Attachments

Attach, view, and download files seamlessly in Superhuman Mail.

Desktop & Web

How to attach files on Desktop & Web

Hit Cmd+Shift+U (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+U (Windows) to open the file picker. Alternatively, you can drag and drop files directly into the composer.

Attached files appear beneath the composer as chips:

image.png

How to reply or forward with attachments

To reply with attachments:

  1. Be in the conversation with the attachment.
  2. Select the message containing the attachment. You can select it by clicking on it, or hitting N or P.
  3. If the message is selected, you'll see this purple bar on the left:
    image.png
  4. Hit R to start a reply, or hit Enter to reply all.
  5. Hit Cmd+K or Ctrl+K → Include Original Attachments.

To forward with attachments, you can hit F to forward a message, and the file(s) will automatically get appended to your draft.

How to view and download attachments on Desktop & Web

  1. Hit Cmd+O or Ctrl+O to open an attachment quickly. Or you can click a PDF to preview it directly in Superhuman Mail.
    1. PNG files display a quick preview before downloading.
    2. MOV, MP4, and DOCX files download first.
    3. Other file types may either display a browser or system preview (for example, some image formats) or download automatically (e.g., Word documents, videos, archives).
  2. Right-click on an attachment chip to Copy Link or Open Link if you prefer to view the file in your browser or default app.

📌 Preview behavior can vary by file type, browser, and OS. Types such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, HTML files, and Google Drive links are not currently supported for in-app previews.

Changing download settings on Web

  1. Hit Cmd+K or Ctrl+K → Download Settings.
    1. This opens Chrome’s settings (chrome://settings/downloads).
  2. From here, you can:
    • Change your default download location.
    • Toggle whether to ask where to save each file.

Changing download settings on Desktop

Hit Cmd+K or Ctrl+K → Download Settings to toggle where to save each file before downloading:
image.png

iOS and Android

How to attach files on iOS and Android

In a New Message:

  1. Tap the pencil icon in the top right to start a new message.
  2. Tap Attach.
    image.png
  3. Choose the attachment type:
    image.png

In a Reply:

  1. Swipe left on the message.
  2. Tap Reply, Reply All, or Forward from the menu that appears.
    image.png
  3. Pull down to open Superhuman Command.
  4. Type Attach.
  5. Choose the type of file you’d like to attach:
    image.png

How to Forward an Attachment on iOS and Android

  1. Swipe left on the message.
  2. Tap Forward from the menu that appears.
    image.png

The original message will be included in the forward, but you can tap on the ellipses to edit that as you see fit!

Viewing Attachments

Tap an attachment to open it using your device’s native image viewer.

Saving Attachments

Inline images on iOS:

  1. Tap and hold on the image.
  2. Tap Save to Photos.

Attached images on iOS:

  1. Tap the attachment to open it.
  2. Tap and hold the image.
  3. Tap Save to Files.

Attached documents on iOS:

  1. Tap the attachment to open it.
  2. Tap the share icon.
  3. Tap Save to Files.

Attached documents and images on Android:

  1. Tap the attachment to open it.
  2. Tap and hold the attachment.
  3. Tap View attachment or Save attachment.

 

Troubleshooting

The file won’t attach

This usually happens if the file is locked/encrypted, or if it exceeds Gmail or Outlook’s attachment size limits. Try unlocking the file or using a smaller attachment.

Downloads are taking too long

Large files or slow networks trigger the 8-second fallback, which sends the file directly to your Downloads folder without previewing.

  • If a file hasn’t been downloaded yet, clicking on the file starts the download.
  • If it takes more than 8 seconds, the file is placed in your Downloads folder automatically without showing a preview.

The file doesn’t preview

Superhuman Mail supports PDF previews directly in the app. Other file types may behave differently depending on your browser and OS — some may display a browser/system preview, while others will simply download.

Types such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, HTML files, and Google Drive links are not currently supported for in-app previews.

We’re working toward supporting more file types in the future!

I can’t save images on Mobile

Inline and attached images behave differently. See the iOS section for step-by-step instructions on saving.

Office files don’t open in Superhuman Mail

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files must be downloaded and opened in their respective application.

Cloud links don’t work

Cloud-based attachments aren’t yet supported in Superhuman Mail.

 

General Questions

Which file types does Superhuman Mail support?

Superhuman Mail lets you preview PDFs directly in the app.

Most other file types — like images, videos, and documents — will either display a system preview or download automatically, depending on the file type and device. Some examples:

  • PNG → quick preview then download.
  • MOV / MP4 / DOCX → download then open in the relevant app.

At the moment, PDFs are fully supported. Support for other file types may vary, and we’re working to expand this in the future. If a file doesn’t preview in Superhuman Mail, download it and open it in it's default app.

What are the attachment size limits?

Gmail:

Gmail's API limits Superhuman Mail to 25MB attachments. Fortunately, it's on our roadmap to build a solution for this!

Outlook:

Superhuman Mail can't see an Outlook account's specific attachment size limit just yet. As a result, we've gone with Outlook's default limit of about ~25MB for now. 

Fortunately, we're working toward building a solution for that in the future!

Can I open Office files in Superhuman Mail?

Superhuman Mail doesn’t support previewing or editing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files. To view these, you’ll want to download and open them in Gmail or Outlook.

Still having trouble?

If you’re running into friction after checking the above, feel free to reach out to us at hello@superhuman.com and let us know:

  • The email address you're running into friction with.
  • A description of what you’re running into.
  • A screenshot or screen recording of the error you’re seeing.

We'll investigate and get back to you as soon as possible!

💡 Need help capturing your screen? Check out these quick guides:

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