Tip 361: Sending Files From Windows Explorer

Did you ever have this problem? When you right click on a file & choose Send To, Mail Recipient, it displays the email window but locks the main Outlook window. You can't select any of the messages or Outlook folders until you save and close the message.

This is caused by Windows using SimpleMapi to call the default email client and you can't do anything to prevent this, however there are workarounds for it. (This is also why saving messages opened using any File, Send to menu saves them to the Inbox, not Drafts and why Send to uses the Outlook editor and doesn't add your signature.)

Make a shortcut in the Send To folder that uses the following command line: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE10\OUTLOOK.EXE" /c ipm.note

In Windows XP, the Send to menu is at C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\SendTo

In Windows 7 & 8, the Send to menu is at C:\Users\usernname\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo. Type or paste the shortcut %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows to open the folder.

Don't forget to change the folder path to the correct one for your Outlook version.

To use it, right click on a file and choose Send to… then select your shortcut. An added bonus: because this method uses your default Outlook editor, your signature is added to the message. Note that it doesn't work for multiple attachments – you'll need to drag and drop additional
files to the message.

Do you often send files to a specific address or addresses? Use this method to create a shortcut and the message form will open preaddressed when you use it.

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\OUTLOOK.EXE" /c ipm.note /m user1@example.com;user2@example.com

For ready-to use reg files and a video tutorial, see Create a custom Send to… shortcut

Published June 15, 2006. Last reviewed on September 23, 2013.