Windows Live Mail email attachments – open and save

Windows Live Mail email attachments – open and save cover image
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Windows Live Mail is the latest email client from Microsoft Corporation and is meant to replace the popular Outlook Express and Vista Windows Mail. Not only is the program interface is quite different from the older email clients and Windows Live Mail includes an RSS reader and a blogging tool.

However, it is still primarily an email and news client and has utilities that make email management a lot easier – like an automated junk email filter, a super fast email search, photo email, multiple email account setup including Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo!Mail.

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Email is still the most used application on the Internet and with broadband connections and large inbox storage space becoming common, the sharing of large files attached with emails messages has become routine. You can attach any sort of digital file with your email message – the only limitation is the file size. You can attach photographs (from your digital camera), Word and PDF documents, spreadsheets, programs, music and video files (though for videos, it is better to upload them on a video sharing web site) etc.

Email attachments in Windows Live Mail

The list of files attached with email messages in Windows Live Mail appear right at the top, just above the email subject – refer image below.

Windows Live Mail email attachments

For instance, this email contains three attachments – an image, a Microsoft Word document and an Excel spreadsheet. Typically, images are displayed below the message, as in the case above while the other files need to be opened in their respective programs.

Saving image and photographs attached with emails

There are two ways to save photographs and images email attachments in Windows Live Mail. The first involves right-clicking on the file name in the attachments list, choosing the “Save As” option and then selecting to the directory.

Saving images attached to email messages

The second method requires you to right-click on the image displayed below the email message, selecting “Save Picture As” and browsing to the directory of choice.

Save photographs attached with email messages

Saving and opening other email attachments

To open other kinds of files attached with emails, you need to right-click on file name in the attachments list and select “Open” which is the first option.

opening a Word document attached to an email message in Windows Live Mail program

Please note, you would be able to open and view only those files that can be read and understood by a program on your computer. For example, if you do not have Microsoft Word software installed on your system (or the Word reader/viewer), you might not be able to open a Word document sent to you as an attachment over email. Also, and this is important, please take due care in opening and running email attachments especially from unknown sources. They might contain malicious software and viruses or worms that may harm your computer. I suggest you have good anti-virus software on your system and keep it up-to-date.

To save files sent as email attachments, use the same technique as described above for opening the files but now choose the “Save As” option and then browse to the directory in which you want to preserve a copy.

Save a word email attachment in Windows Live Mail

Care in opening, running and saving files sent as email attachments

As I mentioned above, any kind of digital file can be sent along as an attachment with an email message. I suggest that you always keep a suspicious eye on files attached with email messages howsoever legitimate and safe they might seem. Emails can very easily be modified, especially; the sender can be changed to reflect any email address. Furthermore, several malicious programs like viruses and worms spread from one computer to another through emails. A virus can attack your email program and send itself to all people in your contact list – and the emails would appear to come from you! Hence if you get an email from a friend or a family member asking you to open or run an attached file, always be careful.

I recommend having a good anti-virus package that checks incoming emails too and you need to keep the software updated with the latest patches.

Email Windows Live Mail