How to save an email as a file on a Mac

In the Mail app, the quickest way is to drag the message from the message list onto the desktop or into a Finder folder. That creates an .eml file holding the whole message, attachments included. If you need something anyone can open on any device, choose File > Export as PDF instead.

Drag the message out of Mail

1. Open Mail and find the message in the message list.
2. Arrange things so you can see the desktop or the Finder folder where the file should go.
3. Drag the message from the list to that spot and let go.

A file appears, named after the subject line and ending in .eml. Double-click it and it opens in Mail as a standalone message, with the sender, date, formatting and attachments as they were. The original stays in your mailbox; the file is a copy.

You can save several at once. Command-click or Shift-click the messages in the list, then drag the group out. You get one file per message. Messages in the same conversation often share a subject line, so check that the number of files matches the number of messages, and rename them so you can tell which is which.

Export it as a PDF

A PDF is the better choice when the email is going to someone else, or into records that should stay readable for years.

1. Select the message in Mail.
2. Choose File > Export as PDF.
3. Pick a name and a location, then click Save.

The PDF looks like the printed message: sender, recipients, date and subject at the top, the body below. With several messages selected, Mail asks for a folder and writes a separate PDF for each.

Attachments do not travel inside the PDF. Images shown in the body appear on the page, but an attached spreadsheet or document is not included. Save those separately with File > Save Attachments.

For more control over the page, choose File > Print, then use the PDF menu at the bottom of the print dialog and choose Save as PDF. That route lets you set the paper size and orientation first.

Save it as text or raw source

File > Save As offers three more formats in its Format menu.

• Rich Text Format. Keeps fonts, links and layout in a document that TextEdit and most word processors open. Check Include Attachments to bundle them in.
• Plain Text. The words alone, with no formatting. Good for pasting into notes or a ticket.
• Raw Message Source. The complete message as it arrived, headers and all. This is the same content the drag method produces.

Which format to pick

• Choose .eml when you want the message to remain a message. The headers are intact, the attachments are inside, and it can be opened in a mail app and forwarded or replied to. It suits handing a message to a colleague who uses a desktop mail app, or keeping an exact record of what was sent and when.
• Choose PDF when the reader may be on any device, or when the email is going into an expense claim, a project folder or a printout. Nobody needs a mail app to read it.
• Choose text when you only need the words.

One caution applies to all three. A saved email is an ordinary file with no protection of its own. Anyone who can open the folder can read it, and it will be included in whatever backs up or syncs that folder. Think about where it lives before you save something sensitive.

A whole mailbox, or webmail in a browser

To save every message in a mailbox, select the mailbox in the Mail sidebar and choose Mailbox > Export Mailbox. Pick a destination and Mail writes an .mbox package there. To bring it back later, on this Mac or another one, use File > Import Mailboxes.

If you read your mail on a website instead of in the Mail app, there is no message list to drag from. Open the message and use the browser’s print command, then save as PDF from the print dialog. In Safari, File > Export as PDF does the same in one step. Many webmail services also have a download option in the message’s own menu that produces an .eml file.

Getting the saved file where it belongs

Dragging a message out of Mail only works if the destination is visible while Mail is in front. Often it is not. The project folder is three levels down, or the chat where the email needs to go is on another Space. The usual compromise is to drop the file on the desktop and deal with it later, which is how desktops fill up.

Ledge gives the file somewhere to wait. Once the .eml or PDF exists, drag it 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. Go and find the destination at your own pace. When it is in front of you, open the shelf with Option-Space or a click on the notch, and drag the file off.

Where you drop it decides what arrives:

• On a Finder folder, the file itself moves there, so nothing is left on the desktop.
• On a chat app, the file uploads into the conversation.
• On a terminal, the path arrives as text.

Saved email is often private, so it is worth knowing that Ledge has no account and no cloud. The file stays on the Mac until you send it somewhere yourself.

For attachments rather than whole messages, how to move a file from email to a project folder covers the same trip, and why a dragged attachment ends up in a temporary folder explains a common surprise along the way.

Questions

Can someone without the Mail app open an .eml file?

Most desktop mail apps on any platform open .eml files. If you are not sure what the recipient uses, send a PDF, which needs nothing special.

Does the .eml file include the attachments?

Yes, provided Mail had already downloaded them. If the message shows an attachment that has not been fetched yet, open the message and let it load before you drag it out.

Does saving an email remove it from my inbox?

No. Dragging, exporting and Save As all create a copy. The message stays in the mailbox until you delete it.