How to Transfer Mac Attachments to PC Mail

Send Windows-friendly attachments in Apple Mail for PC compatibility.

When sending an attachment from a Macintosh computer to an email address on a PC, it must be formatted as a Windows-friendly attachment in order to be viewed on the PC. According to David Pogue, author of "Mac OS X Leopard Edition: The Missing Manual," Mac mail attachments sent to your PC that are not formatted for PCs may include a second attachment that is a useless file. In the Apple Mail application you have the option to send attachments that are compatible with PCs, but you may experience problems when attempting to open the attachment if it is fowarded to a Mac address.

Things You'll Need

• Mac OS X v.10.5 or later

Instructions

1. Open the Mail application on your Macintosh computer, and click the "New Message" icon at the top of the Mail window.

2. Click "Edit" on the menu bar at the top of the screen, and select "Attachments" from the pull-down menu. Click "Send Windows Friendly Attachments," and select the file you wish to send in the email. According to Pogue, if you wish to configure Apple Mail to always send Windows-friendly attachments, the sub-menu in Attachments will display "Always Send Windows Friendly Attachments".

3. Enter the receiver's email address in the "To" section, and create a subject for the email. The PC-friendly attachment will appear in the body of the email. If you enter a message before attaching a file, the attachment will appear at the bottom of the message.

4. Click the "Send" button in the upper-left corner of the email message to send the email.

Tips & Warnings

• If you wish to send a Windows-friendly attachment once, click the check box next to "Send Windows-friendly attachment" in the "Open" window when you are locating the file to attach to the email.

References

• "Mac OS X Leopard Edition: The Missing Manual"; David Pogue; 2007
• Apple: Mail 3.0 Help: If Windows Users Have Trouble with Your Attachments