Sometimes you need to add information to an e-mail message that would be too time-consuming or inconvenient to retype in the message. For example, if you had a class schedule you needed to send to students, it would not be convenient to retype the information when it already exists elsewhere. In these types of situations, you can attach an electronic copy of the document to your e-mail message.
Although it is simple to attach many kinds of files to an Outlook message, there are several things to keep in mind about the people who will receive your attachments:
-
File type—the recipient must have a program that can read the file. For example, if you attach a Word 97 file to the message but the recipient only has Corel WordPerfect, the recipient won't be able to open the attachment.
-
File size—some recipients might have a difficult time receiving large files depending on what kind of Internet access they have. For example, it takes about 6 minutes to download a 1 MB file over a 56 KB modem connection.
-
E-mail client—the sophistication of e-mail programs varies widely. Some programs may not be able to receive large attachments or any attachments at all, especially the popular web-based e-mail systems used on some university networks.
To attach a file
-
Click the Add Attachment icon when creating your message, appointment or contact.
-
Under Choose a file to attach, type the path to the file, or click Browse to navigate to the file.
-
Click Attach and the file will appear under Current file attachments. Repeat steps 1-3 for any additional files you want to attach.
-
To return to the form you were working in, click Close. The file(s) you selected will now appear in the heading, beside Attachments.
To remove one or more attachments from a message:
-
On the toolbar, click the Add Attachment icon.
-
Under Current file attachments, select the check boxes beside the files you want to remove.
-
Click Remove.
Tips Attachments are not copied when you reply to a message. Instead, a placeholder icon appears in place of the file. To include attachments, forward the message instead of replying to it.
IMPORTANT Before editing attached files, you must download them to your computer.