How to save attachments from Gmail to your Google Drive on a computer or mobile device

Chrissy Montelli

Aug 1, 2020, 02:31 IST

Quickly save Gmail attachments to Google Drive from your web browser or mobile app.FG Trade/Getty Images

You can save email attachments from Gmail to your Google Drive in just a few steps on any device.
Saving file attachments to Google Drive from Gmail can help keep you organized and on task.

If you get a lot of emails, you probably receive a lot of files as email attachments, too. With so many contacts and so many tasks, it's easy to get overwhelmed and lose track of which emails contain which files.

Fortunately, Gmail makes it easy to save your email attachments to Google Drive, making them much easier to track and organize. Here's a step-by-step guide to saving attachments from Gmail to Google Drive, on both a desktop web browser and Gmail's mobile app.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Google G Suite Business Account (Monthly) ($12.00 from Google)

How to save attachments from Gmail to Google Drive using a web browser

1. Open Gmail and log in to your account if you have not already done so.Advertisement

2. Click on the email that contains the attachments you want to save. These attachments might be documents, images, or zipped folders.

3. Once the email message is open, hover your cursor over the file you wish to save. Two small icons will appear, one of which is a variation of the Google Drive icon (resembling a triangle with a plus sign overlaid). Click on this icon.

Click on the Google Drive download icon.Chrissy Montelli/Business insider

4. A message will appear notifying you that the file has been saved to Google Drive.

A message will confirm the download.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

5. If the email message contains multiple attachments and you wish to save them all to Google Drive, you can save them all at once. To the right of the email message, click on the Google Drive icon that reads "Add all to Drive" when you hover your cursor over it. Advertisement

Select "Add all to Drive" on the right side of the window.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

If done correctly, a message will appear notifying you that multiple files have been saved.

A message will appear confirming that your files have been downloaded.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

You can also save attachments to Google Drive via the preview screen. From your email message, click on the attachment you wish to preview, then click on the Google Drive icon in the upper right corner of the screen that reads "Add to My Drive."

You can also download files from the preview screen.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

How to save attachments from Gmail to Google Drive using the Gmail mobile app

1. On your mobile device, tap on the Gmail app to open it and log in to your account if prompted to do so.Advertisement

2. Tap on the email message containing the attachments you wish to save.

Choose an email with attachments.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

3. Once the email message is open, tap on the Google Drive icon on the attachment you wish to save. Advertisement

Tap the Google Drive icon in the corner of the attachment.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

4. Alternatively, you can save attachments to Google Drive via the mobile app's preview screen. From your email message, tap on the attachment you wish to preview, then tap on the three vertical dots located in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Tap the three-dot menu in the upper right corner.Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

Tap on "Save to Drive" in the drop-down menu.

Choose "Save to Drive."Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

5. Once you've tapped the correct field, you will be taken to a file info screen. Type a name for the file you're saving, or just use the pre-generated name. If you want to change the folder where the file will be saved, tap on the drop-down menu underneath "Folder" and select the folder you want. Once you're finished, tap "Save" to save the file. Advertisement