How to Scan a Document From Within Outlook
KATHRYN HATASHITA-LEE
TECH
Microsoft Outlook works with Windows Paint to enable you to scan and save a document as a bitmap image to insert into the body of your email message. Customize this graphics file format with Paint’s palette and adjustment options, for example, to enhance your document’s look, and make the content stand out. The scanned document displays in a clickable frame that you resize to make the text more readable and fit the layout for your message.
1 Scan with Paint App
2 Connect your scanner to your PC
Connect your scanner to your PC. Place the document on the scanner’s flatbed.
3 Click
Click inside the body of Outlook’s Message window, click the "Insert" tab on the command ribbon and click "Object" in the Text group to open the Object dialog box.
4 Click the Create New sheet tab
Click the "Create New" sheet tab to display the Object Type scrolling pane. Scroll down and select "Bitmap Image" and then click "OK" to open the Paint window. A square box will display on the Paint canvas and the Outlook message pane.
5 Click the File tab
Click the "File" tab on Paint’s ribbon, and then select "From scanner or camera" in the sidebar. If the Select Device window displays with a list of devices, select the scanner and click "OK." The Scan window will display a list of options and a blank preview box.
6 Select your scan options
Select your scan options, such as "Black and White Picture or Text," and then click "Preview" to activate your scanner and display the image in the preview window. Click "Scan" to activate the scanner again and display the scanned document in the Paint screen.
Edit the image with editing tools on Paint’s Home tab. For example, click "Rotate" and select "Rotate right 90 degrees" in the Image group. Click the "File" tab, point over "Save copy as" and then select "BMP picture" to open the Save Copy as dialog box.
Enter a filename, select a location in the left directory, such as "Desktop," and then click "Save" to create the BMP file.
7 Insert Bitmap into Outlook
Click the "Insert" tab on the Outlook Message screen, and then click "Object" in the Text group to open the Object dialog box again displaying two tabs. (Note that while this step begins like the Scan with Paint App section, Step 2, these steps will insert the new BMP file.) Click the "Create from File" sheet tab, and then click "Browse" to open the Browse box.
Navigate to the saved BMP file, and then click the file to display the path in the File Name field. Click "OK" to close the Browse box and display the image of your document in the body of the Message window.
Click inside your document’s box to display the border and sizing handles. Click and drag a square sizing handle to change the document’s dimensions.
- Information in this article applies to Microsoft Outlook 2013 Home & Business, Windows Paint, version 6 and Windows 8.1 Pro. It may vary slightly or significantly with other versions or products.
- Clicking the inserted document on the Message screen brings up the Picture Tools ribbon and the Format tab on the command ribbon. The Format tab includes options in the Adjust group, such as Brightness, Contrast and Recolor.
- Gently clean the scanner glass with a soft, lint-free cloth to remove smudges and dust.
- If your Outlook message screen still displays the square box with the diagonal lines (See Scan with Paint App, Step 3), click this box, and then press "Delete" to leave only your scanned document on the screen. Your BMP file might shift when the box is removed from the layout.
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