How to Download Attachments From Outlook Mail at Outlook.com

Save files that are attached to your incoming email messages

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on January 30, 2022
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
Jon Fisher headshot
Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • From the open email, select drop-down arrow and choose Download.
  • For multiple files, select Download all.
  • Select desired download location.

Here's how to download a single or multiple attachments as a ZIP file from Outlook Mail and Outlook.com.

Open attachments only from contacts you know and trust, as attachments can contain viruses.

Download Attachments from Outlook Mail on the Web

Here's how to save attachments in email that you receive in Outlook on the web. Open either one attachment or download multiple attached files in one go.

  1. Open the email that has a file attached to it.

    An email with attachment in Outlook
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  2. Select the attachment dropdown arrow.

    Message attachment options in Outlook
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  3. Select Preview to view the attachment in the message window without downloading it.

  4. Select Download to download the file to your computer. Depending on how your browser is set up, you may need to choose a location to save the document.

  5. Select Save to OneDrive to save the attachment to your OneDrive cloud storage.

Download ZIP File Attachments

Outlook Mail on the web can compress all attached files into a single ZIP file and download it.

  1. Open the email that contains multiple attachments.

  2. In the attachments area, select Download All.

    Download All option for attachments in Outlook
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  3. If prompted, use the browser's Save dialog box to choose a location and save the ZIP file. The default name assigned to the ZIP file is the subject line of the email. Replace the default name if you want to give the file a different name.

About Downloaded Attachments

Files that you download from your Outlook.com account will be available in your device's default Downloads folder.

Most attachments will open in the preview window when selected in Outlook.com. These include the following file types:

  • Word.
  • Excel.
  • PowerPoint.
  • PDF files.
  • Most image files.

If you can't open an attachment in the preview window, a download prompt will appear.

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