How to forward attachments from several emails in one message on a Mac

Mail has no command that pulls the attachments out of several emails and puts them into one new message. The direct way is to start a new message and drag each attachment into it from the email it arrived in. When there are many, select the emails, choose File > Save Attachments, and attach the saved files in one go.

What the Forward commands give you

It helps to know what Mail’s own commands produce before you work around them.

• Forward (Shift-Command-F) on one email creates a draft with that email’s text quoted and its attachments included. That is the right tool when everything you need is in a single message.
• Forward with several emails selected creates one draft with the selected messages quoted one after another. The attachments come along, but so does all the text, and the files end up scattered through a long message. You can tidy it by hand; check the draft carefully before sending.
• Forward as Attachment (in the Message menu) attaches the emails themselves. More on that below.
• Reply leaves attachments out. To keep them in a reply, choose Edit > Attachments > Include Original Attachments in Reply.

None of these produces what most people are after: a short new message with five files attached and nothing else.

Drag each attachment into a new message

1. Press Command-N for a new message. It opens in its own window.
2. Move that window to one side so the main Mail window is visible next to it.
3. In the main window, click the first email.
4. Drag the attachment from the body of that email into the body of the new message.
5. Click the next email and repeat.

Each drag makes a copy. The original email keeps its attachment, so nothing in your mailbox changes.

Two things make this smoother. First, leave full screen before you start (Control-Command-F), so the draft and the mailbox can sit side by side as ordinary windows. Second, choose Edit > Attachments > Always Insert Attachments at End of Message. With that on, files collect below your text instead of landing wherever the pointer happened to be.

This method is fine for two or three emails that are near each other in the same mailbox. It gets tiring when you have to search for each one, because the draft window has to stay visible the whole time.

Save them all, then attach once

1. In the message list, click the first email, then Command-click each of the others so they are all selected.
2. Choose File > Save Attachments.
3. Pick a folder, or make a new one for the purpose, and click Save.
4. Press Command-N for a new message.
5. Click the paperclip button in the toolbar, or choose File > Attach Files (Shift-Command-A). Open the folder, press Command-A to select everything, and click Choose File.

You can also skip step 5 and drag the files from the Finder folder into the message.

Look through the folder before you attach. Save Attachments saves everything attached to the selected emails, which often includes signature logos and other small images that were embedded in the messages. Delete the strays so the recipient does not receive a row of company logos.

Afterward you have a folder of copies on your disk. Keep it if the files belong in a project, or drag it to the Trash once the email is sent.

Forward the emails themselves

Select the emails, then choose Message > Forward as Attachment. Mail creates one draft and attaches each selected email to it as a message file. The attachments ride along inside those emails.

This is the right choice when the context matters: who sent each file, when, and what they said about it. It is a poor choice when the recipient only needs the files, since they have to open each attached email and dig the attachment out. Some mail apps, phones in particular, handle an attached email clumsily. How to save an email as a file on a Mac explains what those message files are.

If you read mail in a browser

Webmail has no drag from one message into another. Download each attachment, which puts it in your Downloads folder, then start a new message and either use its attach button or drag the files from Finder into the compose area. Aim for the compose area itself. A file dropped elsewhere on the page can make the browser open it instead, as covered in why your browser opens a file instead of uploading it.

Collect as you read, attach once

Both Mail methods assume the emails are easy to line up. Often they are not. One is from last week in the inbox, one is in an archive mailbox, and one only turns up through search. Save Attachments needs them all selected at the same time, which is hard across mailboxes and searches. Dragging into a draft needs the draft window in view while you hunt, and it gets buried.

Ledge lets you collect first and compose afterward. When you find the first email, drag its attachment up to the notch at the top of the screen and let go. It lands on a shelf that drops from the notch and stays there. Search for the next email, switch mailboxes, scroll back a month. Each time you find a file you need, drag it up. The shelf holds things from other apps too, so a document from a Finder folder or an image from a web page can join the same set.

When you have everything:

1. Press Command-N in Mail for a new message.
2. Open the shelf with Option-Space or a click on the notch.
3. Drag the items into the body of the message.

Mail receives them as files and attaches them. There is no folder of leftover copies to clean up, and no window arranging while you search. On a Mac without a notch, the shelf lives at the top center of the screen.

The limits, plainly: Ledge does not read your mail, find attachments for you or send anything. It holds what you drag to it. It has no account and no cloud, so the files stay on the Mac until you press Send yourself. It also does not change how big an email can be. Several attachments add up, and every mail provider has a ceiling on message size. If the total is large, put the files in one archive first; how to zip files from different folders into one archive on a Mac shows how.

Questions

Does dragging an attachment into a new message remove it from the original email?

No. The new message gets a copy. The original email and its attachment stay exactly as they were.

Can I forward only some of an email’s attachments?

Yes. Forward the email, then click each attachment you do not want in the draft and press Delete. Only what remains is sent.

Why did my reply go out without the attachment?

Replies leave the original attachments out, on the reasoning that the sender already has them. Choose Edit > Attachments > Include Original Attachments in Reply before you send, or use Forward.

Why can I not drag an attachment out of an email?

It may not have been downloaded yet. Click the email and give it a moment to load fully, then try again. An attachment that is still arriving cannot be dragged.