How to add an email as an attachment in the Apple Mail app

Learn how to send an existing email as an attachment using Apple Mail app on your Mac, iPad, and iPhone to retain the original message instead of forwarding it.

Add email as attachment

When the recipient opens the attachment, they will see the original email message with the styling, formatting and everything else appearing unaltered.

Attach an email message to another one

Mac

Open the built-in Mail app on your Mac and create a new email message or reply to an existing one. With the main Mail window and the composer window both open, drag an exiting email message and drop it onto the composer window.

Adding an email to a new email on Mac

Attach a saved email

If you saved an email to your computer (File > Save As), drop it on your new message or click the Attach button, locate the saved email, and click Attach Files.

Attaching email to an email on Mac

Dragging-and-dropping attaches the email message in its original format. When saving an email message to your Mac, choose Raw Message Source from the Format menu in order to save it in the original message format.

Raw Message Source format when saving email on Mac

iPhone

Open the Mail app on your iPhone and create a new message or start replying to an existing one. Now pull down the compose sheet to minimize it and reveal the message list, then hold the email you’d like to attach and drag a little.

Composing a new email and minimizing it in iPhone Mail app

Without letting go, use another finger to hit the minimized compose sheet at the bottom and drop your email attachment there.

Dragging and dropping email in new email compose screen on iPhone

Here’s a GIF showing this in action.

Add email as an attachment in Mail app on iPhone

iPad

Open the built-in Mail app on your iPhone and touch and hold the email you’d like to send as an attachment, then drag a little, hit the compose or reply button with another finger, and drop your attachment there.

Dragging an email and then composing new email on iPad

Alternatively, you can open two Mail app windows in side-by-side view or Slide Over mode and drop an existing email message on the compose or reply window.

Dragging and dropping an email in a new email compose box on iPad

You don’t need to attach whole emails often. But when the time comes, peruse this tutorial to remember just how easy it is to do on an iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

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