How to attach a folder in an email message in Outlook?

Author Kelly Last modified 2025-04-07

Attaching individual files to an email in Outlook is straightforward, but what if you need to send all the files in a folder, or even the entire folder itself? Fortunately, there are efficient methods to do just that. This guide will show you some quick tricks to attach all files within a folder or the entire folder to an email message in Outlook, making your file-sharing process more effective.

Attach a folder in an email message with inserting all files as attachments in this folder

Attach a folder in an email message with the Mail Recipient feature

Attach a folder in an email message with the Compress (Zipped) folder feature

Attach a folder with inserting all files as attachments in this folder

The "Attach File" feature can help you attach all files in a folder in composing email messages quickly.

Step 1: Click the "New Email" button under the "Home" tab to create a new email message.

Step 2: In the Message window, please click the "Attach File" button in the "Include" group on the "Insert" tab.

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Step 3: In the Insert File dialog box, search for the folder you will attach and open it. And then select all files in this folder.

Note: You can press the "Ctrl" key and "A" key simultaneously to select all files in this folder.

Or you can select all files in this folder by holding the "Shift" key and clicking the first file and the last one.

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Step 4: Click the "Insert" button.

Then all files in the selected folder are inserted in the composing email messages as attachments. See the following screenshot:

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Note: If there are sub-folders in the selected folder, these sub-folders won’t be attached to the composing email message at all. That means this method works fine with folders without sub-folders.

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Attach a folder in an email message with the Mail Recipient feature

Another method to attach all files in a folder in an email message is with the "Send to Mail recipient" feature.

Step 1: Locate the folder on your computer that you wish to attach to an email message.

Step 2: Right-click the folder, and then click the "Send to" > "Mail recipient" in the right-clicking menu.

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Then all files in this folder will be attached to a new opening email message as attachments. Click to see the screenshot.

Note: If there are sub-folders in the selected folder, these sub-folders won’t be attached to the new opening email messages.

Attach a folder in an email message with the Compress (Zipped) folder feature

If you need to attach a folder with sub-folders, you’d better try this "Send to Compress (Zipped) folder" feature.

Step 1: Find out the folder which you will attach in an email message to your computer.

Step 2: Right-click the folder, and then click the "Send to" > "Compress (zipped) folder" in the right-clicking menu.

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Step 3: Give the new compressed .zip file a new name.

Step 4: Select and right-click the new compressed file, and then click the "Send to" > "Mail recipient" in the right-clicking menu.
Then the new compressed file of the selected folder is inserted in the new opening email message as an attachment. See the screenshot:

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