Expert Guide to Save Outlook Attachments to Desktop Folder

Overview: Emails communication is an excellent way to stay connected over the Internet. Also, various email services like Microsoft Outlook allows users to transfer documents, images, and other crucial data items by the way of attachments. At the same time, they are heavy in size that can lead to increase in mailbox size. So, it is vital to save attachments from outlook to folder automatically.

Users can easily save Outlook attachments to folder and save locally. It will help in managing Outlook mailbox size and performance. So, what are we waiting for, lets get started with the solution to save only attachments from Outlook mailbox and save locally in separate folder.

So, if you are one of those users who use Outlook as their email client and receive several emails with attachments daily then, this article must be useful for you. This is so because here I’m going to demonstrate some simple techniques to save Outlook attachment to desktop or some other location in your computer rather than keeping them in Outlook.

Why Save Attachments to Desktop Folder?

Know all the aspects which help users save attachments from outlook to folder automatically. Below are those pointers to note:

• Attachments are stored on a local desktop folder instead of opening Outlook to get attachments each time.
• By saving the attachments separately, you have a backup of the important documents.
• In case Outlook crashes or the data within the.pst file is corrupted.
• Outlook has a storage limit. Removing attachments can maintain your mailbox size and reduce the size of mail databases which makes the email client run faster.
• Now that you’ve saved all the files locally. So, that you can compress, share, or bulk edit in ways that Outlook doesn’t let you.
• Stored attachments can then be further leveraged in automated processes, for example such as document management systems or custom scripts.

Save Attachments From Outlook to Folder Automatically – Manual Methods

There are four manual solution to follow in order to save attachments to desktop folder. Have a look into all these methods one after one.

#1. Save Outlook Attachment to Folder Automatically Using VBA Script?

The steps mentioned here for how to save attachments from Outlook  to desktop automatically are tested in Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010. So, let’s see how to save Outlook email attachments to hard drive.

• First of all, launch Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) by pressing Alt and F11 keys in Outlook to save Outlook attachment to folder
• Then, paste the following script in the Modules section from the left side.
• If there is no any Modules in the Module section, create on via hitting a right-click on Modules. Click Insert >> Module

Public Sub saveAttachtoDisk (itm As Outlook.MailItem)
Dim objAtt As Outlook.Attachment
Dim saveFolder As String
saveFolder = "c:\temp\" 
For Each objAtt In itm.Attachments
objAtt.SaveAsFile saveFolder & "\" & objAtt.DisplayName
Set objAtt = Nothing
Next
End Sub

• After that, paste the following script in the main window of VBA to save Outlook attachments to desktop and close it
• Now, you need to create a Rule that will call the script to save outlook attachment to folder automatically. For this, click on Tools >> Rules and Alerts. Select New Rule bar.
• In new rule wizard, select Check messages when they arrive option.
• Then, you can specify certain criteria for emails to save outlook email attachment to local folder.

• From the third screen, select ‘run a script’ option. After clicking on the ‘script’ you need to check the pasted script in VBA console.
• Hit the Finish button and test what you’ve done to automatically save outlook attachments to hard drive.

In case if you receive several email messages with the same file name but, do not want to overwrite their attachments with the already saved attachments then, add the following code in previous code.

 Dim dateFormat     dateFormat = Format(Now, "yyyy-mm-dd H-mm")

After this, you need to replace the ‘objAtt.SaveAsFile‘ code with the following code to make outlook save email attachments to desktop folder automatically:

objAtt.SaveAsFile saveFolder & "\" & dateFormat & objAtt.DisplayName

There might be some users who may need to save certain type of attachments then, they can use the following code within the ‘For Each’ loop (rather than the mentioned code) to save Outlook attachments to desktop:

if InStr(objAtt.DisplayName, '.xml') Then
objAtt.SaveAsFile saveFolder & "\" & objAtt.DisplayName
end if

Recommendation – Read more to know how to save attachments from multiple emails in Outlook.

Finding Issues With Outlook Rule? Know Them

While executing the above steps to save outlook email attachments, I faced a strange issue that I was not getting the Rule to work with it. If the same thing is happening with you, then you need to adjust the Outlook Security Settings. Now, if you’re thinking how to do this exactly then, follow the steps below:

• Open Microsoft Outlook and click on the File tab and select Outlook Options

• In Outlook Options wizard, select Trust Center and click on Trust Center Settings
• In the left side, you’ll get the Macro Settings option. Select Notifications for all the macros
• Click OK so that outlook macro can save attachments to hard drive
• However, before macro runs, Outlook will ask you to confirm if you want to run the macro to automatically save outlook attachments to hard drive
• Re-launch your Outlook application to apply the configuration change

So, this was the manual approach i.e., using Outlook rule to save attachment to desktop. Nevertheless, if you are not so technically savvy and finding this manual technique somehow complicated. Then, I’ve another amazing solution for you to save attachments from Outlook to folder automatically.

#2. Drag and Drop to a Desktop Folder

The easiest way to save attachments from Outlook to your desktop is to drag and drop them. No technical knowledge needed to perform this method.

• Open the email that contains the attachments.
• Click and hold the attachment.
• Simply drag it to a folder on your desktop or to your File Explorer.
• Let go of your mouse to drop and save the file.

Best For: One or few time sending emails with attachments.

#3. Download Attachments from one Email in Bulk

This approach allows you to save all attachments from a single message in one fell swoop, which can be especially handy if you’re working with a bunch of files at once. It is an easy way to keep your documents organized without bouncing between tabs to save files one at a time.

• Open the email in Outlook.
• Then you can press the attachment drop-down arrow or “File” > “Save Attachments” option.
• Choose “Save All Attachments“.
• Now choose your desktop folder as destination location.
• Click OK or Save button.

Best For: Those with a lot of attachments in their emails.

#4. Apply the Quick Steps Feature

Quick Steps in Outlook is an easy way to perform multi-stepped actions at a single click of a button. The following action doesn’t save attachments, but still has uses with other actions to help speed up the process.

• Navigate to Home Quick Steps Create New.
• Give your file name like Save Attachment.
• Select an action such as “Move to Folder” although this will not directly Save to desktop.
• For actual save, combine with VBA or use the below professional solution.

Limitations of Using Manual Methods

There are certain drawbacks which you may face particularly during manual steps.

• It’s so time consuming to save attachments from several emails.
• For new emails, you will have to repeat the process.
• Limited or no support for bulk export without scripting.
• There’s a possibility that it accidentally delete or duplicate your attachments using drag & drop method.
• VBA is for techies and it can get broken with Outlook upgrades.

Use Expert Solution to Download Attachments from MS Outlook to Desktop

One of the majorly used and powerful software to save Outlook attachments to desktop automatically is none other than the Microsoft Outlook Attachment Extractor. The software proficiently extracts attachments and save on desktop from different Outlook files such as PST, OST and BAK files. One can make the best use of various customized filters from the software panel. Some of them include the option to save attachments from all folders or selective folders. Provides support to extract attachments from Outlook data files from single files or bulk files.

One of the highlighted features of the tool is the date filter option wherein only the attachments which is specified under the date range category will be extracted. This selective attachment extraction provides great relief for users who do not want to extract all the attachments thereby saving their valuable time.

Another advanced feature includes “Size filter” in which one needs to mention the size range from 1KB to 100MB. With this, the attachment will be extracted based on the specified size. All these advanced features are induced in the all-rounder software.

• Download, Install and Launch the software on your Windows system.
• Select Auto Locate MS Outlook Default Storage Location to add Outlook file. If you have changed default location or having orphaned file, selective respective file option. 
• You can save Outlook attachments to desktop automatically for all folders or selective folders as shown in the below image. One can exclude extraction from deleted items & junk folder by marking the required checkbox.
• The software renders various customized filters such as option to apply date filter, selective date items attachment extraction, advanced size filter option and much more.
• After applying all the required settings, simply click on the “Extract” button to begin extracting Outlook attachments.
• Once the attachments are extracted successfully, it will be placed at the mentioned folder path.

Steps for Mac OS User’s

Mac OS user can follow the below steps and easily save attachments from Outlook to folder automatically. Lets get started

• Launch the utility after downloading and installing it on your Mac system. 
• Choose relevant option and add Outlook database file from which you want to save attachments.
• Now a window will appear simply choose one radio button from Maintain Folder Hierarchy, Create Single Folder Only, No Folder Hierarchy, Create Folder for Each File Type. Further on Browse path to save attachments and at last hit Export button. 
• Verify the save attachments from Outlook to desktop or folder. 

Time To Wrap Up

In this article, I’ve shared my personal experience to resolve a common Outlook issue i.e., save Outlook attachment to desktop. Here, I’ve discussed a manual technique for how to save attachment from outlook to desktop automatically with its limitations. Despite this, an automated solution also mentioned here to automatically save outlook attachments to hard drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

In this segment, we answer some of the commonly asked queries by users related to saving attachments from Outlook to their desktop folder/s.

1. How to bulk download attachments from Outlook?

Ans. Download the afore mentioned software and add your Outlook PST, OST & BAK file. Once you apply the required settings, click on Extract button and seamlessly get your attachments extracted from the Outlook data file.

2. How do I automatically save email attachments to a folder?

Ans. There are top three ways you can save your attachments from MS Outlook to desktop folder. You can use VBA Script, Outlook Rules or the above-mentioned expert-recommended automated utility according to your preference to accomplish the task.

3. Can I save multiple pictures from an Outlook email at once?

Ans. Yes, for this open your Outlook email and select a picture/ image. Hit a right-click on the picture and choose Save All Attachments. Browse a destination location in your computer and all your pictures will be saved at once.

4. Where can I find PST files in Windows 10?

Ans. The default location of Outlook PST in Windows 10 is drive >> users >> AppData >> Local >> Microsoft >> Outlook.

5. Do attachments also expires in Microsoft Outlook?

Ans. Since attachments are a part of email so, as long as you have the email you have attachments too. But, sometimes the basic properties of attached files can be missing like font, layout etc.