How to download attachments from Gmail and save them to Drive or your computer
How to download attachments from Gmail: open the email, hover over the attachment and click the download arrow; the file goes to your Downloads folder. The Drive icon next to it saves the file to Google Drive instead. For a copy of the email and its attachments together, download the message as an .eml and open it in your browser with the converter.
Download attachments from Gmail to your computer
- Open the email. Attachments appear as cards below the message text, with a thumbnail and the file name.
- Hover over the card. Two icons appear: a download arrow and a Drive triangle.
- Click the download arrow. The file is saved to the browser's download folder; Chrome shows it at the top right, Safari in the Downloads list.
- To choose the folder each time, turn on Ask where to save each file before downloading in the browser's download settings.
Clicking the card itself opens a preview instead of downloading; the preview has its own download and print icons at the top right. With several files in one message, the attachment row shows a Download all arrow at the far right, which gives a ZIP. Details for bulk cases are in download all attachments in Gmail.
Have the email as a file (EML, MSG, MBOX)? Convert it to PDF in your browser: nothing is uploaded.
Save attachments to Google Drive
Hover over the attachment and click the Add to Drive icon (the Drive triangle). Gmail saves the file to My Drive and the icon changes to Organize in Drive, which lets you move it into a folder. The row-level Add all to Drive icon does the same for every file in the message. Files saved this way count against the same storage quota as the email, so this is a convenience, not a backup; the email and the file still live in one Google account.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides attachments open in their app with a click and can be saved with File, Make a copy, which also lands in Drive.
Save photos and inline images
A photo attached as a file shows as a card and downloads like any attachment. A photo pasted into the body of the message is an inline image: no card, no download arrow. Right-click it and choose Save image as, or open the message in the converter, which resolves inline images from the message itself and shows them in place. Phone cameras attach photos as files, so a batch of vacation pictures from a relative usually has cards and a Download all icon.
Forward an email with its attachments, or as an attachment
Forward keeps the attachments; Reply drops them. That is the usual answer to "why won't Gmail forward attachments": the message was replied to, not forwarded, or the file was an inline image that the reply stripped. To send a whole email as a file rather than as quoted text, open it, click the three dots at the top right and choose Forward as attachment; the recipient gets an .eml that opens in their mail client or in the converter. To send several, select them in the inbox list, click the three dots above the list and choose Forward as attachment; each becomes an .eml in one new message.
Confidential mode and attachments you cannot download
Messages sent in Gmail's confidential mode have downloading, forwarding, copying and printing disabled by the sender. Attachments open in a preview but have no download arrow, and Download message is unavailable. The only way to keep a copy is to ask the sender to resend it normally. Password-protected and encrypted attachments download fine but open only with the password; the converter shows encrypted messages as encrypted, not decrypted.
Keep the email and its attachments together
| Where you want it | Do this | What is kept |
|---|---|---|
| Downloads folder | Hover, download arrow | The file only |
| Google Drive | Add to Drive, then Organize | The file only, in the same account |
| Another person's inbox | Forward, or Forward as attachment | Message and files |
| A folder on your disk, as a record | Three dots, Download message, then the converter | PDF with headers, plus files as ZIP |
For the last row: drop the .eml on SaveMail, press Save as PDF, and download the attachments from the list below the message, one by one or all as a ZIP. The PDF shows who sent the file and when, with the Message-ID, which a folder of loose downloads loses. Nothing is uploaded; the file is parsed in your browser tab. Saving a whole set of emails this way is described in save emails to a folder, and the Drive version in save emails to Google Drive.
Frequently asked questions
How do I download an attachment from Gmail?
Open the email, hover over the attachment card and click the download arrow. The file goes to your browser's download folder.
How do I save a Gmail attachment to Google Drive?
Hover over the attachment and click the Drive icon (Add to Drive). Use Organize in Drive afterwards to move it into a folder.
How do I download photos from Gmail to my computer?
Photos attached as files download with the arrow on each card or Download all for the whole message. Photos pasted into the text need right-click, Save image as.
Why won't Gmail forward attachments?
Reply does not include attachments; Forward does. If you replied, start a Forward instead, or use Forward as attachment to send the whole email as an .eml.
Can you download attachments from a confidential Gmail?
No. Confidential mode disables download, forwarding, copying and printing for the recipient; ask the sender for a normal copy.
How do I send an email as an attachment in Gmail?
Open the message, click the three dots and choose Forward as attachment. The recipient receives the original as an .eml file.