Filed under: How-tos, Odds and ends
Mail attachment reminder saves embarassment
I've done it again -- sent an email that mentions an attachment, and then forgot to attach the file. It's always embarassing. Here's a way to save yourself from similar humiliation. Download this free Attachment Scanner plugin for Mail.app, and install it following the directions on the developer's site. Now when you type "attach," "attachment,", "attaching," or similar words in an email, if you hit Send without actually attaching a document, you'll see a warning like this one: "Message Has No Attachment. Your mail appears to refer to an attachment, but none exists. Do you wish to continue?" If you don't mention an attachment, you won't see anything different than usual. I've been using it all day, and really appreciate getting a second chance to save face thanks to developer James Eagan.
[via macosxhints]
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Lizard said 7:18PM on 8-20-2006
What a lifesaver.
Now, all we need is a similar plugin that identifies when you're b*tching behind someone else's back.
Before sending you'll receive an alert that makes sure you're not sending it to the wrong person!
(Ideal for those who have ever accidently sent such an email to the person whose the subject of the b*tching...)
Reply
fero said 7:27PM on 8-20-2006
Great idea and great execution! I tried it and it works wonders!
Additionally, if you are looking for more Mail plugins, I would strongly recommend this site: http://www.tikouka.net/mailapp/
Reply
matt nicklin said 8:38PM on 8-20-2006
what a great idea, I can't tell you how bad it looks when you are supposed to be sening this big paper to your teacher by a certain time and they say they got the email and no paper.
Reply
Stephen Macklin said 10:15PM on 8-20-2006
Fantastic! Anybody know how to write one for Entourage?
Reply
kangamini said 1:23AM on 8-21-2006
This is the hottest thing ever!
Reply
Scott F said 3:14AM on 8-21-2006
Oh, I want one of those a couple of months ago. This might get me to use Mail again, instead of Google's gmail page. Might.
Reply
Christiaan W. Lustig said 3:29AM on 8-21-2006
Hmm... this would come in handy if it were ajustable for other languages. I mean, the Dutch 'bijlage' doesn't even come close to 'attachment'. ;)
Reply
jerome said 4:31AM on 8-21-2006
it ain't working here...tried it in the home folder and the root hd Mail libraries...run the terminal commands. nothing :-(
Reply
bryan webster said 5:07AM on 8-21-2006
works as advertised but the only problem is my signature from work has the following text
"This e-mail (and its attachment(s) if any) is intended for the named addressee(s) only"
So the plug in picks this up with every email i try and send!
Reply
Kenny said 5:32AM on 8-21-2006
KDE's KMail had this some time ago -- but it is seriously is the coolest thing ever.
http://lists.kde.org/?l=kmail-devel&m=111452120315439&w=2
Reply
Stephen said 7:02AM on 8-21-2006
Very useful. I forget to do that a lot.
Reply
Chris said 9:17AM on 8-21-2006
Argh, where has this been for the past couple years! I can't even begin to count how many "Oops, forgot to add the attachment...." emails I've sent to potential employers, family members, etc... This will be a lifesaver for sure!
I like Mr Lizards idea as well, I imagine that could save more embarassment than a forgotten file attachemnt!
Reply
olivier said 9:42AM on 8-22-2006
well, great idea, BUT...
the plugin should just check the 1st level text, not the quoted text from previous messages, otherwise if:
1/ you're replying to a message that was referring to an attachment
2/ the other guy has a legal footer saying "This message and any attachments are confidential"
the pop-up still asks for an attachment and it becomes very annoying...
Reply