To download individual emails from Gmail, follow these simple steps:
- Go to Gmail: Access your Gmail account in your web browser.
- Open the Email: Click on the specific email you want to download.
- Click More: Locate the three vertical dots (More options) within the email. It's typically located near the top-right corner of the email, near the "Reply" button.
- Click Download message: In the dropdown menu that appears, select "Download message."
Your email will be downloaded as an .eml file, which preserves the email's formatting and attachments. You can then open this file with an email client like Outlook, Thunderbird, or Apple Mail.
Important Considerations:
- Email Client Needed: You need an email client installed on your computer to open
.emlfiles. Without one, you won't be able to properly view the downloaded email. - Downloading Multiple Emails: To download multiple emails at once, you will need to use Google Takeout. This allows you to download all of your Gmail data, or specific labels and date ranges. Refer to the Google Takeout website for instructions (https://takeout.google.com/).
- Attachments: Downloading the message as an
.emlfile will preserve and include the attachments as part of the file. - Forwarding is an alternative: If you simply want to save the content as text, you can copy and paste into a document, or forward the email to another address where you can readily access it. However, this will lose formatting.
