How to attach a folder to email from Microsoft Outlook®
The ability to send files through email has been around for quite some time. Microsoft Outlook makes it easy to send files by simply dragging and dropping files into an open email. However, sometimes it’s not enough to be able to send a single file. Sometimes it’s necessary to send whole folders either because it is more convenient, the list of files to be sent is too long, or perhaps because the name of files aren’t known ahead of time.
How to attach a folder to email in Outlook:
- Starting in Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder you want to email
- Right click on the folder itself
- In the menu that pops up, choose “Send to”, then choose “Compressed (zipped) folder”
- Rename the zipped folder if necessary, then hit enter
- Right click the zipped folder, then choose “Send to” again, but this time choose “Mail Recipient”
- An email compose window pops up with the compressed folder as an attachment
If you find yourself regularly sending folders via email, using the Schedule Recurring Email add-in to send folders can be more useful than using Outlook by itself because it automates the process, thus freeing up your time. It’s especially useful when you don’t know the names of the attachments ahead of time, since it gathers the filenames at the moment the email is to be sent out.
Or, perhaps your trying to add a new recipient to an email chain and then trying to add all the attachments back in – in that case you might want to look at the new Reply With Attachments add-in.
How to email a folder using the Schedule Recurring Email add-in:
- In Outlook click on the Sperry Software button
- Click on the Schedule Recurring Email’s “Add” button
- Click on the Create Template button
- Fill out what the email should look like but don’t include the attachments
- Click close and choose Save when prompted
- Fill out the schedule for when to send the emails
- At the bottom, check the box that says “Always send all files in this folder”
- Choose the folder you want to send
- Click Ok
That’s all there is to it; now when the email is set to go out the add-in will look to that folder and add any files it finds there as an attachment. Optionally, you can have the add-in delete the files after they are sent so that you can start over with fresh copies each time.
Need more information?
Download a free trial version of the Schedule Recurring Email add-in.
Discuss this topic in depth on Sperry Software’s LinkedIn page.
View a list of useful Outlook how to articles
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