Got some photos you want to share with friends or family? Or need to send a Word document? You can send any file you like by email. These files are known as attachments.

Before we get started, here are some things to remember:

• The larger file, the more time it will take the other person to download it, and the more space it’ll take up on their computer.
• If the file is too large, you may need to compress it before you send it. You can use a compression program, for example WinZip, to make the file smaller (download it from www.winzip.com). If they don’t already have it, the recipient will also need to download a version of WinZip, to “decompress” the file.
• Sending an executable file (.exe)? It’s a good idea to compress it first. This is because many viruses are spread via executable files attached to an email.
• To open the file, the person you’re sending it to will need to have the appropriate program. So if it’s a Word file, they’ll need to have Word on their computer to read it.
• If you want to attach a picture from a web page to an email, the way you do this is slightly different. Find out how by looking at this help guide: Attaching a web page picture to a message

To attach a file to an email message:

1. From your desktop click on Start and then click on Outlook Express from the Menu.





2. Click on Create Mail from the Outlook Express main screen to create a new message:





3. Create an email message as you would normally by entering the email address of the intended recipient(s) in the To, field, the subject of the message in the Subject field, and the body of the message in the main text area.





4. Click on Attach.
   
   
   
   The Insert Attachment window displays, as shown below:
   
   
5. Browse through the folders available on your computer, and select the file that you want to attach to the email.
   To do this, choose the folder that contains the file you want to attach using the Look in: drop down list shown above. Then highlight the file you want to select by clicking on it. Finally, attach the file to the email by clicking on Attach.

   This will take you back to the email. The attached file is shown in the Attach field, located below the Subject field.

6. Click on Send to send the email and attachment, or if you want to attach another file, repeat steps 4 and 5.