How to Send an Email With an Attachment in Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail

Gmail

On the web:

1. Click Compose, or open the email you are replying to.

2. Click the paperclip icon at the bottom of the message window.

3. Pick the file and click Open. Hold Shift or Cmd (Ctrl on Windows) to pick several.

4. Wait until the upload bar under the message finishes, then click Send.

You can also drag a file from your desktop or a folder straight into the message window.

On a phone, tap the paperclip at the top of the compose screen and choose the file.

Size limit: 25 MB for all attachments together. If you go over, Gmail uploads the file to Google Drive and puts a link in the email instead. When you click Send it may ask whether the recipient should get access. Say yes, or they will get a link they cannot open.

Outlook

In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web:

1. Click New mail, or open the email you are replying to.

2. Click the paperclip (Attach file). In some versions it sits under the Insert tab.

3. Choose Browse this computer, or pick a recent file from the list.

4. If the file is in OneDrive, Outlook asks whether to share a link or attach a copy. Attach a copy if the person is outside your company and you are not sure they can open your OneDrive.

5. Click Send.

Size limit: 20 MB per message on Outlook.com. Work accounts depend on what your IT team has set. For anything bigger, share it from OneDrive as a link.

Apple Mail

On a Mac, click the paperclip in the toolbar of the message window, or drag the file into the message. For large files, Mail offers Mail Drop, which uploads files up to 5 GB to iCloud and sends a link that works for 30 days.

On an iPhone or iPad, tap in the body of the message, then use the photo or document button above the keyboard.

When the file is too big

You have three options, in this order.

Share a link. Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and WeTransfer all work. Before you send, open the link in a private browser window. If it asks you to sign in or request access, the recipient will see the same thing.

Make the file smaller. Zip a folder of files. Export a PDF with lower image quality. Most slide decks shrink a lot when you compress the pictures.

Split it. Send two emails and put "1 of 2" and "2 of 2" in the subject. This is the last resort, because people often miss the second one.

What to write in an email with an attachment

The attachment is rarely the whole message. Say three things: what the file is, why they are getting it, and what you need them to do with it. If there have been several versions, say what changed.

"Please find attached" is not wrong, but it is stiff. "I've attached" or "Here's" is how most people talk.

A file that needs a decision:

A file that needs nothing:

Several files at once:

Name your files for the reader. "Acme_proposal_Oct2026.pdf" tells them what it is. "final_FINAL_v2.pdf" tells them you have lost track.

How to stop forgetting the attachment

Everyone has written "see attached" and sent nothing. A few habits help:

• Attach first, write second. If the file is in the email before you type a word, you cannot forget it.
• Leave the To field empty until the end. Then nothing can go out by accident while you are still finding the file.
• Open the attachment before you send. This catches the other common mistake: the right email with the wrong file.

Gmail and Outlook both have a basic reminder that fires when you mention an attachment and there isn't one. It catches the obvious cases and misses plenty.

Presend checks every email when you click send. If you wrote "attached", "attachment" or "enclosed" and nothing is attached, it stops you and shows you the line. It runs in Gmail and Outlook alongside its other checks, like an outside address on an internal thread or a password pasted by mistake.

If the email has already gone, here is how to send a short correction.