Python Mailgun email issue: Unwanted icon appearing in Outlook. How to fix?

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1

I’m having trouble with emails sent through Mailgun using Python. The recipients see an odd broken-link icon in MS Outlook. It’s not part of the email content I’m sending. Here’s what’s happening:

  1. I use Python to send emails via Mailgun API
  2. The email includes attachments and HTML content
  3. When opened in Outlook, there’s an extra icon that looks like a broken link

Has anyone faced this before? I’m not sure if it’s a Mailgun issue or something in my code. Here’s a simplified version of what I’m doing:

def send_email(recipient, subject, html_content):
    return requests.post(
        'https://api.mailgun.net/v3/mydomain.com/messages',
        auth=('api', 'my-api-key'),
        files=[('attachment', ('file1.csv', open('file1.csv', 'r')))],
        data={
            'from': '[email protected]',
            'to': recipient,
            'subject': subject,
            'html': html_content
        }
    )

# Usage
send_email('[email protected]', 'Test Email', '<p>Hello, this is a test.</p>')

The HTML content includes a simple table with some data. Any ideas on how to get rid of this unwanted icon? Thanks for any help!

2

I’ve run into this issue before when working with Mailgun and Python. One thing that worked for me was ensuring all the CSS was inline. Outlook can be pretty finicky with external stylesheets.

Another trick I found helpful was to use tables for layout instead of divs. It’s a bit old school, but Outlook tends to handle table-based layouts better.

Also, double-check your image URLs. Sometimes Outlook shows that broken link icon when it can’t load an image, even if it’s not visible in the email body.

Lastly, try testing your email with a service like Litmus or Email on Acid. They’ll show you how your email renders across different clients, including Outlook versions. It’s been a lifesaver for me in troubleshooting these kinds of issues.

3

I encountered a similar issue when using Mailgun with Python. The problem might be related to how Outlook interprets certain HTML elements or attributes. One way to overcome this is to simplify the HTML content and ensure that all resources are correctly referenced. Additionally, I addressed this by sending a plain text version along with the HTML version.

For example, including a ‘text’ field in your data payload helped ensure proper rendering across email clients. This approach could provide an effective solution for the rendering issues in Outlook.

4

hey sofiap, i’ve seen this before. it’s probably caused by outlook trying to load some non-existent resource. check ur html for any broken links or missing images. also, try sending a plain text version alongside the html. that might help. good luck!