Indiana University
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Working with attachments in Mac OS X Mail

Adding an attachment to a message

In Mac OS X Mail, you can add an attachment when creating a new message, or when replying to or forwarding a message. To attach a file, either drag and drop it into the window of your new message, or, while composing your message:

  1. In the window of your new message, click the Attach icon at the top.

  2. In the sheet that drops down, navigate to the file you wish to attach, select it, and click Open or Choose File.

Mail will then insert the file into your message.

Displaying and downloading attachments

Upon receiving an attachment, Mail will attempt to display it within the message for you whenever possible. To download and open a file you've received as an attachment, either drag the attachment from the message onto your desktop, or:

  1. Select the message containing the attachment(s), and do one of the following:

    • From the File menu, select Save Attachments....
    • In the header section of the email message, click and hold the Save button, and choose either Select All... or the specific attachment you want to save.
    • Right-click or Ctrl-click the attachment, and from the pull-down menu that appears, select Save Attachment.... If the message contains more than one attachment, Shift-click the attachments to group-select them, then right-click or Ctrl-click one of the group. From the pull-down menu that appears, select Save Selected Attachments....

  2. In the sheet that drops down, select the location where you'd like to save the attachment(s), and then click Save.