Fast and easy way to send a file by email on the Mac

Updated June 13th, 2019.

Today I had to email an AppleScript to someone. The usual routine (the one most people follow) is this:

1. Open Mail
2. Create new mail message
3. Click the paperclip (to attach the file)
4. Rummage around in the box that comes up, trying to find the file to attach
5. (Optional) Give up

Here’s how I do it, and how you should do it too!

1. Click once on the file, to select it
2. Click the “Share” button in the Finder window’s toolbar. See below. (If you wonder how I got the names under the buttons, check out this blog post and also this one.)

3. Choose “Mail” from the menu that drops down when you click the Share button. Mail will launch, if it’s not already running, and a new message will be created… with the desired file already attached. Nice.

Note: the Share menu will show you the last few ways you’ve shared something, at the bottom. Here I see two (blurred-out) names of people I emailed an attachment to. I could choose either of those to create a new email, pre-addressed, with the attachment! Think of how much time that saves.

This works with Mail, and also with whatever else you see in the Share menu. I could have sent that file via Messages, or AirDrop, etc.

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