How do linked images in .msgs work offline?

Question

Hello,
I am completely new to Outlook (2013) so I'm confused about linked images in .msgs and how they work.
I want to build an offline email archive. Ideally it would be
in a widely used format
each mail or mail folder would be a single file (unlike html) to keep things simple.
Most importantly, each file would contain the full content of the original message, so I can view it properly even if I have no internet connection, or if the linked images are removed from their servers. Basically I'm hoping they will look like the way
they looked no matter what.
Outlook doesn't seem to do 3. I've read in other threads that 2003 and 2007 do this, but it doesn't say clearly whether it's because the images are really embedded in the msg file or is the file simply drawing from a temporary cache, and will revert to displaying
Xs as soon as the cache is cleared.
So my questions are:
Is it possible to embed all content within a msg for offline viewing
If not, what is 2003 and 2007 doing to make people think it can
If not, what are the reasons
I assume there are reasons for this, because otherwise it would just be weird for an email client that can save messages along with their text styling and attachments to not be able to save them the way they look.
Cheers,
Walt

Answer 1

Hi,
The default for Outlook 2013 is to link to the pictures instead of embedding them.
To let Outlook 2013 work as previous versions, we need to change the registry key as below.
Important
This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the
registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry,
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Back-up-the-registry
Press Win + R, type "regedit.exe" in the blank box, press Enter.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
Value name; Send Pictures With Document
Value: 1
With a value of 1, you’ll include the picture with the message instead of as a link.
I hope the information is helpful.
Regards,
Melon Chen
TechNet Community Support
It's recommended to download and install
Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT), which is developed by Microsoft Support teams. Once the tool is installed, you can run it at any time to scan for hundreds of known issues in Office
programs.