How to search Gmail for attachments

When sending an email, it’s very common to attach a file, whether it’s a picture you just took, a file needing to be looked at by your colleague, or a video clip of a dog on a skateboard. But as the attachments start to build up in your Gmail archive, how do you find those attachments again to free up space? Here’s how to search Gmail for attachments.

The basic parameters to search Gmail for attachments

Whether you’re searching for attachments on your phone or a desktop, it all comes down to the same search strings, such as the filename: modifier.

If you want to view all emails with all attachments, type in the search bar:

If you’re looking for all attachments of a particular file format, you would type:

and so on. Notice there are no spaces between each word. Anything matching these search strings will now appear.

Narrowing down your attachment search in Gmail

But what if you want to get more granular? What if you need all file attachments from a particular sender? Or all particular file-type attachments from a specific sender? Then you would also say:

Or, if you’re looking for a file you sent to a person, you would use the to: string:

You can also add extra filters to narrow down when you send the attachment and its size. The latter is especially good if you’re looking to free up some space in your Google account. Check out our article on sorting emails by sender, size, date, and unread in Gmail for more search strings.

A more advanced way to search for attachments in Gmail

In the Gmail search bar, on the far right, are three horizontal lines. If you click that, you’ll see more advanced options.

After filling in what you’re looking for, make sure you tick Has attachment. Then select Search to get your results.

How to search Gmail for attachments on mobile

There are two ways to search for attachments in Gmail on your mobile device:

Using the search bar

• Open the Gmail app and tap on the search bar at the top of the screen.
• Type has:attachment in the search bar. Make sure there are no spaces between “has:” and “attachment”.
• Tap on the magnifying glass icon or hit enter on your keyboard to initiate the search.

This will return all emails in your Gmail that contain attachments.

Using Advanced Search

• Open the Gmail app and tap on the search bar.
• Locate the option Attachment.
• Click on it and select Has any attachment or select your attachment type.
• You can also add other filters here, like sender or date range, to narrow down your search.

This method allows you to combine searching for attachments with other criteria for a more precise search.