What is an attachment?
An attachment is a file which is attached to the e-mail you are sending.
Your e-mail is made up of words but attachments are great because they can be other files like photos or sounds.
So next time it's your friend's birthday, you can attach a photo, a song, or even an animated card to wish them a happy birthday.
Why attach
Imagine you are writing a note to a friend and you decide to send a holiday photo along with your message.
You might use a paper clip to stick them together so they arrive at the same time and don't get lost.
E-mail attachments are just the same but it's not only pictures you send. You can send sounds, word documents, videos or spreadsheets - in fact, any type of file at all.
I have one!
You'll often know before you open a mail that it has an attachment as there is often a small paper clip or file icon next to the subject of the mail in your inbox.
When you open the e-mail you will see an icon which you click on to open the attachment.
When you try to open an attachment it will normally open in the program it needs. So, if someone sends you a word document, it will open in Microsoft Word. If someone sends you a sound file it will open in your media player.
Save attachments
The important thing to do after you open an attachment, if you want to keep it, is to save it your hard disk.
It's important because this means you can now delete the copy in your in-box. This is particularly important if you have got webmail where your space might be limited.
It also means that you can make changes to the file - perhaps edit it if it's a word document, and then keep a saved copy.
Sending attachments
Most e-mail programs - Microsoft Outlook or Eudora - let you attach files to an e-mail in several different ways:
- Find a button saying 'add attachment', 'insert file' or with an icon like a paper clip.
- A window that shows the files on your hard drive will open. Search through the directories to find the document or image file you want to attach.
- Select the file and hey presto it's attached.
- When you have attached a file you'll see its icon or name attached to your e-mail window. It's now ready to send. Just send your mail in the normal way
Your e-mail may take a little longer to send than a normal text message because of the extra file size it's now carrying.
Keep an eye on the size
It's important not to send large files. 100KB is probably the maximum you should think of sending.
Try selecting the file before you attach it and viewing its properties to view its size.
Attachment problems
Imagine someone sends you a big fat video file, with pictures of your Auntie Mavis on her hula hoop holiday.
If you don't have software to play the video you won't be able to open the attachment because your computer won't know what to do with it. So, only send files used by common programs.
Or, imagine that a friend sends you a report and it is written using Word 2000 when you only have the earlier version, Word 97. Your computer will not be able to open the file - check that the version of the program you are using is later than the sender's version.