How to Delete Email Attachments

Delete attachments to remove them from your computer.

Email attachments are items that come with your email. Similar to using a paperclip to attach a piece of paper or a picture to a written document, email attachments are connected to emails as they arrive. If you do not want the email attachments, there are several easy ways to delete them from an email or from your computer.

Instructions

1. Click on the email attachment if you have downloaded it to your computer. Drag it into the recycle bin. Or, right click on the icon for the attachment and select "delete" or "Send to recycle bin." This will delete the file from your computer, though you might want to also empty your temporary Internet files just to make sure there isn't a copy of it.

2. Click "Reply" to reply to the email message in which the attachments were sent. Most email programs will automatically re-attach an attachment when you reply. However, if you right-click on the name or icon for the attachment, and select "Delete" or "Remove", you can delete it from the message.

3. Look at a link for any attachment that appears in an email, a sent message, or a junk email. Click "Remove" or "Delete" if you see those words next to it. Some programs also have a small "x" near the attachment, which you can click to close the attachment.

References

• Expedient: Help for Email Attachments
• Senior Mag: Attachments