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How to Save a Gmail Message as an EML File

Use an EML file to open messages in another email client

By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 14, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Email Gmail Yahoo! Mail

What to Know

Open the Gmail message and select More. Select Show original to open it as a text document. The message opens in a new window.Save as an EML file: Right-click Download Original and choose Save link as > All Files. Add .eml to the end of the file name and save it.Or, highlight and copy all the text in the Gmail message and paste it into a text editor. Save the file with the .eml file extension. This article explains how to save a Gmail email message as an EML file so you can open it in other programs and back it up.

Open Message as a Text Document

If you want to read a Gmail message in a text editor or word processing program, you can download it as a text file easily enough. However, if you want to open it in a different email client, you might need to save it in a different format, specifically as an EML file. You can also backup EML files, and share them with others without forwarding the original messages. Whatever your reason, Gmail makes it easy to do the conversion. Open the Gmail message and select More (three dots). Select Show original to open the full message as a text document. The message opens in a new window. From here, you can use one of two ways to convert the email to the EML format; the first is the easiest.

Method 1 Save File as EML File Format

In the text document, right-click Download Original. Choose Save link as. From the Save as type menu, select All Files instead of Text Document. Add .eml to the end of the file name, then save it as you would normally save a file to your hard drive.

Method 2 Convert File to EML Type

Highlight and copy all of the text in the Gmail message. If you're using Windows, press Ctrl+A to highlight all of the text and Ctrl+C to copy it. If you're on macOS, use Command+A to select the text, and Command+C to copy it. Paste all of the text into a text editor such as Notepad++ or Brackets. Save the file with the .eml file extension, as above. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Open, Edit, and Convert EMAIL Files The 4 Best Free Text Editors for Windows & Mac How to View the Source of a Message in Gmail What's an MHT File and How Do You Open One? EMLX and EML Files (What They Are and How to Open Them) CSV File (What It Is & How to Open One) How to Save an Outlook Email as a PDF M File (What It Is and How to Open One) What Is a Text File? EDS File (What It Is and How to Open One) DVT File (What It Is & How to Open One) What Is a DAT File? (And How to Open One) What Is an ASHX File? ACV File (What It Is & How to Open One) FH10 and FH11 Files (What They Are and How to Open Them) GRD File (What It Is & How to Open One) Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies