Outlook Message: You Are Attempting to Attach Too Many Files At Once

attachment

Along with the introduction of Outlook 2010, some bugs were also introduced with it. One of the common errors that Outlook users end up facing is Outlook maximum number of attachments issue:


“You are attempting to attach too many files at once. Try reducing the number of files being attached.”

Reason

This error is observed when the users add multiple attachments in the email from a network share. Most of the time users get confused with the fact that even though the total size of the attachments is below the sending limit, they experience this error. This error is more common when the users are working with Network drives. Since in an organization, it is obvious that the employees will work in several network drives, the error cannot be avoided.

In addition to this, the anti-virus installed in the user machine might cause hindrance in sending more than 20 files in an Outlook email.

Resolution to Avoid the Error Message

However, there exist several other methods, with the help of which, the users can easily avoid this error. The different solutions are:

  • Sending File Shortcuts

If you are inserting attachments in Outlook from a network drive and the recipient to whom the mail is sent has access to the network, you can easily send the shortcuts of the files instead of sending the whole file.

For doing so follow the below-mentioned procedure:

  1. Open New Mail.
  2. Click on Insert tab next to Message tab.
  3. In the Links sections, select Hyperlink option.
  4. Browse the file that you want to attach as a hyperlink and then click on OK.
  5. Follow the above steps for all the files which you want to attach.
  • Create Zip Folder to Store the Files

For sending multiple files without encountering the discussed issue, you can zip all the files and send them as an attachment in your mail.

  • Drag & Drop Instead Of Attach File

One more way with which you can avoid this issue is by attaching the files in Outlook via drag and drop method rather than choosing Attach File option. You can easily open the Windows Explorer window by the combination of Windows+E. By doing this, the users can easily open Explorer, select the file and drop it in the mail.

Upshot

With the help of the above-mentioned workarounds, the users can easily avoid encountering this error and can send more than 20 files as an attachment in Outlook. However, if you are sending the email to someone belonging to the same organization, you can also upload the files via file sharing service. If you have SharePoint server in your organization, then you can easily upload your file for easy viewing.