Searching for attachments through email can be time consuming and annoying. Fortunately, Microsoft has a “File” view in Outlook Online that makes it easy to find any document you’re looking for. Here’s how it works.
Microsoft Outlook has traditionally been a fusion of email, calendar, people, and tasks, but it omits one key component: data. If you use the Outlook desktop client, you have powerful search options to fill the gap. As for attachments, there is a dedicated “Have attachments” option on the “Search” tab specifically for files you have sent or received.
Outlook Online does not have the ribbon, but you can still search for attachments by clicking the arrow in the “Search” box and turning on the “Attachments” selector.
Microsoft has gone a step further in Outlook Online and released a dedicated file viewer for Microsoft 365 / Office 365 subscribers and Outlook Live accounts.
You can access this view by clicking on the “Files” icon in the lower left corner of Outlook. This will be the default between the “People” and “To-Do” icons.
If you can not see it, but instead have a three-point icon, click on the three-point icon and then on the ‘Files’ option in the menu that appears.
The default view shows all files, with an icon showing the file type, the subject, the sender, the date it was received or sent, and the directory in which the email with the attachment is stored.
In a slightly strange turn, image files are not displayed in this default view. To show it, you can click on “Files x” to show all files inclusive or click on the “Photos” option in the sidebar to show only images.
By default, the files are displayed in a list view, but you can click “View” and change to “Tiles View” to display the files rather than thumbnails.
This is where the “Photos” option comes into its own, as it is much easier to find the picture you are looking for.
To open an attachment, double-click it in the Schedule list, and it opens a panel with a preview of the attachment and the email to which it is attached.
From here, you can download the file and perform various other actions, depending on the file type, as well as the standard actions that you can normally do with email, such as Reply, Send, and so on.
If you just need to find an attachment and download or print it, you can skip this step and download or print it directly from the list. Click the three-point menu icon next to the file name and select the appropriate action in the menu.
Alternatively, you can select the item by clicking on the circle to its left and the same options appear on the toolbar.
It is ideal for downloading multiple files at once, as this method allows you to select as many files as you want.
When you are done with your files and want to return to your email, click on the “Mail” icon at the bottom left of Outlook.
File Viewer is a great addition to Microsoft Outlook Online. It’s easy to use, fast and lets you manage your attachments in a user – friendly way, which is definitely more sophisticated than just searching through search results.