach and select the picture file by clicking on it. Click on the Attach button. The name of the file should appear in the Attach: text box to indicate that the picture file will be sent along with the message.

3. Check that your message is correct and that the file name in the Attach: box is correct and click on the Send button.

Note that if the file name in the Attach: box is incorrect, you can just highlight it and depress the Delete button on your keyboard to remove it and perhaps change it before you send the message.

Also, if you wish, you can just repeat the above step which adds an attachment to add more than one picture. However, remember that you should never send too many attachments in one message so that it will not take too long to download by the person receiving the message.

Doug van Vianen