Method 1: The standard way of attaching a file to an e-mail message is to create the message as normal and then click the "Insert File" icon or choose Insert from the File menu. You then find the folder containing the file, select it and choose the Insert button to attach the file to the message.

Method 2: The above method is fine .... but if you are working with a file in Word, Excel or PowerPoint you can create the e-mail message and attachment without switching back to Outlook. To do this, make sure the file you want to send is on the screen and from the File menu choose Send To ... and then choose Mail Recipient (or Mail Recipient as Attachment depending on your version of Microsoft Office). Outlook will now open up a new e-mail message on your screen with the file inserted into the message as an attachment. This can take a couple of seconds. The name of the file becomes the subject of the e-mail. Complete the e-mail as normal and then click Send.

Method 2 can be a lot easier than Method 1 if you are working in a large folder structure and find it time consuming to find the file you wish to attach to the message.

If you decide to keep an attachment you should save it in your folder structure as Outlook saves the attachment in a temporary folder.

Method 1: When reading an e-mail that has an attachment most of us instinctively double-click the attachment to read it. If you do this, the easiest way to save the attachment at this point is to choose File Save As ... and then find the folder you wish to save the file in.

Method 2: If you have the e-mail message open and you know you want to save the attachment it is quick and easy to right-click on the attachment and choose Save As... from the short menu that appears.

Method 3: If a message contains more than one attachment you can save them all at once by choosing Save Attachments from the File menu of the e-mail. To be able to do this you must double-click the e-mail first to open it into its own window.