If you send an email to someone and they receive your email and are reading it, wouldn’t it be great if they saw a cute little gif instead of just seeing your written words?
Well, now you can. They’re called gifs and they can be inserted into an email. How? By using Microsoft’s Outlook.
Gif images are great because they allow you to share many things without needing another program or extension. In addition, they look relatively good in emails.
Can’t figure out how to insert a gif into Outlook email? You’re having difficulty figuring out how to send a gif file.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the exact process of ‘How to easily create, edit and attach a gif image within a Microsoft Outlook email.‘
What is GIF (Graphics Interchange Format File)?
A GIF is a Graphics Interchange Format file. GIF is a commonly used image format. Since it is highly compressed, it is an ideal format for instantly sending graphics over the Internet.
Why Are Animated GIF Emails Popular?
The popularity of animated GIF emails is not due to their aesthetic appeal, but because they provide a more effective way for brands to highlight the functionalities of their products or services.
Animated GIF emails are visually appealing, and the timing is right. Animated GIF emails have been around for many years, and they tend to get more engagement than simple images.
Steps to Insert an Animated GIF Image in Outlook Email
The process of inserting a GIF image in Outlook is like inserting a JPG/PNG image, it does not involve any high-end technology.
The interface for Outlook is slightly different than for other popular online mailing platforms. Even though it is simple, the process of inserting an animated GIF file while composing an email differs.
- Step 1: Open Outlook Application
- Step 2: Click New Email from the top-left corner of the screen, to open a new window to compose an email.
- Step 3: Select Insert Tab >> Click Pictures.

You can see that there are three (3) options available to insert a Picture/GIF into Outlook.
- This Device
- Stock Image
- Online Pictures
Click on this device (From File). Here, you’ll be able to browse your computer for files. Select the location you will upload the GIF images and click the Insert button.

The file can be resized and formatted as desired once it has been inserted (this can be done through the Format menu). You can also drag and drop the GIF file on your computer into the body of your message.

Next is Online Pictures, when you click on it you will be landed on the basket of online pictures powered by Bing, you can type a specific name of GIF, you like to insert in your Outlook, and the list of images appears related to that name, you can select the GIF and click insert.

That selected GIF will be added to your Outlook mail body.
Insert a GIF into Outlook Email (Shortcut Keys)
If are you wondering how to insert a gif into an email, then you have come to the right place. Gifs are a fun, effortless way to add a bit of humor to an email.
Using simple keyboard shortcuts, you can easily insert GIFs straight into Outlook without needing to transfer them to a memory stick and then import them into your Microsoft Outlook email.
Ctrl + N – New Mail Window, Alt + NPD, Enter the name of the GIF file saved in your device >> Hit Enter.
Steps To Insert GIF Outlook Web
Many of us have experienced this. After working with many Outlook users, we found that many of them do not know how to insert GIFs in Outlook emails correctly.
Many of them are asking this question or looking for GIF tips on how to add GIFs to Outlook web email.
Step 1: Open Outlook Web.
Step 2: Click on New Message.
Step 3: Click on (…) ellipses below the window.

Step 4: Select “Insert Pictures inline” from the expended list, now select the GIF already saved in your folder, and finally click open, your GIF is added in the message body of Outlook Web.
You can adjust the size of the GIF image by adjusting the corners:
Insert GIF using GIPHY Add-ins
GIPHY is an image search engine that randomly selects gifs each time you search. Instead of typing out a long string of text to find an image, you type in the keyword you’re looking for, hit “enter,” and the website will spit out a gif at random.
GIPHY lets you find gifs for about everything, from animals (especially cats) to pets to food to sports to celebrities to memes. And now it enables you to insert gifs into your blog posts.
Let’s dive in and understand step by step method, and how to add GIPHY from the Add-ins store:
Step 1: Open Outlook Web
Step 2: Click on (…) ellipses below the window.

Step 3: Click on Get Add-ins from the drop-down list.

Step 4: You are now forwarded to the Add-ins store, type GIPHY in the search bar, GIPHY Add-ins appear, click on it >> Click Add

Step 5: Finally, GIPHY is added to your Add-ins list.

Now it’s time to understand how GIPHY add-ins work and insert GIFs in Outlook:
Step 1: Open Outlook Web
Step 2: Click on (…) ellipses below the window.

Step 3: Click GIPHY, that add-ins open on the right portion of the screen, you can enter the specific keywords required, and you will get numerous GIFs to select, there are two categories’ “GIFs” and “Stickers“.

Step 4: Click on the one you finalized, and the same GIF is added to the message body.

You must delete/remove the narration by default added along with GIFs. Everything is set you can now use the GIFs.
Final Words
In conclusion, with a few easy clicks, you can add a gif image to your email, this step is easy, and depending on the format of your email, you can choose how you want to insert the gif. I’ve included a few screenshots above, to show you.
In all the above approaches the best option is inserting a GIF from your system, this way you may download and customize your best suitable GIF and insert it into your message, most of the time you are unable to find your required GIF under the online picture.