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how do I remove old attachments

Anonymous
2022-04-09T16:17:14+00:00

In Outlook 365, until recently if I right clicked on an attachment, it would sometimes have the option to open the file location and, from there, I could see a list of attachments. Then I could delete unneeded (e.g. .ics files) or large attachments (which I would do to keep the folder smaller). But I can't find that option anymore and therefore can't find that folder. (Why did that option disappear?) I looked in Documents, which some threads elsewhere seem to point to, and Downloads, which had, I think, worked previously. I may be misrecalling that last part.

By searching for .ics files, I found a folder C:\users\myname\AppData\Local\Packages\microsoft.windows.communicationsapps_[long code here]\LocalState\Files\S)\4\Attachments. But it had files only from early Nov 2021 to early Dec 2021. Strange.

I can't/don't want to do it by deleting attachments from each email, some of which have been deleted or stored. That would mean I'd have to do it while I can view the email. Can someone point me to the right folder? And please don't tell me they're inaccessibly stored in an ost or pst file!

(Outlook is really onerous and not user friendly in this respect. My old email app simply stored attachments in a readily accessible folder.)

Thank you and sorry to complain.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-04-10T15:08:01+00:00

    I figured you were a Eudora user - that was a really nice feature and its something on Eudora users ask about. :)

    There are 3rd party utilities that same same them off and add a shortcut to the message, but I don't recall if they added the browse menu or if it only works if saved in OneDrive.

    At one time Outlook on the web saved incoming attachments to OneDrive - it was just a short-lived experiment (rightly so) and ended years ago.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-04-10T13:53:40+00:00

    Thanks Diane. I'm sure you're right. It's strange, though - I have a distinct and very recent memory of that Open File Location option in the caret list. It was very useful. (I use OneDrive very infrequently.)

    In any case, it's a huge drawback of Outlook that attachments are not readily accessible in such a fashion. In other email apps (I used Eudora for decades before being forced by work to switch to Outlook), there is a folder with all attachments which has the dual benefit of being able to delete unneeded attachments from a list and being easy to move from one computer to another.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-04-10T03:49:38+00:00

    That is only an option if you save the file to OneDrive - it'll show the cloud icon on the attachment if it's save in OneDrive.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-04-09T20:15:05+00:00

    Thanks Diane. (BTW, we've spoken on a tech support before. Would rather not put my full name here, though.) There used to be, until very recently, a way to view the attachments in File Explorer by clicking the caret by the attachment and then clicking on "View File Location" (or something like that) and it would open a File Explorer window listing attachments. Then you could select attachments to delete. I would frequently get rid of accumulated .ics files and other larger attachments that way. Otherwise, I'd have to find each original email, assuming I hadn't deleted it, and click Remove Attachment as you show above.

    For some reason, that right click "View File Location" was only available on some types of attachments. It was the same type of list as on your screenshot above, but with that option.

    Thanks

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-04-09T18:35:57+00:00

    Hello Greenbergman2

    I'm Diane, an Office Apps & Services MVP specializing in Outlook, and I’m happy to help you today.

    >> windows.communicationsapps

    This is the windows mail app, not Outlook 365.

    Are you using the Office Outlook desktop software? You can remove attachments - expand the menu and choose Remove attachment.

    Outlook stored the attachments on the messages - and you will need to delete them from each message. you can use a macro to remove them based on file size or file extension.

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