Email has become one of the most common ways of communicating since the internet has become accessible all over the world. Despite the advent of new technologies like text messaging and video calling, many people still use email because it's free and reliable. Email also allows you to send files by attaching them to your message. Once the recipients receive the file, they can download and save it to their computer. There are different ways to save email attachments on your computer, depending on the email provider you use.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Using Yahoo Mail
Step 1. Log in to your email account
Open your web browser, type www.yahoo.com in the address bar, and press " Enter."
- Click the Mail icon at the top right of the screen and sign in with your email address and password.
- Or, you can go directly to https://mail.yahoo.com. You don't need to click on any Mail icon; just enter your login details and click "Sign In."
Step 2. Go to your inbox
Once you're logged in, go to your inbox by clicking on inbox in the menu bar on the left of the window.
Web email providers basically have a generic layout, with a menu bar on the left
Step 3. Open the message containing the attachment you want to save
Once you're in your inbox, click the message that contains the attachment you want to save.
Messages with attachments have a paperclip icon next to them
Step 4. Scroll down the message
In the current Yahoo mail interface, go to the body of the email message and scroll down. All files attached to a message are listed at the bottom of the email body.
Step 5. Click the Download link next to the file name
- For an image, click the down arrow in the lower right corner of the thumbnail to download it.
- Wait for the file to finish downloading.
Step 6. Go to the Downloads folder on your computer to view the saved attachments
Double-click the file to open it.
Method 2 of 4: Using Google Mail
Step 1. Log in to your email account
Open your web browser, type www.mail.google.com in the address bar, and press " Enter."
On the Gmail page, log in with your username and password in the fields provided
Step 2. Go to your inbox
Once you're logged in, go to your inbox by clicking on inbox in the menu bar on the left of the window.
Web email providers basically have a generic layout, with a menu bar on the left
Step 3. Open the message containing the attachment you want to save
Once you're in your inbox, click the message that contains the attachment you want to save.
Messages with attachments have a paperclip icon next to them
Step 4. Scroll down the message
In the current Google Mail interface, go to the body of the email message and scroll down. All files attached to a message are listed at the bottom of the email body.
In Google Mail, all attachments have a thumbnail, no matter it's a document file or an image
Step 5. Move your mouse cursor over the thumbnail of the attachment
Two buttons will appear above it: the Down Arrow icon and the Google Drive icon.
Step 6. Download the attachment
Click the Down arrow on the thumbnail and your browser will start downloading the file.
Step 7. View saved attachments
Wait for the download to complete, then open the Downloads folder on your computer (located in the My Documents folder) to view the saved attachments.
Method 3 of 4: Using AOL Mail
Step 1. Log in to your email account
Open your web browser, type https://my.screenname.aol.com/ in the address bar, and press " Enter."
Type your login details in the fields provided and click "Sign In."
Step 2. Go to your inbox
Once you're logged in, go to your inbox by clicking on inbox in the menu bar on the left of the window.
Web email providers basically have a generic layout, with a menu bar on the left
Step 3. Open the message containing the attachment you want to save
Once you're in your inbox, click the message that contains the attachment you want to save.
Messages with attachments have a paperclip icon next to them
Step 4. Look at the header of the message
This is the section above the email body that is used to display email details. At AOL, attachments are listed here instead of at the bottom of the message body.
Step 5. Download the attachment
Attachments in AOL appear as links not as thumbnails. There is also no clickable Download button. Just click on the attachment link, and the attachment will automatically be downloaded to your computer.
Step 6. View saved attachments
Wait for the download to complete and open the Downloads folder on your computer (located in the My Documents folder) to view the saved attachments.
Method 4 of 4: Using Outlook Mail
Step 1. Log in to your email account
Use Live.com email servers.
Type your login details in the fields provided and click "Sign In."
Step 2. Go to your inbox
Once you're logged in, go to your inbox by clicking on inbox in the menu bar on the left of the window.
Web email providers basically have a generic layout, with a menu bar on the left
Step 3. Download the attachment
In Outlook Mail, attachments appear in the header and at the bottom of the message body. In the header, attachments are listed as links, while at the bottom, attachments are shown as thumbnails.
- In both areas, there is a link called “Download as Zip” next to the attachment name. To save the attachment, click the “Download as Zip” link to start the download.
- If the sender of the email is unknown or not listed in your Contacts, a small window will appear asking for confirmation before downloading. Just click "Unblock" to confirm and start the download.
Step 4. Extract the attachments you downloaded
Unlike other web emails, attachments downloaded from Outlook are stored in ZIP format. ZIP files are compressed folders. To open this attachment, right-click the file and select Extract Files from the pop-up menu.
All the contents of the ZIP folder will be extracted, and you can now open saved attachments such as images or documents
Tips
- Be careful with spam messages. Do not download any attachments from emails marked as Spam.
- Do not save attachments from unknown senders as these files may contain malware.
- Scan any saved attachments using your antivirus program before opening them.
