Looking to preview a file you have received as an attachment? Wondering what will happen if you select “Edit in Browser”? Find out here how to open and save attachments in new Outlook for Windows.
First, Spider, Spider in the Air
Many a spider can weave a thread of silk, and any spider can fall from a tree.
Some, like famously the Joro spider, can combine the two: suspended from a silken sail, they will balloon in the air and winds to cover distances from mere meters to multiple miles.
Similarly, files can hatch a ride on an email. In Outlook for Windows, you can have them drop to the disk or launch them right into an Office application up in some cloud:
How to Open and Save Attachments in “New” Outlook for Windows
View or Open a File
Time needed: 3 minutes
To view an attached file directly in new Outlook for Windows and Outlook.com:
- Open the message that contains the attachment.
From the message list: With interface density set to Roomy or Cozy, you can also click supported attachment previews in the message list directly to preview them in Outlook for Windows.
There’s they are: You can have Outlook help you find large attachments to open. - Click attachments in the message header to preview them in Outlook.
New window: Click Open in new window in the preview to detach it from Outlook for Windows.
Download and open: You can use the buttons at the top of the preview to open or download the file directly, of course.
No preview: If Outlook cannot show the contents of a file, it will offer to download and save it instead. - Click the downward-pointing arrow head next to a file to open it.
- Select Edit in Browser or Edit in desktop app to open a file for editing directly from Outlook for Windows.
Supported documents: This only works for files that can be opened in Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365, e.g., Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents, and it only works if you have OneDrive set up.
Here’s what happens: Outlook will save the document to the Email attachments OneDrive folder, then open it either in Office online or a local Office application.
Opening without OneDrive: To open a file without copying it to OneDrive, you can download it, of course; see below.
Download and Save an Attachment
To download an attachment to the local disk directly or save it to a OneDrive account:
- Click the arrowhead pointing down next to the attached file you want to download.
- Select Download from the menu to open the Windows file saving dialog and pick a location for saving.
OneDrive: Select Save to OneDrive instead to the folder called Email attachments in your OneDrive account; Outlook will not ask you for a folder or file name, but you can change both in OneDrive, of course
View in OneDrive: Once an attachment has been saved to OneDrive (either for saving or for editing), the menu will offer View in OneDrive instead of Save to OneDrive; this will open the file in your default browser, not the OneDrive Email attachments folder.
How to Open and Save Attachments in “New” Outlook for Windows: FAQ
Can I download all attachments in one go?
Yes.
To download all files attached to an email as a ZIP file in new Outlook for Windows:
- Open the message that contains the attached files.
- Click Download all.
- Choose the folder for saving the ZIP file.
File name: You can change the file name, of course; the default is the email’s subject line (or (No subject) if the email has an empty subject).
(How to open and save attachments tested with Outlook for Windows Version 2405 and Outlook.com in a desktop browser; first published June 2024)