Knowledge Base

OL97: Cannot Rename an E-mail Attachment Without Opening It

Article ID: 173129

Article Last Modified on 1/20/2007

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q173129

SYMPTOMS

If you receive an e-mail message with a file attachment in Microsoft Outlook, there is no way to change the name of the attachment without saving the attachment to your hard disk drive using the new name, and then reattaching it to the message.

RESOLUTION

You must save the attachment to your hard drive using the new name and then reattach the new file to the e-mail message to rename a message attachment.

Follow these steps to rename the attachment:
  1. Open the mail message and using your right mouse button, right-click the attachment icon.
  2. Click Save As on the shortcut menu.
  3. In the File Name box, type the new name.
To reattach the file to an e-mail message, follow these steps:
  1. Place your insertion point in the e-mail message where you want to insert the attachment.
  2. On the Insert menu, click File.
  3. In the Insert File dialog box, click to select your new file. Check that under Insert As, you have Attachment selected and click OK.

MORE INFORMATION

You can use the steps below to change the Label of the attachment in the e- mail message without actually opening the attachment. Changing the label, however, does not change the file name and file type. For example, you can use the steps below to change an attachment Label from Myfile.ini to Myfile.doc, but the file type remains .ini. If you double-click the file, it opens as an .ini file type and not a .doc file type. If you attempt to save the attachment, it still defaults to Myfile.ini in the Save As dialog box.

To Change the Label Name of a Attachment

To change the label name of an attachment follow these steps:
  1. Open the e-mail message.
  2. Using your right mouse button, right-click the attachment and click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  3. In the Label box, type the new name and then click OK.
The Label of the attachment now reflects the new name in the e-mail message; however the attached file retains the original file name and file type.

Keywords: kbprb KB173129


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