What are attachments?

Attachments are files which are sent/received with your email. These may be Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and in some cases virus infected files.

Can I send attachments with my email?

Files can be sent via email, however you should pay attention to the size of the file.

If there is a need to send a large or many files speak to a member of IT staff to see if there is a better format for your file or another way to send it.

Although emails with large attachments may send without issue, the recipients server may still reject it due to the size of files attached.

If you send an email and you get a ‘delivery failure notification’ check the contents, it may be that the file has been blocked by the recipients server due to the size.

Rather than send file(s) via email to members of staff at your service it is best practice to save them to a network folder and email informing the recipient where to find them.

How do I know if an email has an attachment?

Emails which have file(s) attached will have the ‘Attachment’ icon displayed in the message list as illustrated.

If you have the message open there will be a ‘Message line’ in the email with the file(s) listed.

Can any file be attached?

Not all files can be sent by email. Some file types by default are blocked automatically by Outlook. These include program files, ‘zipped’ files, macro enabled documents and password protected files as these could potentially contain viruses.

The three most common file types used at services (Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PDF documents) are permitted.

Some files may also be blocked by our SPAM filter, Sophos.

How do I attach a file to a message?

1. Create your message as normal.
2. Click the ‘Attach File’ drop down menu.
3. A list of recent files will be displayed. Click on one of the files to attach it, or click ‘Browse this PC’ and locate the file.
4. You will be returned to your message box with the attached file listed. Attach further files by repeating steps 2 and 3.
5. When all files are attached, complete and send your email as normal.

How do I remove an attachment before sending the message?

If you FORWARD a message which had an attachment, the file will be part of the forwarded message, it is possible to remove this before sending. Use this method to remove files that have been attached by accident.

1. Right click on the file you wish to remove.
2. Click ‘Remove Attachment’.

How do I view an attachment?

Be careful when opening attachments as some may contain viruses. If you do not recognise the sender or are unsure about an attached file DO NOT OPEN IT.

1. Open the message as normal.
2. In the list of attachments double click the file you wish to open.  Depending on the file type the ‘Opening Mail Attachment’ dialogue box may be displayed as shown opposite. Certain file types will open without displaying the warning first.
3. Click ‘Open’ if you know the person who sent the file and you trust the file not to contain a virus.

If you need to make changes to an attachment once opened use the ‘Save As’ option to choose a folder on the server to ensure you don’t lose these changes. If you click ‘Save’ the file will be saved to a temporary, hidden folder. This may not be available in the future.

How do I save just one attachment?

1. Open the message containing the attachment you wish to save.
2. Right click on the attachment.
3. Click ‘Save As’.
   The ‘Save Attachment’ dialogue box will be displayed.
4. Change the filename if required.
5. Locate the folder in which you wish to save the attachment.
6. Click ‘Save’.

How do I save multiple attachments?

1. Open the message containing the attachment(s) you wish to save.
2. Right click one of the attachments.
3. Click ‘Save All Attachments’.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   The ‘Save All Attachments’ dialogue box will be displayed and all files will automatically be selected.
4. Click ‘OK’.
5. Locate the folder in which the files should be stored. It is not possible to change the filename of the attachments when saving more than one file.
6. Click ‘OK’.