Outlook: Creating a hyperlink to a network file
December 1, 2008Microsoft Outlook’s Help is not much help when you are trying to create a clickable link to a file in your email message. Those of us who have worked in—or continue to work in—networked offices often have to send a clickable hyperlink to a document stored on the company’s network. For whatever reason, we don’t want to send the actual file—it may be too big, we may not want the recipient to save it and work on it on their own machine, or similar.
Here’s how to create a clickable link to a file on your network, using Outlook 2003:
- First, you must be using Rich Text Format for your email messages—not Plain Text or HTML. To set Rich Text Format, go to Tools > Options on Outlook 2003’s menu, select the Mail Format tab, select Rich Text Format from the Compose in this message format drop-down list, then click OK. (Note: You can change this setting back to you normally use after you’ve sent your file link.)
Outlook 2003: Rich Text mail format
- In a new email message, select Insert > File from the menu.
- Navigate to the file and select it. DO NOT click Insert.
- Now, look carefully at the Insert button. See the little arrow to its right? Click on that arrow.
- From the shortcut menu that displays when you click the arrow, select Insert as Hyperlink.
Outlook 2003: Insert a link to a file
- Voila! The file link is inserted into the message.
If you want to change your mail format back, repeat Step 1, this time selecting either Plain Text or HTML as the message format.
Fantastic what a neat and cool way to forward documents and wont slow the e-mail system down.
Thank you.
Will
This did not work for me. When I go to the Insert button I only get 3 options and “insert hyperlink” is not one of them – although I used to use it all the time and now it no longer works…..
You need to set your formatting to Rich Text. No other options work.
Nice guide, helped us at work.
This will work, but there’s an even easier way if you use Word. Set Word to be your email editor. This will allow you to use the Insert Hyperlink function (access it from the Insert menu or look for the button on the toolbar). You can create a link to any file on your network, and you can create the text you want to use to display your link (rather than using the full path/filename).
I forgot to mention that you can also set your email format to HTML with this option.