How to Insert Moving Smileys in Outlook Emails
By Kevin Lee
Scott Fahlman, one of the smiley face emoticon's inventors, created it because it's sometimes difficult to convey the right message over the Internet when others cannot see or hear you. While Scott's original smiley consisted of text, people in the 21st Century can add smiley images to their Outlook email messages. Static smiley faces are fine, but you may want to send your email recipient one that has life. You can do that by embedding an animated GIF smiley in your Outlook message.
Step 1
Acquire an animated GIF that displays a moving smiley. You can find them by doing a Web search for "free animated GIFs." Or you might receive them in emails people send you. You could also create them yourself using animated GIF software. Regardless of how you get them, they will reside in some folder on your hard drive.
Step 2
Click Outlook's "Home" tab and then click "New Email" to open a new message window.
Step 3
Compose your message and place your cursor at the location in the message where you want your smiley to appear.
Step 4
Click that window's "Insert" button and then click "Picture" to view the Insert Picture window. This window displays your computer's files and folders.
Step 5
Navigate through the folders and double-click the animated GIF file that has the smiley you'd like to use. The Insert Picture window closes and displays the GIF in your message.
Step 6
Click the image and notice that handles appear along its edges. Click a handle and drag it if you'd like to make the GIF larger or smaller. Click "Send" to send the message.
Tips
- When your recipients view your message, they will see the animated smiley at the location in your message where you placed it.
- If a single smiley isn't enough to convey your emotions, you can copy the one you inserted and paste it elsewhere in your message. Do that by right-clicking the image, selecting "Copy" and clicking a new location in the message. When you press "Ctrl-V", Outlook inserts a copy of the GIF at that location.
Writer Bio
After majoring in physics, Kevin Lee began writing professionally in 1989 when, as a software developer, he also created technical articles for the Johnson Space Center. Today this urban Texas cowboy continues to crank out high-quality software as well as non-technical articles covering a multitude of diverse topics ranging from gaming to current affairs.