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How to Change the Image in a Microsoft Sway Visual Link in Outlook

Elise Williams Oct 1, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to change the preview image of a Microsoft Sway visual link pasted into an email, but the standard right-click options are missing.

How to Change the Image in a Microsoft Sway Visual Link

Product: Microsoft Sway / Outlook
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Pasting a Microsoft Sway visual link into an Outlook desktop email and attempting to update its thumbnail picture.
Observed behavior: The expected 'Change Picture' option does not appear when right-clicking the Sway visual link image in the Outlook desktop app.

Before you start

Ensure your Outlook email message format is set to HTML rather than Plain Text, as rich visual links and their thumbnail images cannot be edited in Plain Text mode.

Solution 1Recommended

Use the Right-Click Menu in Outlook

This is the standard method for modifying a visual link preview image within an Outlook message body.

When pasting a rich visual link from Sway into Outlook, the email client usually generates a clickable preview block. You can swap out the default image if Outlook's rich text editing features are fully active.

Insert the Sway link

Copy your visual link from Microsoft Sway and paste it into the body of your Outlook email.

Select the preview image

Click directly on the thumbnail picture that is automatically generated in the email body.

Change the picture

Right-click the selected image and choose 'Change Picture' from the context menu to upload a new image from your computer.

Upload via Reply: If you are communicating on a support forum regarding this issue and need to attach screenshots, use the 'Reply > Insert image' option instead of pasting images directly.

Solution 2

Replace the Link with a Manual Image and Hyperlink

If the 'Change Picture' option is entirely missing, you can manually insert your desired image and link it to your Sway presentation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I see the 'Change Picture' option in Outlook?

This issue typically occurs if your email is formatted as Plain Text instead of HTML, or due to a bug in specific builds of the Outlook desktop client. You can fix this by navigating to the 'Format Text' tab in your email window and selecting 'HTML'.

Can I edit the preview image directly within Microsoft Sway?

No, the visual link thumbnail is automatically generated based on the content of your Sway presentation. To change the default image, you either need to reorganize the Sway content so a different image is prioritized, or manually change the picture in the app where you paste the link.

Does pasting a Sway link in webmail work differently than the desktop app?

Yes, web-based email clients like Outlook on the web handle rich visual links differently. If the desktop app fails to show the right-click menu, pasting the link into the web version may auto-generate a better preview or provide different context menu options.

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