How to attach messages or meeting invitations to an email in Outlook?
In daily email correspondence, users frequently need to include background information, reference previous discussions, or share relevant event details. While most are familiar with attaching files saved on their computer to emails, Outlook offers valuable features allowing you to attach existing email messages or meeting invitations directly. This article explores practical solutions for attaching these Outlook items, highlighting useful scenarios and key techniques, as well as tips, precautions, and troubleshooting advice to ensure successful operation.
- Attach messages or meeting invitations to an email with Outlook Item feature
- Attach messages to an email with Forward as Attachment feature
- Attach Outlook messages using VBA code
Attach messages or meeting invitations to an email with Outlook Item feature
Outlook makes it simple to insert existing Outlook items—such as email messages, meeting invitations, appointments, contacts, and more—as attachments in your outgoing mail. This feature is especially helpful when you want to share specific internal records, reference the details of past communications, or delegate meetings to others. These Outlook items are embedded as standard .msg files, which recipients can open directly in Outlook.
Applicable scenarios: Include previous correspondence in a new email chain, forward meeting invites for scheduling review, share contact cards internally, or support audits and reporting by attaching related records.
Instructions:
1. Ensure you are in the Mail view. Click "Home" > "New Email" to create a fresh message that will host your attachments.
2. Within the new Message window, go to the "Insert" tab and select "Outlook Item". This action triggers a dialog box for item selection.
3. In the Insert Item dialog box, use the following guidance for optimal results:
• In the "Look in" section, click to expand folders and select the desired location. If you are attaching emails, choose a mail folder. To attach meeting invitations, select the relevant Calendar folder.
• Within the "Items" panel, highlight one or more items you want to include. You can select multiple items by holding the Ctrl key as you click.
• In the "Insert as" section, ensure "Attachment" is checked. This will attach the selected Outlook items as .msg files.
• Press "OK" to complete the insertion.
4. The selected Outlook items now appear as attachments in your draft message, as illustrated below. You can add recipients, write your message, and then send the email as usual. 
Notes and tips:
• If you select "Text only" in the "Insert as" section, the content of the selected item will be pasted directly into the body of your email, rather than as an attachment. This may be useful for including message text inline, but formatting and details may vary from the original item.
• Precautions: Only items stored in Outlook data files (such as messages, meetings, contacts, etc.) may be inserted. If you have moved an item to archives or deleted items folder, confirm it is still accessible from the "Look in" panel.
• Practical tip: Attaching Outlook items in this way preserves metadata and conversation history, which is useful for documentation or forwarding official notices.
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Attach messages to an email with Forward as Attachment feature
Outlook’s "Forward as Attachment" feature streamlines the process of sending one or more emails as attachments in a new message. This is particularly useful when escalating support requests, sharing error reports for IT troubleshooting, or referencing legal and contractual correspondence.
Scenarios and value: Use this feature to forward multiple related email threads to a colleague in one step, submit evidence during audits, or group and transfer conversation records efficiently. All selected messages arrive attached as .eml files, making them easy for recipients to open and review.
Instructions:
1. Navigate to your desired mail folder in Mail view. In the item list, select the emails to be attached.
Note: Hold down the "Ctrl" key to select multiple non-adjacent emails individually, or use the "Shift" key to highlight a range of adjacent emails by clicking the first and last in the list. This avoids unnecessary duplication and helps target just the needed items.
2. On the Home tab, click "More" and then select "Forward as Attachment". If this option is not immediately visible, click the down arrow in the "More" section to expand the list.
3. Outlook then opens a new message window with all your selected emails attached automatically. You can adjust the subject, address, and body before sending.
Precautions and tips:
• Email messages and tasks can be forwarded as attachments using this method. However, calendar items are not supported. Contacts can be forwarded separately via “Forward Contact” options (as a business card or as an Outlook contact).
• Error reminder: If you see a prompt that emails cannot be forwarded, check your account permissions (especially for shared mailboxes) and ensure that none of the selected messages are protected or encrypted.
• For best results, do not forward a very large number of emails at once, as this may make messages slow for recipients to receive or open. Group by topic or recipient when possible.
Troubleshooting: If the attached emails do not arrive as expected, confirm their formats and check if receivers use compatible email clients. Occasionally, attachments might be quarantined by organizational security policies; verify these settings before sending sensitive content.
Attach Outlook messages using VBA code
If you need to automate attaching selected Outlook messages to a new email, VBA code provides an efficient solution—especially for repetitive workflows or batch processing beyond the built-in manual options. This is particularly suitable for advanced users and those who regularly organize email batches for project reporting, legal discovery processes, or team archiving.
Scenario analysis: Using VBA, users can select multiple emails, then run a script to instantly generate a new draft with all chosen messages attached as .msg files. This can save significant time for admins, compliance teams, or anyone handling recurring multi-email tasks.
Important precautions: Before running any VBA scripts, ensure you have granted Outlook macro permissions and avoid executing untrusted code.
How to run:
1. In Outlook, select the messages you want to attach in the main message list pane. Then press Alt + F11 to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.
2. In the VBA window, click Insert > Module. Copy and paste the VBA code below into the newly created module:
VBA code: Attach selected Outlook emails to a new message as attachments
Sub AttachSelectedMailsToNewEmail()
Dim olApp As Outlook.Application
Dim olSelection As Selection
Dim olMail As MailItem
Dim olNewMail As MailItem
Dim i As Integer
On Error Resume Next
xTitleId = "KutoolsforOutlook"
Set olApp = Outlook.Application
Set olSelection = olApp.ActiveExplorer.Selection
Set olNewMail = olApp.CreateItem(olMailItem)
For i = 1 To olSelection.Count
Set olMail = olSelection.Item(i)
olNewMail.Attachments.Add olMail
Next i
olNewMail.Display
MsgBox "Selected messages have been attached to a new email.", vbInformation, xTitleId
Set olMail = Nothing
Set olNewMail = Nothing
Set olSelection = Nothing
Set olApp = Nothing
End Sub3. Now, press the F5 key to run the code. Outlook will open a new message window containing all selected messages as attachments. A dialog box titled "KutoolsforOutlook" will confirm the operation has completed. You may now edit and send your email.
Tips and troubleshooting: If the code does not work, verify that macros are enabled in Outlook settings and that you have selected the appropriate items before running the script. If duplicate or incorrect messages are attached, double-check your selection in the list view. Always remember to close the VBA editor when finished to avoid conflicts with other operations.
Summary suggestions: For users who need high efficiency or customized bulk email solutions, consider combining manual and automated methods for best results. Review permissions and compatibility with recipient software before sending attached Outlook items, and remember that Kutools for Outlook provides additional automation features for subject lines, signatures, and more to enhance your workflow.
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