How To Attach A Folder To An Email

You probably use email countless times a day to send messages, communicate, and share information and documents. But what if you are required to email multiple files or documents at once?

You can’t directly attach folders to email as you do with files.

So if you are confused as to how to attach a folder to an email, there’s a workaround that you can use. In this article, we’re going to discuss those workarounds.

Table of Contents

Why Attach a Folder to an Email

Sometimes you might need to send a large number of files at once. It will be a nightmare to attach each file one by one and send it.

That’s why sending the whole folder containing the files can save you a lot of hassle.

Hence it’s the main reason you might want to attach a folder to an email.

No matter what device you use, attaching a folder to an email requires you to compress it into a .zip file.

Almost every PC has a built-in compressing tool. You can use it to compress your folder into a zip folder and email it as an attachment.

Follow the steps below to compress your folder into a ZIP file and attach it to an email.

In Windows

Navigate to the location of the folder
Right-click on the folder and select Compress to ZIP file. The file will be saved on the current path.
Open your email
compose or create a new email
Click on the attachment (paperclip icon)
Select the compressed .zip file to attach it

Using Outlook and Winrar

If you use Outlook to send and receive email on your Windows device, there’s a more straightforward method to attach a folder. For this method, you need to install Winrar on your device.

Go through the steps mentioned below to send an email in outlook, with a folder attached:

Head to the location of the folder
Select the folder you want to attach and right-click on it
Click on Show more options. Select Compress and email.
Set your preferences and click Ok

In Mac

The process is almost the same on every PC, but the steps might vary slightly. Hence, listed below are the steps to attach a folder to an email:

Open Outlook and create a new email.
Click on attach file. Locate the folder you want to attach and select it.
Click compress to confirm

In Android

There’s a built-in compressor on most of the Android devices as well. This means you can send a folder at once by compressing it into a ZIP file.

To attach a folder to an email on Android, follow the steps below:

Go to the file manager and locate the folder
Select the folder and open its menu
Choose Compress
Rename the compressed file if you like, then press Ok.
Open the email and create a new email
Now click on the attachment icon and select the compressed file

You can use third-party apps to compress the folder if your device doesn’t have a built-in compressing tool.

Can I Attach Multiple Files in One Email?

You can attach multiples files without needing to compress them if they don’t exceed the size limit.

To attach multiple files at once in Windows follow the steps below:

Navigate to the location of your files
Select the ones you want to attach
Right-click and select Show more options
Click on Send to. Select Mail recipient
Choose the size of the file and click Attach.

If it doesn’t work, try reducing the size of the file/s.

What if the Attachment Size Exceeds the Limit?

There’s a specific limit to how large a file you can attach to an email. If the attachment size exceeds that limit, you won’t be able to send the email.

In such a case, you can dissect the file/s to match the appropriate size, compress them and send them separately.

For more convenience, you can upload the files or folder to a drive and attach the link to the email. You can also use this method even if the file size does not exceed the limit.

To upload the files or folder, follow the steps mentioned below, respective to the Drive you use.

Google Drive

If the attachment you’re trying to send through Gmail exceeds the limit, the file or folder will be automatically uploaded to Google Drive. And the link will be attached to the email as a supplement.

However, you can also manually upload a file or folder to Google Drive and share the link through email.

Here’s how you can upload and send a folder as an attachment from Google Drive:

Open Google Drive on your browser
Click on the “+” sign and select folder upload
Choose the folder you want to upload

Note: You can also drag and drop the folder on the Google Drive window to upload it directly.

After completion, right-click on the uploaded folder and click on Share and enter the recipient’s email address.

One Drive

Another workaround in such a scenario is to use OneDrive. OneDrive is Microsoft’s official cloud storage service. Using it can be very convenient to upload and share files and folders on Windows.

To upload a folder and send it as an attachment in OneDrive:

Open OneDrive on your browser
Click on Upload on the top-right. Select Folder
Choose the folder you want to upload

You can drag and drop the folder into the OneDrive window to upload it directly.

Now, right-click on the recently uploaded folder and Select Share
Enter the recipient’s email address and send it

iCloud Drive

To upload a folder on iCloud drive and send it as an attachment, follow the steps below:

Open iCloud Drive on your browser
Click on the Upload icon
Choose the folder you want to upload
Select the recently uploaded folder and click on the Profile icon
Select Share Options and select Share
Enter the recipient’s email address

How to Send the Same Attachment to Multiple Recipients?

One of the handiest features of an email is the CC (Carbon Copy). This feature allows users to send the same email to multiple recipients at once. This saves you from the hassle of creating a new email and attaching the file each time.

To send the same attachment to multiple recipients, follow the steps related to the email service you’re using.

Gmail

Open Gmail and compose a new email
Corresponding to the recipient section, click on CC
Enter the email address of each recipient
Attach the files and click Send

Outlook

Open Outlook and click on New Email
On the CC section, enter the email address of each recipient
Click on Attach file to attach items
Now click on Send

Another feature of email allows you to send personalized emails and attachments to multiple recipients at once. The feature is known as mail merge.

In Gmail, you can create a mail merge using Google Sheets to send personalized emails and attachments. Similarly, you can also create a mail merge in outlook. However, you need to rely on third-party apps to attach files to the mail merge in Outlook.