How to Open an EML File: Outlook, Gmail or Your Browser

Where Your EML File Comes From Decides How to Open It

Most people meet an .eml file after saving or receiving an email as a file, not by choice. Two common routes are documented by the mail providers themselves. In Gmail on a computer, More then Download message saves the email as an EML file, and forwarding an email as an attachment also turns it into an .eml. In Outlook on the web or Outlook.com, More actions then Download saves the message as an .eml or .msg file, usually into your Downloads folder.

Once you have the file, the question is which program will show it. The sections below go through what each one does, and every claim about Microsoft and Google is taken from their own help pages, linked where it is used.

How to Open an EML File in New Outlook on Windows

New Outlook for Windows opens .eml files in three ways. Microsoft lists them like this:

1. Drag and drop: open new Outlook, open File Explorer, select the .eml file and drop it onto the reading pane area.
2. Right-click: in File Explorer, right-click the file, choose Open with, then Outlook (new).
3. Double-click: double-click the file in File Explorer. If it does not open in new Outlook, it may not be set as the default app for that file type, and you can change that under Windows default programs.

Microsoft notes a Microsoft 365 subscription requirement for .msg and .oft files, and names none for .eml. If your file ends in .msg rather than .eml, see MSG to PDF.

Source: Microsoft Support: Open .eml, .msg, and .oft files in new Outlook and Outlook on the web.

Classic Outlook, Windows Mail and Outlook on the Web

These three behave differently, so the table keeps them apart.

If none of these is installed on the computer in front of you, the browser option further down needs no account and no install.

Can Gmail Open an EML File?

Not as far as Google documents. On the Gmail help page for downloading emails, the note under the download steps says that to open the EML file that downloads, you need a desktop mail client. Google's help for adding another account describes importing messages from another email account, which must have POP access. It does not describe loading a single saved .eml file.

So the realistic Gmail route is to open the file somewhere else. Use new Outlook as above, or the browser tool at the top of this page, which reads the file on your device and does not need a Gmail login.

Source: Gmail Help: Download & send emails as attachments.

Open an EML File in Any Browser Without a Mail App

The tool at the top of this page is the no-install option. It works the same on a Windows PC, a Mac and a phone, because it only needs a browser.

1. Click Choose .eml or .msg files at the top of this page, or drag the file onto the box. You can pick several files at once.
2. Each email you drop appears as a card: a header block with From, To, Cc, Date and Subject, then the body and an attachment list.
3. If the email has pictures stored on the sender's server, they are not loaded by default, so the sender cannot tell you opened the email; click Load images above the preview to show them.
4. To keep a copy as a document, use the Download PDF button on that email.

The file is read by code in your browser tab and is not uploaded. A file larger than 50 MB is rejected. What the viewer shows in detail is on the EML viewer page.

Opening Many EML Files at Once

For a folder of saved emails there are two documented paths. New Outlook has a bulk import under Settings, Files, Import: you choose the folder and the destination account and folder. Microsoft states that only top-level .eml files in the chosen folder are imported, that files in subfolders are ignored, that the size limit per file is 14 MB, and that an internet connection is required.

The browser tool takes several files in one drop and shows them in a list, without importing anything into a mailbox. If you want one document from all of them, see merge EML files into one PDF.

If the EML File Still Does Not Open

• Nothing happens on double-click. Windows may not have a default app for .eml. Use the right-click Open with route from the steps above, or the browser tool.
• The file is really a .msg. Renaming a .msg file to .eml does not change what is inside it. The tool accepts .msg files too, so drop it on the box at the top.
• The email is S/MIME encrypted. The tool cannot open these, because it has no access to the private key.
• The file is very large. Files over 50 MB are rejected by the tool, and big files are slow on a phone.
• You only want a PDF. Skip the opening step and see saving an email as PDF.