Many times, the reason we send a message to someone is because we want to send them a particular file. To send a file, we must attach it to the message.
There are four ways to add an attachment to a message or document:
- Go to the menu and select File | Attach. A Create Attachments dialog box will open; browse here to select the attachment(s) we want to add and then click the Create button.
- Click the Attach icon in the Toolbar or the Attach button below the Toolbar. Both actions will result in the opening of the Create Attachments dialog box as it does when we select File | Attach.
- If we have Windows Explorer open, and our message or document is open in Lotus Notes, we can drag the attachment from Windows Explorer to the Lotus Notes icon in the Task bar, and then drop into the message or document we have open in Lotus Notes. If we resize the Windows Explorer dialog box to be smaller than the Lotus Notes window, we can simply drag from Windows Explorer straight to the message or document we have open in Lotus Notes.
The following is a screenshot of the Create Attachments dialog box; refer to the number legend to understand each area:
Now that we know how to add attachments, we need to explore what we can do with attachments.
When we double-click on the attachment, we will see the Open Attachment dialog box as shown in the next screenshot. From here we can select Open, Edit, View, Save, and Cancel. Alternatively if we right-click, we will see more available options.
When we click the Open button, the attachment will be opened in the program it was created in. For example, if it is a Word attachment, it will launch Microsoft Word and open the attachment. When we click the Open button, it is similar to when we are opening a Microsoft document in "Read Only" mode. Any edits to the document will not be saved unless we select File | Save As. Use this option only when we want to view the attachment in the program it was created in.
When we click the Edit button, it allows us to open and edit attachments. An example of where we would use this option is if someone has sent a message with an attachment that they require us to update. We would select Reply with History & Attachments, which creates a new message with the history and a copy of the original attachment. Select the attachment we need to update and double-click or right-click and Edit; the attachment will open in the program it was created in. Update the attachment and then select the save option in the program it was created in. The attachment in the message has now been updated and we can send the message. This is the only place where the attachment edit has been saved so make sure we save the memo by either sending it or saving it as a draft. If we need to access the edited attachment, it can be found in the Sent and All Documents.
The view option allows us to open the attachment in Lotus Notes rather than launching the program it was created in. This option is excellent for viewing the attachment quickly; previewing zipped files without unzipping them; or for viewing files of programs we do not have installed.
When we click the Save button, it opens Windows Explorer. We can browse to where we want to save the attachment(s) and then click Save.
If we have multiple attachments in a message or document, we can right-click one attachment and then select any of the available options from the right-click menu.
- Save All: This option will save all the attachments in the message to the location we select.
- Save and Delete All: This allows us to not only save to Windows Explorer but also to delete the attachments in the message, which will result in saving space in our mail. It will leave text indicating that you have deleted the file and give the file name deleted.
- Delete All: This deletes the attachments from the memo.
We can print an attachment by selecting the View button, which will open the attachment in Lotus Notes (not in the application it was created in) and then select Print from the File menu or Ctrl+P.
Alternatively, to print the attachment in its original application, select the Open button and then select Print from the File menu, or use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P.