Download All Attachments from Outlook, Even Across Emails
Founder and CEO, The Drive AI
TL;DR: Every Outlook saves all the attachments from one message in two clicks: Save All Attachments in classic Outlook for Windows, Download all in new Outlook and on the web. Across many messages there is no built-in control; Microsoft documents only per-message saving. The ways around it are a VBA macro in classic Outlook, a Power Automate flow for new mail, and add-ins such as MAPILab Attachments Processor or Kernel for Attachment Management. The Drive AI's Historical Sync imports up to 365 days of attachments from a Microsoft-hosted mailbox and a workflow files them by what each document says.
One message is easy. The job that sends people searching is the other one: a year of supplier invoices across a folder, the signed agreements in a mailbox about to be closed. Outlook's controls work on the open message and stop there. Below: the per-message steps for each Outlook, what Outlook cannot do across messages, and the routes that can.
Disclosure: The Drive AI publishes this guide and is one of the options compared. Microsoft's details come from Microsoft's own documentation, and prices from the vendors' pages, checked November 2, 2026.
How do you save all attachments from one Outlook message?
In classic Outlook for Windows, select the drop-down arrow beside an attachment and choose Save All Attachments. In new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, select the arrow or the More actions icon beside an attachment and choose Download all. (Microsoft: open or save attachments)
Per version:
- Classic Outlook for Windows. Save As for one file, Save All Attachments for every file in the message; files go to Documents unless you pick another location.
- New Outlook for Windows. Download, Save to OneDrive or Download all; choose a folder and select Save.
- Outlook on the web and Outlook.com. The More actions icon beside the attachment offers the same three.
- Outlook for Mac. Microsoft's page does not cover it, so this guide does not either.
A file a colleague attached from OneDrive or SharePoint arrives as a link, not a file (Microsoft allows classic attachments up to 112 MB and OneDrive attachments up to 2 GB for that reason), and a link has nothing to download. (Microsoft: Exchange Online limits)
If the icon is there but the file is not, or it will not open, see Outlook attachments not showing.
Can Outlook download attachments from multiple emails at once?
No. Microsoft's attachment article documents saving from one message only, and selecting several messages offers actions on the messages, not their files. Rules cannot do it either: the full list of rule actions has nothing that saves an attachment. (Microsoft Learn: rule actions) The old workaround, a rule that runs a script, was disabled by a security update, and Microsoft points to Power Automate instead. (Microsoft Q&A)
Narrow the set first: search takes hasattachment:yes, from: and received:, and new Outlook and the web add a Files tab. (Microsoft: find all messages with attachments) The email attachment search builder writes the query; more in how to find emails with attachments.
Which route saves attachments from many Outlook messages?
| Route | What it saves | Where to | Names files by | Old mail | Price basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Drive AI Historical Sync | Attachments from one Microsoft-hosted mailbox, images and calendar files skipped | The Drive AI workspace; a workflow then files each one into the folder your instructions name | What the document says, once a workflow reads it | Last 30, 90, 180 or 365 days | Max or any Team plan |
| Save All Attachments / Download all | Every attachment in one message | A folder you pick, or OneDrive | The original filename | One message at a time | Included with Outlook |
| VBA macro (classic Outlook for Windows) | Attachments from every item in a folder you loop over | A folder path in the macro | Whatever the macro writes | Yes, any folder | Free, your time |
| Power Automate flow | Attachments from mail that arrives after the flow is on | One OneDrive or SharePoint folder per flow | The original filename, unless you write expressions | No | Included with Microsoft 365 for standard connectors |
| MAPILab Attachments Processor | Attachments from incoming mail and folders you choose, optionally replaced with a link | A disk folder | The original filename | Yes, chosen folders | $3.25 a month on an annual subscription |
| Kernel for Attachment Management | Attachments from Outlook folders and PST files, filtered by sender, subject, recipient or size | A local or network folder | The original filename | Yes, including PST archives | $49 for a home licence |
Every route but the first ends with a folder of files named by whoever sent them; the first row reads the document before it files it.
How do you download all attachments from Outlook with a VBA macro?
A macro in classic Outlook for Windows loops over the items in a folder and calls Attachment.SaveAsFile with a path for each attachment; Microsoft's reference shows the method saving one attachment to Documents under its display name. (Microsoft Learn: Attachment.SaveAsFile)
- Open the Visual Basic editor in classic Outlook for Windows with Alt+F11 and add a module.
- Select the folder in Outlook, so the macro can take
Application.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolderand loop itsItems. - For each mail item, loop its
Attachmentsand callSaveAsFilewith a destination folder plus the attachment'sDisplayName. - Guard against collisions. Microsoft's own example warns that an existing file with the same name is overwritten, so add a counter or the date, and run it on a test folder first.
The costs: the editor lives in classic Outlook for Windows only; macro security settings may need an administrator; and the macro knows the filename and the sender, not what the document is.
Can Power Automate save Outlook attachments to OneDrive or SharePoint?
For new mail, yes. A cloud flow with the trigger When a new email arrives (V3), Include Attachments set to Yes, and a Create file action for OneDrive or SharePoint inside Apply to each saves every attachment to one folder under its original name. (Microsoft Learn: save email attachments to SharePoint)
The Outlook, OneDrive and SharePoint connectors are standard, included with Microsoft 365 at up to 6,000 actions per user per day; Premium connectors cost $15 per user per month paid yearly. (Licensing deep dive, Power Automate pricing) The trigger fires on mail that arrives after the flow is on, so the backlog stays where it is. The build is in how to save email attachments to SharePoint.
Which add-ins extract attachments from many Outlook emails?
Two Windows add-ins do the bulk job in classic Outlook.
MAPILab Attachments Processor pulls attachments out of incoming messages and folders you choose, saves them to disk, can replace each with a link, and runs automatically, on a schedule or by hand. MAPILab lists it for Outlook for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Outlook 2019 back to 2002, at $3.25 a month on an annual subscription. (MAPILab)
Kernel for Attachment Management extracts attachments from Outlook folders and PST files, filters by subject, sender, recipient or size, and saves to a local or network folder. Nucleus lists a home licence at $49, corporate at $149 and technician at $299, as discounted prices on the day checked. (Nucleus Technologies)
Both keep the original filename and put everything in one folder. For a closed PST archive, Kernel is the practical answer.
How does The Drive AI get a year of Outlook attachments out and filed?
Every route above leaves a folder of Scan_0043.pdf. Historical Sync plus a workflow ends with the attachments named and filed, a full year back.
- Connect Outlook in Settings, then Integrations. Only Microsoft-hosted mailboxes connect: Microsoft 365, Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, Live.com and custom domains on Microsoft hosting, not on-premises Exchange. Microsoft asks to read mail in your own mailbox; The Drive AI cannot send, move or delete anything.
- Get the approval if it is asked for. Many organisations require a Microsoft 365 administrator to approve The Drive AI before a work or school account connects, and a Conditional Access policy may need to allow it.
- Run Historical Sync from the account's menu, for the last 30, 90, 180 or 365 days, with sent mail if you want. One import runs per account at a time and can be cancelled.
- Let the attachments land at the top level of your workspace, as they are. Images, calendar invitations, blocked senders, files an earlier import already brought in and malware are skipped.
- File them with a workflow. Imported files do not start the Email Attachment trigger, so set up a workflow that watches uploads to The Drive AI and describe the filing in a sentence: "Whenever a file lands here, read it and file it by what it is, named by the vendor or client and the date on the document." Each file is read, scanned PDFs included, renamed and moved into the folder your instructions name; Ask a Person to Approve holds anything you want to see first.
- Keep it on for new mail with an Email Attachment workflow on the same account, as in how to automatically save Outlook attachments.
Honest limits: a year is the ceiling, so a PST from 2019 still needs Kernel or a macro, and images are skipped. A shared mailbox nobody signs in to cannot be connected; the workflow watches the connected account that receives the mail, and in a team workspace it can watch several members' inboxes. Connecting email needs the Max plan on a personal workspace or any Team plan; workflows on files you upload work on every plan. Details are on the save Outlook attachments page; the pattern across inboxes is in how to save email attachments to folders.
What should you do once the attachments are out?
Name them before you need them: 2026-10-14 Northwind Invoice 88213.pdf is findable by a colleague. Reclaim the mailbox space once a copy is filed; see how to delete large email attachments. And pick one home, with a tool that saves there without you, from the roundup of email attachment management software.
If the other mailbox is Google's, the same question has different answers, including Takeout and Apps Script, in how to download all attachments from Gmail.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I download all attachments from an Outlook email?
Select the drop-down arrow beside any attachment. In classic Outlook for Windows choose Save All Attachments; in new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web choose Download all.
Can I download all attachments from multiple emails in Outlook?
No; Microsoft documents saving from one message at a time. Use a VBA macro in classic Outlook, an add-in such as MAPILab Attachments Processor or Kernel for Attachment Management, a Power Automate flow for new mail, or The Drive AI's Historical Sync for the last 365 days filed by content.
How do I save all attachments from selected emails in Outlook?
Select the folder or search result, then run a VBA macro that loops the items and calls Attachment.SaveAsFile for each attachment, or use an add-in that extracts from a chosen folder.
Is there a "Save All Attachments" option in new Outlook?
The wording changes: new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web call it Download all, under the arrow or the More actions icon beside an attachment.
Can The Drive AI download attachments from Outlook?
It imports them. Historical Sync brings the attachments from the last 30, 90, 180 or 365 days of a connected Microsoft-hosted mailbox into your workspace, and a workflow files them by what each document says. The mailbox is never changed; a Microsoft 365 administrator may need to approve the connection first.
Save the one message by hand, import the year
Use Save All Attachments or Download all for the message in front of you. For the folder behind it, run Historical Sync for up to a year and describe the filing in one sentence. Import the backlog, or see how file workflows handle the mail that arrives after.
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