Guide · Attachments
How to extract attachments from a .msg file
Outlook packs an email and all of its files into a single .msg file — and when someone forwards you one, the PDFs, images, and documents you actually need are locked inside. MSGView opens the .msg right in your browser, lists every attachment, and lets you save them one at a time or grab the whole set as a .zip. No Outlook, no sign-up, and nothing is uploaded.
Extract .msg attachments in 3 steps
- Open MSGViewGo to msgview.app in any modern browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, or Android. There is nothing to install.
- Drop your .msg fileDrag the .msg onto the page. It is parsed inside your browser tab — never uploaded — and every attachment appears in a list, including any embedded or nested emails.
- Save the attachmentsClick any file to download it individually, or extract all attachments at once as a single .zip. Files trapped inside winmail.dat are recovered automatically.
One .zip, or file by file
Some messages carry a single invoice; others bundle a dozen photos, spreadsheets, and signed contracts. MSGView handles both. When you just need one document, download it directly from the attachment list. When you need everything, extract all of them together into one .zip — original filenames intact — so you can hand the whole package to a colleague or drop it into a case folder in seconds. Because MSGView also opens nested and embedded emails, an attachment that is itself a forwarded message opens too, and its own attachments come right along with it.
Recovers files hidden in winmail.dat
If a .msg arrived from Outlook with a mysterious winmail.dat attachment, your real files are probably trapped inside it. That single blob is TNEF, Microsoft's proprietary wrapper, and most apps can't read it. MSGView decodes winmail.dat and pulls out the genuine PDFs, images, and documents so you can save them normally — no special converter and no guesswork. It also handles filenames in CJK, Cyrillic, and other encodings, so nothing comes out garbled.
Private by design
Extraction runs entirely inside your browser tab. The .msg file is read into memory on your own device and never sent to a server — you can open your browser's Network panel and watch that no upload happens. That makes MSGView safe for confidential contracts, HR records, and anything else you would rather not hand to an online converter. It is free, has no watermark, and handles files up to 100 MB.
FAQ
Can I get attachments out of a .msg without Outlook?
Yes. MSGView reads the .msg entirely in your browser and lists every attachment, so you can save them without Outlook or a Microsoft 365 subscription — on Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, or Android.
What about attachments stuck inside winmail.dat?
MSGView decodes winmail.dat (TNEF) files and recovers the real attachments trapped inside, so you can save the actual PDFs, images, and documents like any other file.
Is extracting attachments private?
Yes. The .msg is read into your browser's memory and is never uploaded to any server. You can verify this yourself in your browser's Network panel while you extract the files.