Attachment, a term related to publishing and reading books, has two connected yet distinct meanings. Attachment refers to incorporating non-book items (such as bookmarks, postcards, or stickers) to increase book sales. In this sense, attachment is a marketing tactic intended to make books more desirable to potential buyers.
Computing-wise, an email attachment refers to any file attached to an email message; usually, this means documents, but it can include images, video, and audio files too.
These services allow users to send files that are too large to attach directly as email attachments; for instance, if you want to send a video clip, that’s too large to upload as a personal file-sharing site attachment, then link back to it when emailing someone the link for download.
Attachments may also be helpful when sending virus-infected files and other potentially hazardous files; in such cases, attaching it rather than emailing is generally the preferred route.
Some email programs limit attachment sizes, making it necessary to check file sizes before attaching. If an attachment is too big to send via email, consider compressing or splitting it into several smaller files before sending it as an attachment.
Users can open these attachments by simply clicking on their icon within an email message and downloading them to their computer; once downloaded, use the appropriate software to view or open them.
Specific email programs allow users to preview attachments without downloading them. This feature can be beneficial when quickly assessing what the attachment contains without needing to download everything first.
If you receive any suspicious-looking email, do not open it; delete it without opening its attachments.