Difficulty in working with email attachments is one of the most common problems I hear from students. And although the number one issue is normally “I can’t open or see some of the email attachments that I get”, I hear about all kinds of other problems as well…
- I got an email attachment and I don’t know what to do with it.
- Someone sent me a picture as an email attachment but I don’t know how to save it.
- I want to send someone a file, but I don’t know how to attache it.
And the list goes on.
The first thing to keep in mind about email attachments, is that they are nothing more than files that you are “piggybacking” along with a regular email message. Basically, it’s just a way to send a file with an email.
Email attachments have been used in the business world to propagate important documents for years. It wasn’t really until the digital photography revolution (i.e. folks like you and I taking digital pictures) that the typical home computer user really started using attachments.
And today, the most popular use is to share pictures.
Yes, I know that Facebook is really the number-one picture sharing service, but a lot of people still use email to send their pictures to family and friends.
Anyway, with all the questions I get about attachments, I guess it’s about time that I finally come out with a short video blog on the subject. The video below is not a comprehensive look at attachments, but just something to give you the basics and help you get started with them.
Email Attachments – the Basics
Click the lower-right corner button (above) to go Full Screen—>>>
Once the video starts playing, click the “gear” button (above) to change the video quality—>>>
As always, I’d love to hear about your own personal experiences (or problems) with email attachments. You can leave your comments below!
Hi John: I can hear your voice on the screen talking about the topic, but the small screen remains black. Any suggestions? Thank you! jim
Hi Jim…
If you visit YouTube, can you see the videos that play there? I ask because the video on the DiscoverSkills site is just an embedded YouTube video, nothing fancier than that. It should play in most browsers without any problem.
If you find that other YouTube videos don’t play correctly either, then you might need to update Adobe Flash on your computer, using the browser you’re having trouble seeing the videos in.
But if you can see the YouTube videos… then I’m not sure what might be going on.
Be sure to let me know, will you?
Thanks for posting!
John Lortz
Hi John, Long time no see : Just a note to tell you your email example and story was very good. The tempo (speed of delivery) was just right. My only complaint was the small screen. Thank you so much for your time and effort in making it. Charlie Stoll 3-1-13
Hi Charlie!!!
Great to hear from you! Glad that you liked the article / video and how it was presented. That means a lot coming from you!
As for the small screen… I totally agree that the original size of the video, as it appears on the page, is way too small.
However, you can click the small icon at the lower right of the video to go “full-screen” at any time. That’s probably the best way to watch it.
Hope all is going well with you!!!
John Lortz
I finally got around to watching the Attachments Video. It answered all my questions. Thanks much!
Hi Edie…
Glad you found the video useful! I’ll be putting more like this up in the very near future!
Take care…
John Lortz