How to fix icons turning into links

Question

How to fix icons turning into links

Paige 40

My out of office email, along with my coworker's turn our icons into links.

wrong

Below is how the icons are supposed to look:

correct What would be a step by step process to fix this?

Thank you!

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Answer 1

Anonymous

Hi @Paige

Thank you for posting your question in the Q&A Forum.

Please let us know if this helps or if you need further assistance.Based on the screenshots, it appears that Outlook is rendering your icons as hyperlinks instead of inline images in your Automatic Replies (Out-of-Office). This is a common behavior because automatic replies are handled by the server differently than regular emails.

Here are some steps you can try to resolve this:

1. Ensure the message format is HTML

Go to File > Options > Mail in Outlook.
Under Compose messages, make sure "Compose messages in this format" is set to HTML. Images will not display correctly in Plain Text.

2. Insert images directly from your computer (Embed)

Save your icons (PNG or JPG) locally on your computer.
In the Automatic Replies editor, delete the existing icons/links.
Click the Insert Picture icon to upload the images from your drive.
Once inserted, you can highlight the image and use the Link tool to add your social media URL.

3. Try setting up the message via Outlook Web App (OWA)

Log in to Outlook
Set up your Automatic Reply there. The web version often handles HTML and image rendering more consistently than the desktop app.

Important Note: In some organizations, server-side security policies may automatically convert images in automatic replies to links to save bandwidth or for safety. If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to check with your IT Department to see if there are any global settings affecting these messages.

Please let us know if this helps or if you need further assistance.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Paige 40 Reputation points

2026-01-22T19:59:48.3+00:00

I tried all 3 steps and unfortunately it was not fixed.

My Compose messages were already set to HTML when I checked step 1.

When I created the signature I did exactly as step 2 described, and the icons still were not appearing.

For step 3, I did it on the web version and that also came out with the same results.

I don't think it is our server-side security policy because we used to have a different batch of icons that worked just fine and had zero problems displaying in emails, before we updated to our new ones.

Here is what the new out of office email looks like below:
Anonymous

2026-01-23T06:47:45.72+00:00

Hi @Paige

Thank you for confirming that you have already completed the steps.

Since the previous icons displayed correctly, this suggests that the current issue is likely related to the specific properties of the new batch or how they are processed by the Exchange server.

As a final check, you may want to review the icons with your design team: ensure they are in RGB, use standard PNG or JPG format with 8-bit depth, and keep the dimensions small (e.g., 32x32 px) to minimize server-side filtering.

If the icons still do not appear correctly after these adjustments, it is possible that a server-side policy or mail flow rule is affecting them. At that point, consulting your IT Department would be the recommended next step to determine if any organization-wide settings are impacting these specific images.
Paige 40 Reputation points

2026-01-23T15:20:26.3866667+00:00

Thank you @Anonymous , I will reach out to the IT department. The icons were created in standard PNG, RBG, and 32x32 px and did not fix the problem.

All the best!
Bill Halbig 0 Reputation points

2026-08-29T00:25:51.5633333+00:00

All incoming message with ICONS show the URL link instead. Recently reimaged my computer for unrelated issue. Fresh install of Office 365 and outlook classic.

Bill
Hornblower409 14,600 Reputation points

2026-08-30T02:57:28.4966667+00:00

@Bill Halbig said

All incoming message with ICONS show the URL link instead

I understand that you are seeing a similar problem, but You will not get any help for your issue by adding to an old post. You must start a new thread using the "Ask a question" button at the top of this page to create a new Question to get any visibility for your issue.

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