From AptivateOER

Opening attachments

Along with the text of the email message, it is possible to 'Attach' a file to an email to be sent as well. This could be any kind of file, such as a word-processed document, a spreadsheet, a PDF, pictures or a music file. For example, someone might have sent you a form, or copy of a worksheet you need by sending it as an attachment to an email.

You can tell when someone has sent you an attachment because when you see the email in your inbox, there will be a + symbol just before the subject line. Here's an example:

To open the attachment, you need to first open the email.

You will need to have the right tools, known as 'applications' or 'software', on your computer to open a file sent as an attachment. If, when you click on it, the computer displays a message saying that it does not recognise the file type of the attachment, ask one of the CAMA resource centre managers what you should do.

You do need to be careful about attachments because sometimes computers can get what is called a 'virus'. Sometimes when this happens, emails from the infected computer might contain attachments which will give your computer a virus too, if you open them.

• Never open file names ending with .exe
  
• Be careful with file names ending .zip. Check what it is if it is from someone you know.
  
• Files ending in .jpg, .png, or .gif (images) are fine to open.

[edit] Instructions

1. First, you need to open the email with the attachment. You can read the chapter on 'Checking your Inbox' for instructions on how to do this.

2. At the bottom of the email, you will see a listing of the attachment that looks like this:

3. The name of the file that is attached is on the left and is written in blue and underlined. You can open it by clicking once with the left mouse button.

4. The next piece of information is the size of the file, in this case, 24 k, which stands for 24 kilobytes. If the file is very large, it could take a long time for you to open it.

5. The next piece of information tells you what kind of file it is, and therefore what kind of tool you will need to have on your computer to open the file. In this case, the file if a 'pdf' so you will need to have an application on your computer that can open pdf files.

6. When you click on the attachment name, it should automatically open in a new window if you have the correct application on your computer. If it does not, ask the CAMA resource centre manager what you should do.