How to avoid problems with base64 images

Problem:

You are trying to use base64 images in your email signature. Unfortunately, you find these images broken because your email client fails to display (render) them. Additionally, when inserting the signature with the CodeTwo Signatures Web Add-in for Outlook (either automatically or manually), you might receive the following error: 

Your signature could not be inserted. Try again. If the problem persists, contact your organization’s administrator.

Solution:

Base64 encoding allows you to turn different types of data (images included) into a readable string. Then, the string can be embedded directly into your code (e.g. the HTML code of your signature). The main advantage of such an approach is that the data doesn’t have to be fetched from external resources because it’s already there – in the code. However, the same can be achieved using embedded images.

To summarize, the best idea is to embed your images when designing a template in the editor available in CodeTwo Email Signatures 365 – this method has been proved to work on various platforms and with a number of different email clients. To embed an image in one of the supported formats (PNG,  JPEG/JPG, or GIF) in your signature template, simply click the Picture button on the editor’s ribbon, select the Embedded picture option, and choose your picture file (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Adding an embedded picture to your email signature.

With images embedded that way, you both avoid issues related to using base64 encoding, and your recipients no longer need to click any ‘download pictures’ (or similar) button.

See also:

• How to create a signature with a user photo
• Linked vs embedded images in email signatures