Mail (Mavericks): View, save, and delete attachments
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There are various ways to work with attachments in a message.
View attachments
- Some attachments, such as images, movies, audio files, or PDF documents, are shown in the message content. To take other actions, Control-click an attachment.
- You can move the pointer over the message header, click the Attachment icon, then choose Quick Look. Or choose File > Quick Look Attachments. To view attachments as a slideshow in full-screen view, hold down the Option key when you choose Quick Look.
Save attachments
- Move the pointer over the message header, click the Attachment icon, choose Save All, then select a location. Or choose File > Save Attachments.
- Drag an attachment to the desktop to save it there.
To specify a folder for storing saved attachments, choose Mail > Preferences, click General, then select a downloads folder. The default folder is Downloads, available in the Dock.
Delete attachments
Choose Message > Remove Attachments. The message remains in the mailbox, and a notation indicates that all attachments were manually removed. For IMAP accounts, attachments are also deleted from the mail server, and can’t be retrieved.
By default, Mail deletes attachments when you delete a message. To change this setting, choose Mail > Preferences, click General, then choose an option from the “Remove unedited downloads” pop-up menu. Mail doesn’t delete attachments that you have edited or saved.
Last Modified: Oct 20, 2015