Sometimes it’s easier to provide someone with an email they receive rather than explain it or copy and paste the text. In Gmail, you can attach an email to a reply and let recipients read it for themselves.
Forwarding emails as attachments in Gmail is always an option. But if you want to keep the same email thread, you can attach one or more emails to your reply.
Attach an email to a Gmail reply
You’ll need to take care of this task on the Gmail website instead of the mobile app. So, visit Gmail, sign in, and select the email you want to reply to.
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Use the reading pane
To reply to and attach the email using the Reading Pane, click the Reply icon to the right of the email.
You will then see the reply box within the Reading Pane on the right or at the bottom, depending on your settings.
Click and drag the email you want to attach to the reply box and drop it. As you drag, you’ll see the box with Drop emails here displayed.
You will see the attached file at the bottom of the response box as an EML file. You can then attach another email the same way or just complete your message and send it on its way.
Use the popup
If you find it easier to use the popup for your replies, you can just as easily attach an email to it.
Start by doing one of the following:
method one: Select the email, click the In new window icon (a box with an arrow coming out of it) in the upper right, and then click the Reply icon (an arrow that rotates to the left).
method two: Select the email, click the Reply icon (an arrow that rotates to the left), and then click the Open in Popup icon (a box with a smaller box inside) in the reply box.
method three: Right click on the email in your inbox and select “Reply”. This automatically opens the response in its own window.
Once you have your reply open in a new window, drag the email you want to attach to that window and drop it. Like the Reading Pane option, you’ll see Drop emails here as you drag.
You will see the attached email at the bottom of the reply. Attach another email following the same steps or complete your message and hit “Send” when ready.
About reply attachments in Gmail
These are just a few things to keep in mind when attaching an email to a reply in Gmail.
- You can attach as many emails as you like to your reply.
- If the file size of the attachments exceeds 25 MB, the file is attached via Google Drive.
- Attached emails are sent as EML files that your recipient should be able to view by clicking or double-clicking, depending on their email program.
Attaching an email to a reply in Gmail is much easier than trying to reiterate what was written or copying the text of the email and pasting it into your reply. Remember this handy trick the next time you want to reply with an email attachment in Gmail.
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