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Often I would like to change the name of a file that I am attaching to an email. Off course I could change the filename locally, but that would mess up my own "scheme of things".

Is there a way to change the name of an attachment when it is already attached to an email in GMail (or more precise, mail of Google Apps), but not yet send?

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3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

No ... detach the file, rename it, and attach it again. Good file naming schemes and discipline in following them will pay off in the long run.

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Pay off in the wrong run? Long run you mean? And yes, good file naming scheme is essential. But for example for courses at uni, the instructor requires some naming scheme that is totally not useful for myself. It would be nice if I can give it a different name at uploading time. – Peter Smit Oct 5 '10 at 9:37
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Sorry about the typo :) And I understand about remote requirements. My solution (on linux) is to create a soft link in a temporary directory to the file. This gives me a chance to give it a temporary name without creating a full copy on the disk. If my original changes and I need to send it again I can just attach the linked copy again without having to go through that step again. – Caleb Oct 5 '10 at 9:45
up vote 1 down vote

No, you can't rename an attachment after you uploaded it. You need to detach the file, rename it and upload it again.

Also note that GMail can sometimes renames your attachments. Here's an useful quote from the official documentation:

Some attachments that include non-English characters in the filename may be renamed 'Gmail,' or the name may be truncated -- this happens when Google doesn't recognized the encoding used to name the attachment. Our engineers are working on a solution, but in the meantime, we suggest using ASCII characters so we can always recognize the names of your attachments.

If your attachment name was renamed 'noname,' you may be able to display the file by clicking on the View as text link that appears next to the attachment. If that link does not appear, we were unable to display the file. This is a known issue, and our engineers are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.

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No this is not possible. Don't forget that when you're sending your mail, this mail has at least two copies, one in your sent items and one in the sender's inbox.

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I mean changing the attachment name before hitting send. Out of your second sentence I understand you think I meant after sending it. – Peter Smit Oct 5 '10 at 9:06

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