Onenote: images are replaced with a red X

Hi,

Recent changes made on the computer may affect the functionality of the application. To better understand your concern, we’d like to know the following:

• Is this the first time that you’ll insert images on your notebooks? If not, were there images showing correctly previously? If yes, are there any changes made prior to this concern?
• How do you insert images in your notebooks? Is the image saving on your computer locally or is this an online picture?
• Are your notebooks synced properly?

As an initial recommendation, we suggest that you perform an online repair for your Office program. To do this, check this article for the procedures. Once it’s done, check if the issue persists.

We’ll keep an eye out for your response.

Short story:

Work around by only copying text and tables into notes and if possible drawing diagrams instead of using images and embedding print outs.

Long story:

I've actually given up on this and resorted to only using images when absolutely necessary and only when I'm prepared for them to  disappear in the future (only a matter of time). I've been using OneNote for work across android, windows and ios (iPad pro) for 6 months. 4 months worth of records is now useless because I didn't realise until 2 months ago that all scanned documents and images were disappearing over time. Even embedding the source file as an attachment into the note didn't help (the file icon would also be red-xed and for excel tables and error message of "The embedded file cannot be found. Check backups for older copies of this section that may contain the embedded file by clicking file > open > Open Backups").

Now I copy and paste text from pdfs, word documents and email into notes (copying a forwarded email captures date/recipient details). Much of the formatting is preserved although any images are subject to red x-ing in the future. I reproduce diagrams by drawing them into the iPad. It's not a good solution but the most reliable.  There is no security doing it any other way until MS fix what seems to have been a common problem for many years now (google OneNote red x).

P.S I don't work for MS. I'm just a Joe trying to deal with OneNote like the rest of y'all.

I have had this same problem with OneNote for as long as I can remember.  I don't think it's a problem with my computer as I have experienced it with several different machines over the years and numerous versions of OneNote.  I have also tried closing notebooks, closing OneNote, manually syncing, etc. to no avail. 

I checked and it appears that the images in this article are jpg, so I don't understand why I would be having issues. I assume that OneNote won't display some images but I can't imagine that it would not handle jpg.  By the way Evernote has no problems displaying the images.

It would be most helpful if Microsoft would provide a test page link with images so that users can compare results and have a meaningful discussion and get the problem actually resolved.  Instead we get generic, unhelpful comments for a problem that has existed for years now (just check the web and your own help boards).

Following is a link, as an example, where I am getting red x blocks instead of images:

https://medium.freecodecamp.org/tools-i-wish-i-had-known-about-when-i-started-coding-57849efd9248

It would be helpful is someone with Microsoft would use OneNote to capture that article, or the section I use as an example, below and confirm whether the images are captured.  What is particularly annoying is that the web clipper (Chrome) shows the article with the images, but the images don't show up in OneNote itself.  

Following are three images showing the capture (note the image is shown) and the results (both online and in my local OneNote desktop app).  Any help understanding why this occurs would be greatly appreciated.

Hello,

We would like to know more information about your concern. For us to effectively assist you, could you tell us if you have tried to repair OneNote and see if it helps? If no, we recommend repairing OneNote by following the steps here.

Also, may we know what is the connectivity status of your computer between our Office server? To know, you may visit this portal link. We also advise that you try to manually sync your notebooks by following the steps in this article and check if you're having the same issue.

We're looking forward to your response.

Stephanie,

Thanks for the quick response. 

With respect to your comments:

1.  I tried repairing OneNote - No change.

2.  I checked the portal and everything appears to be OK (see image, below - note that the images are labeled to help make it clear which one applies).

3.  I normally have this set to automatic sync.  I tried manually syncing but I'm not sure how to interpret the results.  It appears that some notebooks are not syncing (see image, below).   It is showing manual because of your instructions.  I then reset it to automatic and sync appears to work (see attachment).  I also logged in online and took an image (after doing the manual and automatic syncs).  Again, no change.

As info, I have Office 365.  I don't know whether that has any relevance, but I thought I should mention it.

As I described in my earlier post it would be much more helpful if someone at Microsoft would provide a reference link to use for captures before spending a lot of time and effort chasing down solutions.  That is why I provided a link and images showing the results that I obtain when trying to capture a note.  

Wayne

service health

manual sync

automatic sync

Stephanie,

Sorry - I forgot the last image (taken of OneNote online after the sync efforts).  Note that it is showing the "test" note that I referenced in my original post.  As you can see it is still not showing the image, despite the fact that the automatic sync appears to be functional.  

Wayne

We appreciate your response. For us to further assist you, could you tell us if you've tried to use other browsers and check if you're having the same issue?

To further isolate your concern, we recommend creating a new user profile and check if the issue persists. You may refer to the steps provided here on how to create a local user or administrator account in Windows 10.

Let us know how it goes so that we can further assist you.

Stephanie,

I've tried other browsers, including Firefox and Edge and I get the same results.

I also created a separate user profile and I still get the same results.

Wayne

I'm having the same issue.  We have multiple users.  They're taking photos with phones and the photos appear on the phone's Onenote but not on OneNote Online or on their local copies of Onenote 2013.  I tried all the steps mentioned above and nothing fixes it.  Could this be an internal issue?

Thank You,

Parker

Stephanie,

I did a systematic check on what is happening when I use the OneNote clipper in Chrome.  Before I began I uninstalled the OneNote clipper from Chrome, closed Chrome, reopened it and reinstalled the Clipper.  I then went to the reference page I mentioned originally and used the clipper for "full page", "article" and "region" captures.  I also used the right click, drop down "click selection to OneNote" option.  

In all cases, I refreshed the page and made sure that the page had fully loaded before each clip.  I ran two tests on each option.

Following is what I found:

1.  Full Page Option

Worked perfectly in both cases.  All images saved.  Unfortunately this option is usually not useful since it captures a lot of extraneous information.

2.  Article Option

Did not work in either case.  All images were replaced by the "red x" indicator.  This is the option I would usually use so the fact that it doesn't work is a major problem.

3.  Selection Option (take from Chrome clipper)

Worked perfectly.  I clipped two different sections covering different images and both were captured correctly.

4.  Selection Option (Using Right Click and the Drop Down Menu)

In this case I selected the entire article and it did not work either time.  I also tried selecting subsections of the article and that did not work either time.

Is summary, the full page and selection options worked fine.  The article and right click selections options did not work.  Since the Chrome clipper selection option doesn't allow me to scroll and capture the entire article I can't use it to compensate for the problem.  And, since the right click option doesn't work at all I can't use that to compensate for the problem either.

The fact that the clipper works for some options and not others suggests that the problem is not with my set up or hardware.  

Wayne