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How to Save an Email as an Attachment in Outlook: A Comprehensive Guide

So, you need to send an email within an email, huh? A perfectly legitimate requirement in today’s complex digital landscape. The good news is, saving an email as an attachment in Outlook is a straightforward process, once you know the ropes. Here’s the definitive answer and some crucial insights:

How to save an email as an attachment in Outlook? There are generally three primary methods:

Drag and Drop: This is often the quickest. Open a new email. Then, locate the email you want to attach in your Outlook inbox or folders. Click and drag the desired email from its location directly into the body of your new email. Outlook will automatically convert it into an attachment.
Forward as Attachment: This method preserves the original email’s format faithfully. Open the email you want to save as an attachment. Click the “Forward” button. Look for a dropdown menu on the Forward button. Click the “Forward as Attachment” option. A new email window will open, with the original email already attached.
Saving as a File (Less Common, but Useful): While less direct for the purpose of attaching, this method allows you to save the email as a file on your computer, which you can then attach like any other file. Open the email you want to save. Click “File” > “Save As”. Choose a location on your computer to save the email. Select “Outlook Message Format (*.msg)” as the save type. Then, in your new email, attach the .msg file.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s delve into some frequently asked questions to refine your understanding and tackle potential hurdles.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why Would I Need to Save an Email as an Attachment?

There are several compelling reasons:

Preserving Original Formatting: When forwarding an email traditionally, the recipient might not see the email exactly as you did. Attaching it preserves the original formatting, headers, and embedded images.
Referencing Complex Email Threads: Instead of copying and pasting lengthy email chains, simply attach the relevant emails.
Legal or Compliance Reasons: Attaching emails ensures the unaltered original message is available for record-keeping or legal purposes.
Sharing Emails Across Different Platforms: If the recipient uses a different email client, attaching the email as a file (specifically .msg) can sometimes ensure they can still access the content.
Organization and Archiving: You might want to group related emails together for archiving purposes by attaching them to a summary email.

2. What File Format is Best for Saving Emails as Attachments?

The most common and recommended format is the .msg (Outlook Message Format). This format preserves the email’s original structure, formatting, and metadata. While you can technically save an email as plain text (.txt) or HTML (.html), doing so strips away much of the original information and appearance. Using .msg ensures the recipient sees the email as intended, provided they are using Outlook or a compatible email client.

3. Can I Attach Multiple Emails at Once?

Yes, you can! The drag-and-drop method is usually the most efficient for attaching multiple emails. Simply select multiple emails in your inbox (using Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click) and drag them all into the body of your new email. Outlook will attach each selected email as a separate .msg file.

4. What if the Recipient Doesn’t Use Outlook? Can They Still Open the Attached Email?

This is a crucial consideration. While .msg is the standard Outlook format, not all email clients can open it natively. Recipients who don’t use Outlook might need to download a dedicated .msg viewer or converter to access the contents. A better approach for universal access is to explore exporting the email to a more universally compatible format like PDF. While Outlook doesn’t directly offer “Save as PDF” for email attachments, you could print the email to a PDF file and attach that.

5. How Do I Save an Email with Attachments as an Attachment?

When you save an email as an attachment (using any of the methods described above), the attachments within that email are also preserved. The recipient will receive the attached .msg file, and when they open it in Outlook (or a compatible viewer), they will see the original email and all of its attachments.

6. Is There a Limit to the Size of Email Attachments in Outlook?

Yes, there is. The default attachment size limit in Outlook varies depending on your email server and administrator settings. Generally, it’s around 20MB to 25MB. Exceeding this limit will often result in the email being rejected. If you need to send larger files, consider using cloud storage services like OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive and sharing a link to the file in your email.

7. I’m Using Outlook Web App (OWA). Is the Process the Same?

The process is generally similar in OWA (Outlook Web App), but with slight variations in interface and terminology. You can still use the drag-and-drop method to attach emails. The “Forward as Attachment” option is also available, although it might be located in a different menu. Saving as a file might require downloading the .msg file first, and then attaching it to your new email.

8. Can I Attach an Email to a Calendar Invite?

Yes, you can attach an email to a calendar invite in Outlook. The process is the same as attaching an email to a regular email. Open the calendar invite, and either drag and drop the email directly into the body of the invite, or use the “Insert” > “Attach File” option to attach the saved .msg file.

9. What if the Drag-and-Drop Method Isn’t Working?

Several factors might prevent the drag-and-drop method from working correctly:

Permissions Issues: Ensure you have the necessary permissions to access both the source email and the destination email.
Outlook Configuration: Certain security settings or add-ins might interfere with drag-and-drop functionality. Try disabling any recently installed add-ins to see if that resolves the issue.
Software Conflicts: In rare cases, conflicts with other software running on your computer can prevent drag-and-drop from working. Try restarting your computer and Outlook.
Corruption: It is possible that there is data corruption in your profile. Contact your IT support for further assistance

If drag-and-drop consistently fails, use the “Forward as Attachment” or “Save As” method instead.

10. How Can I Ensure the Recipient Can Open the Attachment Regardless of Their Email Client?

As mentioned earlier, the most foolproof approach is to convert the email to PDF before attaching it. While this requires an extra step (printing the email to a PDF printer), it ensures nearly universal compatibility. Another option is to provide instructions to the recipient on how to download and install a free .msg viewer if they encounter issues opening the attached .msg file.

11. Is there a way to automate this process? For example, automatically attach certain emails based on keywords?

Outlook rules can be used to automatically forward emails based on keywords. However, creating rules that automatically attach emails to new emails based on keywords is more complex and typically requires using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) scripting. This is an advanced technique and is best suited for users with programming experience. There are also third-party add-ins that can provide more advanced email management and automation features.

12. Why is my attached email showing up as a winmail.dat file?

The dreaded winmail.dat file! This usually happens when Outlook is configured to send emails in Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF). This proprietary Microsoft format can cause compatibility issues with non-Outlook email clients. To fix this, configure Outlook to send emails in HTML or plain text format.

Globally: Go to File > Options > Mail > Compose messages in this format: Choose either HTML or Plain Text.
Per Contact: In your Contacts, find the contact having issues. Double-click to open the contact card. Go to Email Options and choose “Send Plain Text only”.

By switching to HTML or plain text, you’ll prevent Outlook from using TNEF and ensure your attachments are properly recognized by other email clients.