How do i attach an excel file to an email in outlook?

If you frequently email your colleagues Excel files (and how doesn’t) this is a quick tip to speed things up by doing that directly from Excel. You don’t need to hop across to Outlook.

Table of Contents Show

Send Link Dialogue Box
1. Sharing Permissions
2. Address line
3. Attachment / Outlook
4. Send Button
What can I do if my Excel file is not attaching to an email?
1. Send it as a different format
2. Repair the Excel file
3. Disable the third-party antivirus and firewall software
4. Check that Outlook is the default email client
5. Delete the MSMAPI32.DLL file
6. Repair the MS Office suite
7. Uninstall duplicate Office apps
8. Reinstall Microsoft Office
How do you send an Excel spreadsheet as an Attachment in an email?
How do I attach a File to an email in Outlook?

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From within your file, all you need to do is go to the ‘File’ tab and hit ‘Share’.

This will let you access all the options you will need to send your work to your colleagues!

Send Link Dialogue Box

From here you can see the Send Link dialogue box. I have highlighted several key parts.

To find out how to link an Excel worksheet with a Word document click here.

Here you can adjust what you want the other people you send the document to be able to do. Edit lets them change the work, view lets them just see it.

2. Address line

From the Address line you can type in the person you want to send it to’s Email. This is how you will send your Excel work to another person. You can add as many people as needed!

3. Attachment / Outlook

If you click the attachment button then outlook will generate a link for you to send to someone directly that can let them view your document without having to email them. This is particularly useful if you are a more casual user and looking to share your document over a messenger service like WhatsApp.

If you click the Outlook button a similar event will occur. Again it will generate your link but also open Outlook on your computer so you can write out a proper email in a familiar environment. This is great if you are looking to write a long message to a colleague explaining what the Excel file shows.

4. Send Button

Once you are happy with your settings, hit send!

Conclusion

Now you know exactly how to share your Excel documents! As long as you can adjust your settings based on the individuals you are sending your work to, you will have no issues sending your work to anyone with these methods! If you want to learn more about Excel you can find our guide on renaming worksheets here.

level 1

Let me know if this resolves for you!

Select the cell into which you want to insert your file
Click on the “Insert” tab
Click on “Object” under the “Text” group
Select “Create from File”
Browse your file
Select the “Display as icon” check box to if you want to insert an icon linking to the files
Click on “OK”

level 2

Hi, this worked! ... Thank you so much!!

+1 Point (OP indicated your solution worked, SVR’d the answer, but Clippy was MIA)

level 2

Hi, this worked! I tried Display as Icon but the icons it gave weren't intuitive that it was a link to email. I tried just inserting as link and it appears the same as the pic i sent. Thank you so much!!

by Matthew Adams

Matthew is a freelancer who has produced a variety of articles on various topics related to technology. His main focus is the Windows OS and all the things... read more

Updated on September 30, 2020

You can send an Excel file with Outlook just by using the Send as Attachment option from Microsoft Excel.
Some users received the General mail failure error when trying to attach an Excel file.
If you're interested in more digital tools heck our Productivity Software section.
For guides, tips, and tricks, explore our Excel Troubleshooting Hub.

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Microsoft Excel includes a handy Send as Attachment option that enables users to attach Excel spreadsheet files to Outlook emails.

Thus, users can attach spreadsheet files to emails and send them directly from Excel. It’s an option that neatly integrates Outlook with Excel.

However, some users have posted on software support forums about a General mail failure Excel error.

That error message can pop up when users try to attach spreadsheets to Outlook emails from within Excel.

Consequently, they can’t attach Excel files to emails with the application’s Send as Attachment feature. Below are some potential resolutions for fixing the General mail failure issue.

What can I do if my Excel file is not attaching to an email?

1. Send it as a different format

If Outlook rejects attaching the Excel file, you can also disguise it cleverly in another format. The best way to do that is to compress the file by using WinZip.

To do that, find the Excel file on your computer, right-click on it and select the Add to archive option. The newly obtained Zip file will be most likely accepted as an Outlook attachment.

Also, this software includes a file conversion option so you can transform your Excel file into another type and see if it gets accepted by Outlook.

WinZip is the most popular file archiving tool but it’s not only that because it evolved a lot during the last years.

Now, this excellent tool features many other tools like data encryption, data backup, file management, and even file merging.

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2. Repair the Excel file

Your Excel file might be rejected by Outlook because it’s probably corrupted. Don’t worry because you can fix it easily by using specialized software like Stellar Repair for Excel.

This tool’s job is to secure Excel workbooks and the data from corruption. However, it can also rebuild corrupted Excel files and restore all the datasets and visuals.

Stellar Repair for Excel can recover all the Excel file structure including the tables, charts, formulas, and even cell comments.

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It also works with more files simultaneously and supports even the older Excel versions from 2000 & 2003 to 2019.

3. Disable the third-party antivirus and firewall software

Some users have confirmed they’ve fixed the General mail failure error by removing third-party firewall blocks for MS Excel.

So, try turning off (or uninstalling) any third-party antivirus and firewall software to see if they’re blocking Excel’s email attachment feature.

A lot of antivirus utilities include a disable (turn off) option of some kind you can select by right-clicking their system tray icons.

If you can’t find such an option, however, uninstall the third-party antivirus or firewall software.

You can as well uninstall your antivirus software, but you will have to replace it quickly because you can’t leave the system unprotected for long periods of time.

We recommend you to switch to a more effective antivirus, firstly to not interfere with any of your software so you will not be forced to disable or uninstall it.

In order to find the right option, it is recommended to look for the most efficient antivirus software on the market.

4. Check that Outlook is the default email client

Press the Windows key + S keyboard shortcut.
Enter default apps in the search box.
Click Default apps to open the window.
To change the default email software, click the email software.
Select Outlook on the Choose an application window.

5. Delete the MSMAPI32.DLL file

First, make sure that Outlook and Excel aren’t running.
Open File Explorer (press the Windows key + E hotkey).
Open this path in File Explorer: C:Program Files (x86)Common FilessystemMSMAPI1043MSMAPI32.DLL
Select the MSMAPI32.DLL file and press the Delete button.

6. Repair the MS Office suite

Press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut.
Input appwiz.cpl in the Run box and click OK to open the uninstaller window.
Select the MS Office suite listed there.
Click the Modify (or Change) option.
If it’s an MSI-based MS Office, select the Repair option. Press the Continue button.
Users with click-to-run Office suites will need to select Online Repair, then click onRepair.

7. Uninstall duplicate Office apps

The General mail failure error often arises due to duplicate versions of MS Office apps being installed.

Some users might have older versions of MS Office applications installed alongside newer ones. Thus, removing duplicate MS Office might resolve the issue.

To do that, open the Windows 10 Start menu and click the Microsoft Office folder there to see if there are any duplicate Office applications there.

Right-click duplicate Office software there and click Uninstall to remove app entries that don’t relate to your current Office version.

8. Reinstall Microsoft Office

First, make sure you have the activation code (product key) to reinstall it with.
Click the Download button on the Microsoft official page to get the Office uninstall support tool.
Open the Office uninstall support tool, and uninstall the suite.
Restart Windows after uninstalling Microsoft Office.
If you don’t have any installation file for MS Office, you’ll need to click the download link for the suite on your Microsoft account page.
Then enter your MS Office product key.
Click the Install Office option.

Those are some of the confirmed fixes for Excel’s General mail failure error. With that error fixed, you can then attach Excel files to emails with the application’s Send as Attachment option.

If you have any other questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section below.

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How do you send an Excel spreadsheet as an Attachment in an email?

Send as an attachment.

Click File > Share > Email, and then choose one of the following options: Send as Attachment Opens an email message with a copy of the file in its original file format attached. ... .

Enter the recipients' aliases, edit the subject line and message body as necessary, and then click Send..