Where are attachments stored in Mail?

Question

Where are attachments stored in Mail?

After 13.5 years I'm going to have to move from Eudora 2.6.3 to Apple's Mail program. (A number of reasons...)

With Eudora there is a folder in the Eudora Folder entitled "Attachments Folder" and it is easy to go there to find any attachment, save a copy, etc.

Where are attachments to eMails stored on the Mac in the Mail program? Any other comments about folders like Spool or Parts folder in Eudora (and the equivalent in Mail) are appreciated.

Steve

MacBook 2GHz (2006) PBG4-12" G4733 eMac (2005), Mac OS X (10.5.8), MacOnly since 1989 with a Mac SE running 6.0.4

Posted on Oct 7, 2009 5:51 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Pongola

Level 1

0 points

Oct 7, 2009 6:05 AM in response to Stephen Schulte2

Mine are in / home folder/libraries/mail downloads

you can also quickly find them by typing "mail downloads" in spotlight

Paul

Reply

Answer 2

Oct 7, 2009 9:39 AM in response to Stephen Schulte2

Unless you have "Removed Attachments" ( Message menu > *Remove Attachments* ), the original encoded attachment remains attached to the message. If you have opened or Quicklook'd the attachment, then there might also be a decoded file in +~/Library/Mail Downloads+.

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 16, 2009 7:01 AM in response to Jeffrey Jones2

Just to better understand things - In Eudora (which I used for 13 years) - if a message had one or more attachments - you could always go the the EUDORA FOLDER and within that folder to the ATTACHMENTS FOLDER and find any attachment.

It seems that with Apple's Mail program, attachments are part of the message file. If you want to separate the attachment from the message file (for example if you want to keep a pdf manual that someone sent you; or if you want to keep a photo) then you have to either quickly CLICK the SAVE button near the attachment in the message (which then takes it to the folder you set for this - which is the folder DOWNLOADS if you use the default /users/me/Downloads location (not "ATTACHMENTS TO EMAILS" Folder which might be more logical...));

-->or you hold down that SAVE button and choose where you want these attachments to go-- in which case you can put them anywhere with any name for the folder you wish.

Is what I wrote above more or less correct??

Just trying to understand this so I can find important documents attached to eMails. Because what if I DON'T SAVE THEM and then a week or a month later I realize I need them - the attachment -- how can I easily find the attachement? It may have a weird name like lk06678334-kn.pdf and in Eudora I could kinda search the attachments folder and look at the date and use ICON view-- but if the attachment is bonded to the message-- then what? What if it's a message without anything other than the attachment?? How to find that?

Best regards,

Steve Schulte
Friday 16 October 2009 at 16:01

Reply

Answer 4

Oct 16, 2009 7:30 AM in response to Stephen Schulte2

Stephen,

It is not clear to me in the case where there is a weird name, how having them in an Attachments folder would aid in finding them? I have always appreciated the fact that Mail kept the attachments with the message text content.

To clarify the purpose of the Mail Downloads or other designated folder, it came about in Mail 2.x in Tiger, and is meant to allow temporary storage when other apps might be used to edit an attachment (such as with a Word doc) and then return the edited file to the original sender or others. In the cases where the attachment gets placed in the Mail Downloads folder, that copy is totally redundant to what is kept with the message, but the one in the message can never be altered. This is why in Mail Preferences/General you see a selection about when to remove any files from the Mail Downloads folder, and most people would choose to have that take place when they next close Mail, or some short time duration.

To Save an attachment, beginning with Mail 3.x and Leopard, the Save button can be used in two ways. If you make a quick click on the Save button in each message, all the attachments get placed into the aforementioned Mail Downloads folder. If you click and briefly hold on the Save button, you can easily get a dialogue to allow you to choose where you want to permanently save any or all attached files, and name the folder, etc.

In Mail 3.x, with IMAP accounts, within the actual mailboxes, there came into use an Attachments folder -- again redundant to the copy kept with the message, but providing a cache location for any attachment actually downloaded, which with IMAP could either be by the setting when downloaded to be kept as a copy for Offline viewing, if not set to do that, upon actually clicking on a message to display and read.

In Mail 4.x & Snow Leopard, the Attachments folder has been added to the xxxx.mbox folders of POP accounts -- again redundant to the copy stored with the message, and the file goes into the Attachments folder at the time of download whether yet read or not. I have not explained the need for this folder with a POP account, and am concerned that the redundancy will balloon storage requirements, and I am trying to find out more about that.

Ernie

Reply

Answer 5

Oct 22, 2009 10:30 PM in response to Stephen Schulte2

Sorta answered - it's a bit weird in MAIL - at least 2 places where I find attachments - and unlike Eudora, attachments are imbedded in the mail file itself, so if you don't save it manually, you don't have a clean copy in an attachments file like with Eudora, you have to go back and find the eMail and then save the attachment. Search is good so that shouldn't be a major problem. Key is to save the photo or doc attachment when you get it if you think you'll need it later!!
Friday 23 October 2009

Reply

Answer 6

Oct 27, 2009 10:29 AM in response to Ernie Stamper

What I want is when I read an e-mail attachment and make some notes on it that the file with notes to be attached to the e-mail.

Later when I search my e-mail and find the one of interest, open the attachment and there are my notes and comments, or forward the e-mail and attachment, it will the the one with my notes/comments.

Currently, opening the attachment will open the original, with no notes, and place yet another copy in the Mail/downloads folder.

I want to be able to mark up the attachment (and the e-mail would be nice too). I looks to me that this is just not possible. I have to store the marked up version somewhere, and there is no way to notate on the e-mail that such exists.

Reply