Software Tips & Tricks Opening & Saving E-mail Attachments

By Laura Noble

After reading last month’s article, “Sending Attachments Via E-mail,” I hope you are now comfortable sending attachments. Now, it’s time to learn how to open and save attachments.

How do you know when you have received an attachment?

In most e-mail packages a “G” (paperclip) symbol will be inserted beside the unopened e-mail in the Inbox.

When you open the e-mail, you will see the attachment either in the main heading of the email (as shown in the Outlook Express window below:




OR

at the end of the body of the e-mail, in the case of Netscape Mail Messenger.

Viewing the Attachment

Method One:
Double-click the attachment icon. (In the example above the icon is the symbol. Icon will depend on the originating software package of the attachment.)

Method Two:
Right-mouse click on the attachment icon and click (with left-mouse) the Open option.

Both methods will open up the contents of the package in the originating software package. (You must have the originating software or a compatible software package on your computer.)

Viewing the attachment allows you to print and edit the attachment. Using this method saves the attachment in a temporary folder. To ensure you can find the attachment at a later date, once opened save the attachment to your regular default folder, e.g., “My Documents.”

Saving the Attachment (without opening or viewing) Many times you will not have time to view the attachment but want to make sure you can easily access it at a later date without opening your e-mail.

Right-mouse click on the attachment icon and click (with the left-mouse) the Save As option or in the case of multiple attachments, click the Save All option.

If you selected the Save As option, the box below will open.



From this box select the drive (e.g., “C”) then the folder (e.g., My Documents) that you want to save the attachment to. If you desire, change the File name. Click the Save button and the attachment will be filed on the drive within the folder you selected. If you delete the e-mail, the attachment will still remain on your hard drive if you use this method.

If you selected the Save All option a box will open listing all the attachments and you will be able to select the drive and folder to save the attachments.

When ready to view the attachment, open the originating software package and use the Open command and find the attachment file under the drive and folder where you saved it. The attachment is now like any other document or file on your system. It is totally separated or detached from the e-mail.

Saving an attachment versus opening an attachment is a much safer method of handling attachments. The “save” method makes finding the file attachment much easier and also detaches it from your e-mail so you can delete the e-mail and save disk space.

The exact directions may differ on your computer depending upon your set-up, e-mail package, and file type. Most e-mail packages, though, offer both Open and Save As options for handling attachments.

Stay tuned to Networking Today in the coming months for more Software Tips & Tricks from Noble Software Solutions.

Laura Noble is the owner of Noble Software Solutions. Laura can be contacted at 519-680-2689 or by e-mail at lnoble@noblesoftwaresolutions.com. www.noblesoftwaresolutions.com

Published in Networking Today, February 2001.