Problem

Have you ever wanted to send a link to a file saved on the network? It can be for a number of reasons, the actual file may be too big or we may not want the recipient to save it and work on it on their own machine etc

Solution

Here’s how to create a clickable link to a file on your network, using Outlook 2003

1. First, you must be using Rich Text Format for your email messages—not Plain Text or HTML. To set Rich Text Format, from within Outlook 2003 go to Tools > Options 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 what you normally use after you’ve sent your file link.)

    

    

   

   Outlook 2003: Rich Text mail format

2. In a new email message, select Insert > File from the menu.
3. 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.
4. From the shortcut menu that displays when you click the arrow, select Insert as Hyperlink.

    

    

   

   Outlook 2003: Insert a link to a file

5. 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.