Insert an Image Inline in a Message With Mac OS X Mail

Updated December 07, 2019

Inserting an image inline in a message with OS X or macOS Mail is not tricky. it could hardly be any easier. Just drag and drop the image in the desired location.

Information is this article applies to Mail in the following operating systems: macOS Catalina (10.15), macOS Mojave (10.14), macOS High Sierra (10.13), macOS Sierra (10.12), OS X El Capitan (10.11), OS X Yosemite (10.10), OS X Mavericks (10.9), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8), and OS X Lion (10.7).

Insert an Image Inline in a Message With Mac Mail

To send a picture or graphic inline in an email with the Mail application on your Mac:

Make sure the message you compose uses rich text formatting. Mail uses rich text formatting by default, but plain text formatting is also available. Check by opening a new email and selecting Format in the Mail menu bar. If you see the choice Make Plain Text, you are already set up for rich text formatting. If you see Make Rich Text, click it.
As you write your email, drag and drop the desired image from the desktop or a Finder window to the desired place in the message.

Alternatively, position the cursor where you want the image to appear in the body of your email and select File in the menu bar, followed by Attach File to insert an image.
As an additional alternative in most versions of Mail, you can click the Photo Browser icon at the top of the Mail app to scroll through your Photos and Photo Booth collections or insert images by first clicking the Paperclip icon at the top of the email.

A Solution to Problems With Inline Images

Aside from Mail needing to be in rich text format to accommodate images inline, another setting may cause all your images to appear at the end of the email. To fix this:

With Mail open, click Edit in the Mail menu bar.
Select Attachments in the drop-down menu.
If you see a check mark in front of Always Insert Attachments at End of Message, click to remove it and allow inline images.