To share an email conversation with others you’ve got two options: you can forward an email in Gmail or you can attach an email to another one in Gmail. Find out how to use Gmail to attach an email in this step-by-step guide.

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Quick tutorial: attach email in Gmail

  • Option 1: Right-click on the mail to be attached to open the context menu and select ‘Forward as attachment’. A new email draft will open in Gmail with the selected email attached.
  • Option 2: Compose a new email and drag the message to be attached into a new email window. To do this, click on the email to be forwarded and hold down the mouse button while dragging the email into the new email window. Release the mouse button.
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Attach an email in Gmail via the menu

  1. If you want to attach several messages to a single email, you must first select all the desired messages from the Gmail overview. To do this, tick the boxes to the left of the subject. If you only want to send one email as an attachment, this step is not necessary.
Image: Gmail inbox, tick boxes besides emails
Select the emails to be forwarded by clicking the boxes.
  1. Right-click on your selection or the email you want to attach. This will launch the context menu.
Image: Gmail context menu
From the context menu select ‘Forward as attachment’.
  1. Select ‘Forward as attachment’.
  2. A new email draft will open, in which the message(s) is/are attached.
Image: New email draft with emails attached
Emails are loaded as attachments in a new email draft.
  1. Finally, formulate the accompanying message and send the email including attached mail(s) to one or more recipients.
Tip

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How to write and send an email as an attachment in Gmail

  1. Launch a new email window.
Image: New email in Gmail
Compose a new email.
  1. From your Gmail (formerly Googlemail) mailbox, drag the email you wish to attach to the new email window. To do this, simply click on the message and hold down the mouse button. Move the mail into the new email and release the mouse.
Image: Drag email as attachment into a new email
Drag and drop an existing email into a new one.
  1. To attach multiple emails, select all the desired messages clicking their boxes in the inbox (see step 1) before dragging them to the new email window.
  2. The selected email(s) will now be added as attachments.
Image: Email as attachment
The email is loaded as an attachment.
  1. All that’s left to do is to type your new email and add one or more recipients. Hit ‘Send’ whenever you’re ready.
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Answer an attached email

Replying to an attached email is just as easy as attaching one. To do this, double-click on the attachment to open the message. This launches a new window containing all of the usual Gmail functions.

Speaking of familiar functions: Find out how to set up an out-of-office note in Gmail and a read receipt, how the Gmail archive works and how to delete your Gmail account in our dedicated guides on these topics.

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