# how do I read eml attachments on a Macintosh?



## luigino (Sep 1, 2006)

I am getting (important) email attachments from certain correspondents (who are not able to change the original documents) which are in *eml* format.

How do I read these files on a a Macintosh (OS/X 10.7.1)?

Kindly NOTE: I do *not* use Microsoft Windows or _any_ Microsoft products.

TIA


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## Andrew Pratt (Feb 16, 2007)

You should be able to save those eml files to your hard drive and then open them with Mail (double click them).


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

"eml" format IS an email. Why would your correspondents be ... oh wait, just figured it out. Stupid windows ... your correspondents are dragging one email INTO another email instead of simply FORWARDING the original. LOL.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

Wasn't there a Microsoft Entourage-specific email format that was ".eml" ?


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## luigino (Sep 1, 2006)

I do not use the Mail application on my OS/X machine, since all my email is web-based. 

The sender(s) is/are actually sending my documents that they are re-forwarding from other sources. I am aware that *eml* is a format used by MSIE, which like Apple's software is closed-source.

Perhaps I should *rephrase my original question*: 
is there an application for Macintosh in which can CONVERT these attachments SO THEY CAN BE READ?[FONT]

FWIW, I can detach the attachments and view them in the Text Editor, but of course, they contain a lot of ascii characters that make I practically impossible to read the contents.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

luigino said:


> I do not use the Mail application on my OS/X machine, since all my email is web-based.
> 
> The sender(s) is/are actually sending my documents that they are re-forwarding from other sources. I am aware that *eml* is a format used by MSIE, which like Apple's software is closed-source.
> 
> ...




What operating system are you using? .EML is the same standard that Apple uses for storing email messages. If you drag it to the desktop, you should be able to use Quick Look to view the contents.


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## tilt (Mar 3, 2005)

John Clay said:


> What operating system are you using? .EML is the same standard that Apple uses for storing email messages. If you drag it to the desktop, you should be able to use Quick Look to view the contents.


Huh? I thought Apple used mbox and not eml. EML is used by Outlook Express, not even by Outlook. Outlook uses msg. At least that's what I thought.

Luigino, I know you do not use Mail on the Mac, but can you try using Mail to open the eml attachments to see if you can view them? If it works, then, voila, you have a built-in eml viewer app and do not have to look for another one.

Cheers


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

tilt said:


> Huh? I thought Apple used mbox and not eml. EML is used by Outlook Express, not even by Outlook. Outlook uses msg. At least that's what I thought.
> 
> Luigino, I know you do not use Mail on the Mac, but can you try using Mail to open the eml attachments to see if you can view them? If it works, then, voila, you have a built-in eml viewer app and do not have to look for another one.
> 
> Cheers


Mbox is a container for storing eml/emlx files. Mail stores messages as emlx files within Mbox containers.


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## Paddy (Jul 13, 2004)

A few other options to consider:

Open Entourage .eml files without Entourage - Mac OS X Hints

Easiest is to use Mail, of course.


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## jhuynh (Mar 21, 2011)

Even if you don't use the Mail app for your email doesn't mean you can't just use it to open these files any way?


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## luigino (Sep 1, 2006)

Thank you all for your comments and replies. Now I am better informed about those *eml* files that people send to me. 

I do not use Microsoft Windows. I use preferably Ubuntu Linux, and OS/X.

Your advice is appreciated, and has been most helpful.


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

luigino said:


> Thank you all for your comments and replies. Now I am better informed about those *eml* files that people send to me.
> 
> I do not use Microsoft Windows. I use preferably Ubuntu Linux, and OS/X.
> 
> Your advice is appreciated, and has been most helpful.


Were you able to open them?


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