How do I stop Mac Mail from embedding attachments?

By default, Apple’s Mail app for Macs will show any attachments as an inline preview. This means that a large image will quickly fill up the mail window and make it difficult to navigate. Most other email clients will show attachments as an icon that can then be previewed if double-clicked on, similar to how the receiver will see it. So how do you stop Mac Mail from embedding attachments?

It is possible to get Apple Mail to display attachments as icons, but it has to be done each time. Unless you tweak macOS to do this automatically, that is. In no time at all you can have smartly formatted emails once more.

How to show an attachment as an icon: the ad-hoc method

1. Add the attachment to your mail
2. Right-click on the resulting output
3. Select “View as Icon”

How to stop Mac Mail from embedding attachments permanently

When you restart the Mail app, it should activate the change and the end result will look something like this:

To reverse this, you’d repeat the process above but, this time, type:

defaults write com.apple.mail DisableInlineAttachmentViewing -bool no

How do recipients see attachments sent from Mac Mail?

One quirk of Apple Mail’s inline attachment previews is that it only affects how you see the message when composing or reading it. The way your recipient sees attachments will depend on their email client. Most Windows and web-based clients like Outlook, Gmail, and Thunderbird display attachments as icons by default, even if you see them inline on your Mac.

If you’re concerned about how a recipient will receive your email, consider sending yourself a test message to a different email address or viewing it on a webmail service to check the formatting.

Alternative: use a different email app for better attachment control

If you frequently deal with image-heavy emails or large attachments, you might find Apple Mail’s limited attachment handling frustrating. There are several Mac email apps that offer better attachment management, including:

• Microsoft Outlook for Mac treats attachments as icons by default.
• Airmail lets you customise attachment display settings.
• Spark — cleanly organises attachments and offers attachment reminders.

These apps typically give you finer control over how attachments appear both when sending and receiving.

Quick tip: dragging attachments to specific positions

Even if attachments appear inline in Mac Mail, you can drag and drop them to adjust their position within the message. If you want a particular image to appear below your email signature or at the very end of your message, simply click and drag it where you need it before sending.

This won’t change whether the attachment appears inline or as an icon, but it does give you some layout control when composing.

Recommended reading: How do you create a new email folder in Outlook for Mac?

This article was updated on the 14th of May 2025 with additional info.