How to Add a Fixed Background Image to Emails in Outlook

Spruce up your Outlook emails with a background picture. Apply a background image to an individual email message or use the built-in themes to apply the same background to every message you send.

Add a Background Image to a Single Message in Outlook

To add a background image to a message you are composing in Outlook:

1. ​Go to the Format Text tab and, in the Format group, select either HTML or Rich Text.

   If you send email to people who do not use Outlook, use HTML instead of rich-text.

2. ​Place the text cursor in the message area (instead of a header field such as the Subject).

3. Go to the Options tab.

4. In the Themes group, select Page Color.

5. Select Fill Effects.

6. In the Fill Effects dialog box, go to the Picture tab.

7. Choose Select Picture.

8. Select where the image file is located. You can insert a picture From a file on your computer, from your OneDrive cloud storage, or from a Bing Image Search online.

9. Choose a picture, then select Insert.

10. Select OK to insert the image.

Use Stationery to Add the Same Background Image to All Messages 

Stationery can give your email messages a uniform appearance as they will all have the same background. You only apply the stationery once and it appears as the background of all your outgoing email messages.

1. Go to the File tab and choose Options.

2. In the Outlook Options dialog box, select Mail.

3. Select Stationery and Fonts.

4. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog box, go to the Personal Stationery tab and select Theme.

5. In the Theme or Stationery dialog box, go to the Choose a Theme list and select a theme. A preview of the stationery, font colors, and graphics appears in the Sample of theme section.

6. Choose the attributes you want to apply, such as Active Graphics and Background Image.

   Options that are stationery only will not have additional options.

7. Select OK to apply the stationery.

Add a Fixed Background Image to Emails in Outlook 2003

You can add a background image from your computer to a message in Outlook that does not scroll with the text but is fixed to the canvas.

1. Download the following file to your stationery folder: zfixedbgimg.htm.

2. Open Notepad. Select File > Open and navigate to the downloaded file to open it in Notepad.

3. Replace ###path to background image file### with the path to the image on your computer that you want to use as a background image.It might look like

4. Save the file in Notepad.

5. In Outlook, select Actions > New Mail Message Using > More Stationery.

6. Highlight zfixedbgimg.

   If you can change the file name when saving in Notepad, the stationery appears under that name in the list.

7. Select OK.