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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions.
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EML files were developed by Microsoft for older versions of Outlook and Outlook Express. An EML file is an archived email that preserves the original HTML formatting and headers. Many mail clients support EML files, but if you don't have one, or are using a mobile device, there are workarounds you can use to open the file.
Opening EML Files
The easiest way to open an EML file is to use an email client like Outlook, Windows Mail, or Thunderbird. Double-click the file to open it in your default email app. If that doesn't work, right-click the file, select Open with, and choose Outlook or Mail.
Steps
On Android
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![Step 1 Install the Letter Opener app.]()
Install the Letter Opener app. Android does not natively support the EML format.[3]- Letter Opener is one of the more highly rated EML reader apps available, though there are others to choose from if you wish. Simply search "eml reader" in the Google Play Store.
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![Step 2 Open the EML file.]()
Open the EML file. There are several ways you may open an EML file, depending on how you got it.- If you received an EML file as an attachment, download it to your phone or tablet first.
- Use your Android's file manager to locate and select the EML file, then choose Letter Opener.
- Alternatively, open Letter Opener first, then use the app to browse for and select your EML file.
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![Step 3 Read through the EML file.]()
Read through the EML file. Letter Opener will display the EML file like an email message with From, To, Date, Subject, and Message Text.- At the bottom of the display, you'll see a list of attachments. Tap an attachment to open it, then an app that can read that file type.
- Tap the save icon on the right to extract the file from the EML to your Download folder.
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To open an EML file, try to use an email client like Outlook or Thunderbird, which should open the file when you double click on it. If you don’t have an email client or can’t open the file that way, change the file extension to *.mht and open it using Internet Explorer if you have a Windows computer. Alternatively, download the Freeviewer EML File Viewer from www.freeviewer.org and use it to open your files. As a last resort, right click on the file, go to “Open with,” and select Notepad, which will display the message as a text file. However, note that you won’t be able to see attachments or images if you open the file this way. If you’re on a Mac, view the message as a text file by opening it with Text Edit. For tips on how to open an EML file on an iPad, read on!
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