14th May 2008

Email Attachment Defined, what is an email attachment ?

Email Attachment

This is the name given to a file that is sent with an email, an email attachment can be any type of file including images (photos), documents, zipped files/folders, etc.

Most email providers have a limit on the size of the attachment that can be sent, also, you can only send up to a certain amount of attachments with each email.

Bear these filesize limits in mind when sending attachments, the size of the attachment you are sending may be acceptable by your email provider but may be too big for the recipient's email account.

Attaching a file to an email

To send a file (photo, document, etc) with an email you have to attach it in a special way to the email.

The process for attaching a file to your emails will vary depending on which email provider you use or which program you use to compose your emails, but generally, look for a button or link when you are composing the email that says attachments, attach file or edit attachments.

Usually you will be presented with a browse button, click on this button, navigate to the folder with the file in that you want to send, and then select the file.

To finish attaching the file will depend on the email provider's interface, if you are using an email client such as Outlook then the file will be attached automatically.

Downloading the attachment from a received email

To download or view the attachment will again depend on your email provider or the program you use to retrieve your email.

WARNING: downloading attachments can be dangerous, always scan any attachments for viruses before opening them with up-to-date anti-virus software.

If using a mail client such as Outlook then there is normally an option under the FILE menu, such as save attachments (in outlook), select this and then choose where you want to save the file.

If you get your email via webmail then the process is usually straight forward, look for a button or link such as save attachment, download attachment, get attachment, or something similar.

Your browser (if using webmail) may ask you whether you want to open or save the file, to download the file choose save/download and then navigate to the folder where you want to store the attachment.

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