If you want to download an email to use offline, to save it, or if you want to send it as an attachment to someone, gmail allows you to retrieve your emails in EML format. So in this article, we will show you how to download emails from Gmail to your desktop, as it is not possible to do it on your mobile.
What is EML format?
When you go to download emails from Gmail, they are saved in EML format. This EML format is a standardized format for email messages. It is therefore a relatively raw format that will store all the information present in an email, from its content to its attachment. Since it is standard, it can be read by most classic email clients such as Outlook, Windows mail or Thunderbird.
On the other hand, Gmail does not offer any option to read this file type.
But what is interesting is that this type of file can be attached to your emails. We will show you how to do it at the end of the article.
Save a Gmail email to your computer
Rest assured, it is really very simple to save an email from Gmail. It only takes a few steps that we detail below.
To get started, head to Gmail in your favorite web browser and sign in to your account.
Click on the email you want to download to open it.
In the email, click on the three vertical dots located at the top right of the screen.
In the “three dots” menu, browse through the different options available and choose the “Download message” option.
You will see the standard save window of your computer. Choose here the folder in which you want to save your message. By default, your file will be named after the title of the email. You can of course change this name to make it easier to find your way around.
Then click on "Save" to save your message. Now you have a backup of your email on your computer.
This very simple process works with any email in any folder in your Gmail box. So you can save both the messages you received and those you sent or even the messages stored in your folders on Gmail.
How to open or attach the downloaded email in a new email?
It's not just about downloading an email, you also need to know how to open it or forward it to someone.
To open the email you saved You can use any email client installed on your computer. Your default email client should be recognized immediately, so you just need to double-click the file to open it.
If you want to open with another email client, you can do a right click on the file, click “open with…” and select the software you want to use.
If you want to attach the email to a new email, you just need to create an email in your favorite email client (Gmail or other) and select the option to attach an email (often with a paperclip icon). Find the email on your hard drive and validate.
Your recipient will then receive a copy of your email that they can open with an email client as mentioned above.
In short, the download function of the Gmail mails is extremely useful because it allows you to make offline copies of your important emails. You can then access these downloaded messages even if you don't have internet access.
There you have it, now you know how to download emails from Gmail! If you have other tips for Gmail, don't hesitate to tell us about them in the comments below the article!
