8. Attachments

Email messages are text. To send other kinds of file, such as graphics, word processed documents, spreadsheets, and so on, you need to use attachments. You can attach any file that your browser can access, for example on a local USB drive or hard disk, within certain size restrictions (see Frequently Asked Questions). In order to be able to read the attachment, the receiver needs to have appropriate software to read the file. For example, if you send a Word 2003 document, they will need to use Word 2003, or another application which understands Word 2003 file format, to read it. Some email servers will not accept attachments which they consider risky, such as executable files, so it is best to check with the recipient before sending.

8.1. Attaching a File to a Message

A small paperclip icon allows you to attach files to your message
Figure 24. Attach files icon

To send a message with an attachment, begin by starting to compose a new message as normal. Then click on the paperclip icon at the top of the screen (see Figure 24, Attach files icon).

The attach window lets you choose the file that you want to attach by clicking on the browse button
Figure 25. Attach a file

This opens a new window where you can select the file that you want to attach (Figure 25, Attach a file). Click Browse and use the dialog box to browse through your drives and directories to find the file you want to attach. Select the desired file and choose Open. The file name will appear in the attachments text box. To complete the process click Attach. The name of the file will now appear in the Attachments section, above main body of your message.

If you change your mind about sending an attachment, click on its name in the attachments list and press <Delete> on your keyboard. The file will be removed from the email message.

8.2. Receiving an Attachment

In your message list, a paperclip icon appears next to the subject of the message. In the preview pane, you will see a list of attachments above the message body. Click on one to open it.
Figure 26. Message with attachments

When you receive a message with an attachment, a small paperclip icon appears next to the message in your inbox. When you view the message in the preview pane, or by opening it, you will see a list of attached files at the top of the message (e.g. see Figure 26, Message with attachments).

To view the attached file, click its name in the attachments list. You may be given some information about the dangers of downloading unknown files from the network. If you do decide to go ahead, you can either save the file to be opened later or you can choose to open it now. If you open it now, your browser will attempt to find an appropriate application and open it in that (e.g. Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word), based on the filename extension (the last part of the filename).

If you want to save the file after you have opened it, use the application's [File/Save As...] command to put it in an appropriate location. Do not use [File/Save] because the Browser will then choose its own location and you will not know which drive and folder the file has been saved to!

Please note: OWA will prevent you from sending certain types of files e.g. XML, giving the following message:
"Outlook Web Access has blocked access to attachments."
If you receive a HTML file as an attachment and it contains code that could automatically run when you download it from Outlook Web Access, the 'offending' code gets silently stripped out (and any CSS gets commented out). This hppens in both OWA Light and 'full' OWA. If you need the code to remain available in the attachment then use an email client (e.g. Outlook or Thunberbird) instead.

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