When you receive an e-mail message, you can read, delete, or reply to that e-mail. You can also send that e-mail to another person, like a friend of family member, which is known as forwarding an e-mail. If an e-mail has an attachment and you forward that e-mail, in most cases, the attachment is included and sent to the recipient.
If you previously sent an e-mail message to someone, you can re-send that same e-mail to other people, as well.
All e-mail accounts and client programs provide the ability to forward e-mails and re-send e-mails. Click a link below for steps on how to do each e-mail action.
Forward an e-mail message
Each e-mail account and client program is a little bit different, so the exact steps to forward an e-mail message may differ slightly. The steps below should provide you with the general process to forward an e-mail.
Forward an e-mail message.
Re-send an e-mail message.
Access your e-mail account or client program.
Open the e-mail message you want to forward.
In the menu bar, usually found at the top of the e-mail message or client program window, click the Forward option.
Once the e-mail message window opens, in the To: field, enter the e-mail address of the person you want to forward the message.
In the Subject field, modify the e-mail subject, if desired.
In the body of the e-mail message, type a message explaining the reason for forwarding the e-mail, if desired.
When you are ready to forward the e-mail, click the Send button.
Re-send an e-mail message
Each e-mail account and client program is a little bit different, so the exact steps to re-send an e-mail message may differ slightly. The steps below should provide you with the general process to re-send an e-mail.
If a picture, document, or other files are attached to the original e-mail message, using the Forward option results in those files getting sent when the e-mail is forwarded. If you do not want to include those attachments, make sure to remove the attachments before clicking Send to forward the e-mail.
Access your e-mail account or client program.
Locate the Sent folder, which contains the e-mails you have previously sent. It may also be named Sent Items or Sent Mail.
Find and open the e-mail message you want to re-send.
In the menu bar at the top of the e-mail message or e-mail program window, select the Reply or Reply All option. A new e-mail message window opens.
If you selected the Reply option, your e-mail address will be automatically entered into the To: field. Remove your e-mail address and enter the e-mail address you want to re-send the e-mail message. If you selected the Reply All option, the e-mail addresses you previously sent the e-mail to will be automatically entered in the To: field. You can remove those e-mail addresses and enter new e-mail addresses, or you can leave them and add additional e-mail addresses.
In the Subject field, modify the e-mail subject, if desired.
In the body of the e-mail message, type a message to the e-mail recipients, if desired.
When you are ready to re-send the e-mail, click the Send button.
Some e-mail accounts or client programs may hide the Sent folder by default. If you cannot find the Sent folder, check the Settings options to show the Sent folder.
If pictures or other files were attached to the previously sent e-mail message, you would need to attach those pictures or files again. The files will not automatically be attached to the new e-mail message.
Related information
- How to delete or move e-mail messages.
- How to insert a link into an e-mail.
- See our e-mail and forward pages for related links and information.
- E-mail help and support.
