How to Get a Forgotten-Attachment Reminder in Gmail

All you need to do is say the magic words

Person typing email
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by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated April 08, 2019

The web interface of Gmail prompts you to include an attachment if you reference one within the body of your message but do not include one with the email.

When you use Gmail with an email program like Microsoft Outlook or iOS Mail, the email program (and not Gmail) takes accountability for attachments. Although modern versions of Outlook do prompt similarly to Gmail, many don't, so you can't rely on Gmail's service alone unless you're using it directly on the web or in a dedicated Gmail mobile app.

How to Receive a Forgotten-Attachment Reminder

Gmail window with missing attachment message displayed.

To get an alert from Gmail when you promise a file in your message but fail to attach any files, include the following phrases in the body of your message:

  • I have attached
  • I've attached
  • I have included
  • I've included
  • See the attached
  • See the attachment
  • Attached file

That's it — no special settings or configurations. Gmail parses the messages and will automatically flag when you've used a magic phrase without a file attachment.

We've prepared a step-by-step walk-through about sending attachments with Gmail in case you'd welcome a refresher.