Send linked documents as links in attachment field, not as hyperlinks

Question

My Attachment options setting is set to "ask me how I want to attach them every time."

When I recently tried to attach links to 4 documents in one email in this order:

1. Document 2 attached as a hyperlink in the email
2. Document 3 attached in the attachment field as a linked document that opens in Word
3. Document 4 attached as a hyperlink in the email
4. Document 5 attached in the attachment field as a linked document that opens in Word

I have no control over when Outlook chooses to attach as a hyperlink field or as a link in the attachment field. I tried 2 different ways to attach. When I only attach one document, it appears as a link.

Most of the time, I want the linked document to be in the attachment field so the reader can easily see there is an attachment and so that the paperclip icon appears next to the email message to help the reader find the email with an attachment. But I want the attachments to be linked documents. Until a month or so ago, this feature worked just fine.

Answer 1

Dear Mitsuko Herrera,

Have a Good day.

Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community, we are happy to assist you.

First of all, we apologize for the trouble and inconvenience caused to your work!

To better understand and investigate your issue, may I get some more detailed information from your side:

• Will you please share me your Outlook version details? Please follow this article What version of Outlook do I have? - Microsoft Support and follow the steps to check.
• Are you using Microsoft365 business account(******@xxx.onmicrosoft.com/******@yourdomain.com) or personal account (which is ended with outlook.com/hotmail.com/live.com/msn.com) or some other 3rd party POP/IMAP account?
• Are you trying to log in https://outlook.office.com/ and face the same issue?
• May I know have you make any recent changes on your Outlook/device/account/permission/update office, etc. ?
• When composing a new email, choose the format as plain text, does this work for you? Please share screenshot with hide personal and sensitive data.

Note: Please understand that our initial reply may not always immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

We are looking forward to your response! Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day!

Answer 2

1. Will you please share me your Outlook version details? Please follow this article What version of Outlook do I have? - Microsoft Support and follow the steps to check.

• Response: Classic

1. Are you using Microsoft365 business account(___@___.___/___@___.___) or personal account (which is ended with outlook.com/hotmail.com/live.com/msn.com) or some other 3rd party POP/IMAP account?

• Response: Business Account

1. Are you trying to log in https://outlook.office.com/ and face the same issue?

• Response: No, I am using the desktop version

1. May I know have you make any recent changes on your Outlook/device/account/permission/update office, etc. ?

• Response: No.  Our enterprise performs weekly updates.

1. When composing a new email, choose the format as plain text, does this work for you?

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• Yes, but then the attachments are downloads, not the linked documents.

Answer 3

Dear Mitsuko Herrera,

Have a Good day.

Thank you for replying to Microsoft Community, we are happy to assist you.

As your information and a lot of research, this seems to be a known issue that other users have encountered recently. Please try the following:

• May I please know if "Always attach them as a copy" option is selected in your Outlook? if you haven't checked it yet, kindly go to File -->Options --> General -->Under Attachment options, select "Always attach them as a copy" option -->OK. Then, check if there is any difference.

• **If the issue persists after try last step,**you may also (use admin account to) go to Office 365 Admin Center-> Support-> New Service Request. The support engineers there have the correct escalation channel, and this is the most efficient way to report such issue. You can refer to this article to check the way how to raise a ticket: Ways to contact support for business products - Admin help. The engineers in related team have higher permission and resources than us to help check the root cause from background directly. Note: If you are end user, you may need to contact Office 365 global admin department in your organization to do some standard and particular procedure. For your reference: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support.

We are looking forward to your response! Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day!

Answer 4

Hello Mitsuko Herrera,

Good day to you and hope you are doing well.

May I know have you check Eleni's last response? Please feel free, if you need further assistance from our side. I would also like to share one more article which is related with this query., please check Inserting a link as an attachment has changed in Outlook Desktop - Microsoft Support. You can also give vote on it, it helps other users who are facing same query and finding suggestion on community site.

Thank you,

Ankita Vaidya

Answer 5

Dear Mitsuko Herrera,

Have a Good day.

Thank you for replying to Microsoft Community, we are happy to assist you.

May I know you checked my last answer? Feel free to resend so we can check further. You can also rate the replied if somehow helpful.

We are looking forward to your response! Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day!