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Working with Attachments

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Applies to: Office 365 for professionals and small businesses, Office 365 for enterprises, Microsoft Exchange, Live@edu

You can use attachments to include one or more files on any item that you create in your mailbox, for example, an email, calendar item or contact.

How do I add an attachment?

You can attach any kind of file that can be accessed from your computer or through your network to any item you create in your mailbox.

  1. In a message, calendar item or contact, click the attach file icon attachment icon on the toolbar.

  2. In the Attach Files dialogue box, type the path of the file you want to attach, or click Browse to locate the file.

  3. If you use Browse, highlight the file you want to attach, and then click Open to add it to the attachments list.

  4. Click Attach, and the file name will appear in the Attach Files dialogue box.

  5. To change the file you selected, click Browse, and then locate the file you want.

  6. To attach more than one file, click Choose more files in the Attach Files dialogue box.

  7. To return to the item, click Attach to attach the selected files or click Cancel to return to the item without attaching the files.

Can I embed a picture in a message?

To add a picture to the body of a message, click Insert Picture Insert Picture on the message toolbar and search for the picture you want to add to your message. Double-click the picture to add it to your message.

You can change the size of the picture by clicking the handles at the edges and dragging them in or out.

How do I remove an attachment?

You can remove an attachment from an item that you are creating, such as an email message that you are preparing to send.

  1. Open the item, and then click the attachment you want to remove.

  2. Press DELETE on the keyboard to remove the attachment.

How do I open an attachment?

When an item includes an attachment, a paper clip icon attachment icon is shown next to the item in the list window.

When the item is opened or previewed, the name of the attached file appears in the item information. Some attachments, such as .txt files and .gif files, are opened directly by the Web browser.

  1. Click the attachment file name located in the message heading information. You have the option to open the attachment using the appropriate application or save the attachment to disk.

  2. You can also use Open as Web Page to open the attachment using your Web browser.

What kind of attached files can I open?

Outlook Web App allows you to send and receive many common files types. Some files types may be blocked, or you may be forced to save them on your computer before you can open them.

By default, Outlook Web App allows you to open attached Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text files and many media files directly. The files you can open from Outlook Web App will vary depending on your account settings.

This table lists the default file name extensions and MIME types that you can open in Outlook Web App:

File name extensions allowed by default MIME types allowed by default

.rpmsg, xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlsb, .pptx, .pptm, .ppsx, .ppsm, .doc, .docx, .docm, .xls, .wmv, .wma, .wav, vsd, .txt, .tif, .rtf, .pub, .ppt, .png, .pdf, .one, .mp3, .jpeg, .gif, .doc, .bmp, .avi

image/jpeg, image/png, image/gif, image/bmp

How do I edit an attachment?

If you want to edit an attachment, you need to download it to your computer first.

  1. Open the item that has the original attachment.

  2. Click the attachment, and then click Save on the File Download dialogue box to save the attachment to your computer. Or right-click the attachment, and then click Save Target As on the menu.

  3. Find and open the saved copy of the attachment on your computer, and then make the changes you want.

  4. Save your changes and close the document.

The modified attachment is now saved on your computer.

How do I attach a message to a message?

In addition to attaching files, you can attach messages to messages.

  1. Right-click the message that you want to send as an attachment.

  2. Click Forward as Attachment. A new message will be opened with the message you selected added as an attachment.

  3. Enter the recipients you want on the To and Cc lines. For more information about recipients, see Add or Remove Recipients.

  4. Type a subject.

  5. Type your message in the message body.

  6. When you finish typing the message, click send Send or press ALT+S to send it.

Other ways to attach a message to a message

  • You can attach a message to a message by using a drag-and-drop operation.

    1. Create a new message by clicking New new message or pressing CTRL+N on the keyboard.

    2. Arrange the new message window so that you can see both the new message window and the list view which shows the message you want to attach.

    3. Drag the message you want to attach to the new message.

  • You can attach a message to a message by using copy and paste.

    1. In the list view, click the message you want to attach to select it and press CTRL+C to copy it.

    2. Create a new message by clicking New new message or pressing CTRL+N on the keyboard.

    3. With the new message as the active window, press CTRL+V to attach the message you copied.

What if there are multiple attachments?

If you receive a message that includes multiple attachments, you can download all the attachments as a zip file by clicking Download all attachments at the top of the message and saving the file to your computer.

What else do I need to know?

  • An attachment can be a file that's created in any program, for example, a Word document, an Office Excel spreadsheet, a .wav file or a bitmap file. You can also remove attachments from an item.

  • Some attachments may be removed or blocked by antivirus software used by your organisation or by the organisation of the recipients of your email. If you have any questions about support for attachments, contact your technical support group.

  • If you reply to a message that has an attachment, the attachment isn't included in the reply. Instead, a placeholder icon replaces the file. If you want an existing attachment to be included, forward the message instead of replying to it. For more information about how to reply to and forward messages, see Reply To or Forward a Message.

  • Don't open an attachment sent in an email unless you trust the content and the person who sent it to you. Attachments are a common method for spreading computer viruses. So we recommend that you use the Open as Web Page option when you open an attachment if it's available. Not all file types can be opened as a Web page.

  • Long file names may be shortened in Outlook Web App before the files are attached. This doesn't affect the contents of the file. If you're using Internet Explorer 6 with Service Pack 2 or a later version, the attached file name is limited to 76 characters. If the file name is shortened to meet this limit, the first two characters of the file name may be changed. Earlier versions of Internet Explorer replace the long file name with a generic name, for example, filename[1].txt.

  • The default size limit for a single attachment in Outlook Web App is 10 MB. Depending on the service that’s hosting your mailbox, the default size limit for an entire message including all attachments is 25 MB or 35MB. Attachment and message size limits for your mailbox are set by the person who manages your email and may be different from the default limits.

  • The default maximum number of attachments you can add to a single message is 125. The number of attachments limit is set by your system administrator and may be different from the default limit.

What if I want to know more?