Outlook Drag and Drop attachments not working

Are you unable to drag and drop attachments to your emails in Microsoft Outlook? Several Outlook users have reported that they just can’t attach files to their emails using the drag-and-drop method. As per user reports, the drag and drop files and folders approach is working elsewhere on Windows but just not in Outlook.

Drag and drop method is a quick and easy way to move a file from one location to another. You can also add attachments to Outlook by simply dragging the source file from your File Explorer and then dropping files into your emails. They will be added as attachments that you can send to other users. Now, if this function is not working for you, you can follow this guide and resolve the issue.

Outlook Drag and Drop attachments not working

If you are unable to insert file attachments in your Outlook emails using drag and drop method on your Windows PC, you can use the following methods to fix the issue:

Make sure it is not a generic issue on your PC.
Disable/Enable Cached Exchange Mode.
Reset Outlook folders.
Make a new Outlook profile.
Use Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant.

1] Make sure it is not a generic issue on your PC

First of all, check if you are able to drag and drop your files in other programs and applications on your PC. If it is a generic issue, you must apply different fixes like changing the Drag Height and Drag Width, troubleshooting the problem in a clean boot state, etc. If drag and drop is not working on your PC, you can follow this guide to fix the issue.

2] Disable/Enable Cached Exchange Mode

You can try toggling on/off the Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook and see if the issue is resolved. In this mode, a copy of the mailbox is locally stored on your system to provide quick access to data. However, if this cache is bulked up or corrupted, you will face performance issues in Microsoft Outlook. Hence, if this mode is enabled, we suggest you disable Outlook’s Cached Exchange Mode function. On the other hand, if you are not using this mode, try enabling it and see if the drag and drop is working in Outlook.

Here are the steps to enable or disable Cached Exchange Mode in Microsoft Outlook:

First, open the Outlook app and go to the File menu.
Now, click on the Account Settings option and then select the Account Settings option from the drop-down menu options.
Next, move to the Email tab and double-click on your active email account.
After that, uncheck the Use Cached Exchange Mode checkbox under the Offline Settings option, if it is enabled.
Then, press the Next button and then click on the Done button.
Finally, try attaching files to your Outlook mail using the drag and drop method and check if the problem is resolved.

In case Cached Exchange Mode is already disabled, tick the respective checkbox using the above steps to enable it. See if the issue is resolved or not.

Read: Can’t open links and attachments in Windows Mail app.

3] Reset Outlook folders

You might be dealing with the issue at hand due to corrupted Outlook files and folders. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, you can reset the Outlook folders and see if the issue is resolved or not. To do that, here are the steps you can use:

First, close the Microsoft Outlook app and make sure no instance is running in the background.
Now, press the Win+R hotkey to evoke the Run command box.
Next, in the Open field, type the below command and press Enter: outlook.exe /resetfolders

Running the above command will reset your Outlook folders that might be corrupted. After doing so, restart the Outlook app and try adding attachments to emails using drag and drop. If this works for you, well and good. However, if the problem persists, we have a few more fixes that you can try.

4] Make a new Outlook profile

The next thing you can do is create a new Outlook profile and see if the problem is resolved. It might be the case that your current profile is corrupted which is why you may start experiencing issues like being unable to drag and drop attachments to your emails. Hence, in that case, you can create a new Outlook profile and see if the problem is resolved. Here are the steps to do that:

First, open MS Outlook and go to the File menu.
Now, click on the Account Settings > Manage Profiles option and then press the Show Profiles > Add option.
After that, enter the name of the new profile that you want to create, and tap on OK.
Once done, see if you can drag and drop attachments or not.

See: Attachment Size Limits for Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.

5] Use Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant

You can also use the troubleshooting tool provided by Microsoft to address and fix issues with Microsoft Office apps like Outlook. The tool is named Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant; you can download it from the official Microsoft website and then run it to resolve Outlook problems. Here’s how you can do that:

First, download the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant tool from Microsoft
Now, install it on your computer by double-clicking the Exe file.
After that, open the app, agree to the privacy terms and agreements and log into your Microsoft account.
Next, choose Outlook and press the Next button.
Then, select the Other problems option from the list and tap on Next.
Follow the prompted instructions and use a suitable suggestion to fix the problem.

See if you can now add file attachments using drag and drop in Outlook.

How do I change email attachment settings?

To change email attachment settings in Outlook, click on the File menu and go to Options > General. Under the Attachment options section, select one of the following options from Ask me how I want to attach them every time, Always share them as links, and Always attach them as copies. Once done, click on the OK button to save changes.

Now read: Cannot attach files to email in Outlook.com or Desktop app.