How to forward an email without original attachments in Outlook?
When you forward an email in Outlook, all the original attachments are included by default. In practice, there are many occasions when you may prefer not to forward these attachments—such as when you want to focus the recipient’s attention solely on the message content, minimize inbox clutter, or decrease the overall size of your sent email. Although it is possible to remove attachments one by one before forwarding, this manual approach can become repetitive and inefficient, especially if you’re working with numerous emails at once. To simplify this task, Kutools for Outlook offers a dedicated solution that automatically detaches attachments and inserts hyperlinks in their place, streamlining the forwarding process and helping you manage your mailbox more efficiently.
Below you’ll find solutions for both individual and batch email forwarding scenarios. You’ll also learn about potential limitations of each approach, practical tips to avoid common mistakes, and alternative methods you might consider, based on your needs and Outlook usage habits.
Forward an Email Without Original Attachments by Removing All Attachments (Manual & Time-consuming)
Forward Multiple Emails Without Attachments Using Kutools for Outlook 👍 (Fast & Automated)
Alternative VBA Method: Remove Attachments Before Forwarding Emails (Custom & Automated)
Forward an Email Without Original Attachments by Removing All Attachments
If your goal is to forward just a single email without transferring its attachments, Outlook allows you to manually delete all attached files before forwarding. This technique is suitable when handling one-off messages and you want direct control over the content.
1. In the "Mail" view, select the email you want to forward and click "Home" > "Forward".
2. In the forwarding message window, move to the section labeled "Attached". You can click any attachment to select it; then, for convenience especially when there are many files, use "Select All". Next, under the "Attachments" tab, click "Remove Attachment". This instantly deletes all attachments from the draft forwarding message. If you want to remove only specific files, you may select them individually before hitting "Remove Attachment".
3. Once all attachments are removed, finalize your message and click "Send" to forward the email without any attached files.
When using this manual method, pay attention to possible errors—for example, accidentally omitting an attachment you did intend to forward, or removing crucial files needed for the recipient's context. Always double-check the "Attached" section before sending. If you are working with sensitive data, confirm with colleagues or documentation that it is safe to forward the message without those files.
Limitations of this Method:
- ❌ Manual Process: Requires removing attachments one by one each time, which increases the risk of missing an attachment or accidentally sending confidential files.
- ❌ Not Ideal for Bulk Emails: If you need to forward multiple emails in succession, you’ll have to repeat this process for each one, which can quickly become inefficient and laborious.
- ❌ Doesn’t Reduce Mailbox Size: While the forwarded messages won’t contain attachments, the original emails in your mailbox will still keep their files, consuming storage and potentially slowing Outlook performance over time.
Tip: If you regularly forward emails without attachments, consider using an automated method to avoid unnecessary manual effort and improve consistency.
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Forward Multiple Emails Without Attachments Using Kutools for Outlook 👍
For those who frequently need to forward several emails but want to exclude the original attachments, the manual removal method quickly proves inefficient. This is particularly true in busy business environments or project settings where forwarding large volumes of emails is routine. "Kutools for Outlook" offers a streamlined solution: it can detach all attachments from selected emails, replacing each with a secure hyperlink to the original file location. This means you can forward numerous messages simultaneously, with all attachments safely removed but still accessible via links if needed.
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Step 1: Detach all attachments from emails
Make sure you're in the "Mail" view. Select all emails whose attachments you wish to remove. To select multiple emails efficiently, use "Ctrl" for non-adjacent selections or "Shift" for adjacent rows. Click "Kutools Plus" > "Attachment Tools" > "Detach All". This will begin the detachment process for all chosen emails in one batch operation.
Step 2: Set detachment settings
- In the "Detach All" dialog, click the
"Browse" button to designate a folder location where the attachments will be saved. For organization, consider using a project-specific folder or date-structured subfolder. - (Optional) Adjust the detachment style according to your workflow. You can choose to insert hyperlinks or decide on other visual indicators for reference.
- (Optional) Enable the "Keep the attachment icon" setting if you want a visual cue in the emails indicating where attachments were previously located. This can help recipients know there was an attachment originally, now accessible by hyperlink.
- Click "OK" to confirm your settings and start the detachment process.
- Upon confirmation, click "Yes" in the dialog to finalize.
"Browse" button to designate a folder location where the attachments will be saved. For organization, consider using a project-specific folder or date-structured subfolder.
Be sure to review your detachment settings before clicking "OK", especially if dealing with sensitive information. Selecting an appropriate destination for attachments reduces risk of misplacing files and makes future retrieval easier.
Step 3: Forward emails without attachments
Keep your emails selected and click "Home" > "Forward". After composing your forwarding message, click "Send". Each forwarded email will now contain hyperlinks to the removed attachments rather than the actual files—saving bandwidth and decluttering the recipient's mailbox. If the hyperlinks do not appear as expected, double-check that the detachment process was successful and attachments are stored at the location you specified.
Using Kutools for Outlook’s detachment feature helps prevent mistakes that commonly occur when manually removing files and speeds up bulk tasks. Attachments are not lost—they’re simply moved and referenced for convenience.
Why Use Kutools for Outlook Instead?
- ✅ Bulk Processing: Efficiently forward multiple emails at once without carrying over bulky attachments, ideal for customer support, project management, or reporting workflows.
- ✅ Saves Time & Effort: Avoids the repetitive nature of manual removal, letting you focus on more important tasks or higher-value work.
- ✅ Reduces Outlook Mailbox Size: Frees up storage space in your mailbox by detaching large files, which can help improve Outlook’s speed and reliability over time.
Additionally, this method reduces the chance of accidental file sharing and supports better compliance with data management protocols. However, keep in mind: recipients will need access to the destination folder where attachments were saved.
If you regularly forward emails without attachments to teams or clients, consider organizing detached attachments in a shared network location or cloud service. This ensures that anyone following a hyperlink in the forwarded message can actually access the file, avoiding confusion or missing data.
Precaution: Before forwarding, verify that all required attachments have been successfully detached and saved, and make sure that the destination folder has appropriate access rights for anticipated recipients.
Alternative VBA Method: Remove Attachments Before Forwarding Emails
Outlook users comfortable with simple automation may utilize a VBA macro to forward selected emails without attachments. This approach is beneficial if you don't have access to Kutools, want further customization, or need to process emails in specific ways not covered by built-in or add-in functions. For example, you could forward multiple selected messages, ensuring attachments are stripped automatically before sending.
Preparation: Before running this macro, select one or more emails in your Outlook "Mail" view that you wish to forward without attachments.
How to use:
1. Select the emails you intend to forward, then press Alt + F11 to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications editor.
2. In the VBA window, go to Insert > Module, then copy and paste the following code into the new module.
VBA code: Forward selected emails without attachments
Sub ForwardEmailsWithoutAttachments()
Dim xSelection As Selection
Dim xMailItem As MailItem
Dim xForward As MailItem
Dim xAttach As Attachment
Dim i As Integer
On Error Resume Next
xTitleId = "KutoolsforOutlook"
Set xSelection = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection
If xSelection.Count = 0 Then
MsgBox "Please select at least one email.", vbInformation, "KutoolsforOutlook"
Exit Sub
End If
For i = 1 To xSelection.Count
If xSelection.Item(i).Class = olMail Then
Set xMailItem = xSelection.Item(i)
Set xForward = xMailItem.Forward
' Remove all attachments
Do While xForward.Attachments.Count > 0
xForward.Attachments.Remove 1
Loop
xForward.Display
End If
Next
Set xMailItem = Nothing
Set xForward = Nothing
Set xSelection = Nothing
End Sub3. Press the F5 key to execute the macro. For each selected email, a forwarding window will open with all attachments removed. Review, add your message, and click Send to forward each email.
Tip: If you have multiple emails selected, each will be processed in its own forwarding window. Always double-check that attachments have been removed. If you see an Outlook warning, ensure your security settings allow macros to run. Should you encounter errors, try restarting Outlook or reviewing your macro security options in Trust Center.
This VBA method is a flexible solution for users needing a lightweight, script-based approach. However, it does require a few manual steps and is best suited to intermediate to advanced Outlook users familiar with the VBA editor environment.
Demo: Forward multiple emails separately without their attachments
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