How to Email File Paths via the Send To menu

Let’s assume you’re working in the training department of a firm and need to send training materials to recruits regularly. The usual way is to right-click on the file, click Send To, and click Mail Recipient. This attaches the file to the compose window in your mail client.

How about saving bandwidth on your local network by sending the target path of documents (in a network share) instead of attaching them to mail?

Send to Mail Recipient (as Path)

For this purpose, I wrote a script that adds the Mail Recipient (as Path) option to the Send To menu, which, when clicked, opens the compose mail window and adds the target location of selected files and folders to the Body.

  1. Download SendLinkToMail.vbs above or copy the above code to Notepad and save it with a .vbs extension.
  2. Double-click sendlinktomail.vbs to run it.
  3. When you see the “Configuring…” prompt, press Enter:

The Mail Recipient (as Path) is now added to the Send To menu.

Open the network location which contains files you want to email (as Path).

Select the files, right-click on the selection, click “Send to”, and select “Mail Recipient (as Path).”

email file path context menu

This opens the new message window in your email client (e.g., Outlook) with the Subject and Body fields populated.



email file path context menu

Customization

To change the default Subject line and To: address, edit the script using Notepad and modify the variables in Line numbers 28 and 29.

For example:

strRecipientEMail = "[email protected]"
strMailSubject = "Training Documents"

Undo Information

To remove the Mail Recipient (as Path) option from the Send To menu, re-run the script, type UNINSTALL and press ENTER. Then delete the file sendlinktomail.vbs manually.

This script invokes the mailto: protocol, and it works in all versions of Windows, including Windows 10.


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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

6 thoughts on “How to Email File Paths via the Send To menu”

  1. I am so sorry !!!!
    i just realized that i wasn’t fully extracting the file but using it from the zip file.
    it works and it works great!!!!!!

    thanks very and again apologies

    Reply
  2. I’ve done as you said and the system loaded. But when I try to use it I get the following message, The file or folder ‘SendLinkToMail.vbs’ that this shortcut refers to can’t be found. Im using Windows 7.
    regards,

    Alan.

    Reply
  3. Alan,

    I am assuming you are making the same mistake i was making.

    make sure to save the file first before extracting!!!!! that’s the cause of that error.

    Andrew

    Reply
  4. is there one that well send as attachment rather than link.
    A link to a folder or file on my pc helps no one on the receiving end.
    Thanks

    Reply

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