E-Mail Message

Microsoft developed the Electronic Mail (EML) format to comply with the industry-standard RFC 5322 for transferring messages between email clients. EML utilizes the Internet Message Format (IMF) syntax for text stored in the messages.

Because of its wide adoption among email clients, EML has become one of the most common email message formats. Some other common email message file types include .MSG .MBOX , .EMLX and .DAT .

How to save an email message as an EML file

Since the EML format is widely supported, you can save emails as .EML files with most email applications. Two common email applications that can save messages as EML files include Microsoft Mail and Apple Mail:

You can open EML files with various email programs, such as Microsoft Outlook (Windows), Apple Mail (macOS), and Mozilla Thunderbird (multiplatform).

You can also open EML files with various web browsers, including Google Chrome (multiplatform), Microsoft Edge , and Internet Explorer since they are formatted similar to .MHT files. You can change the .eml file extension to .mht and open it directly with the web browser.

Since EML files are partially saved in plain text format, you can open them with a plain text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad and Apple TextEdit . However, you may need to change the .eml file extension to .txt . Remember that text editors will not natively display EML files like an email application.

Various applications, including Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook, can convert EML files to other formats.

For example, Apple Mail can convert EML files to the following formats:

Programs that open EML files

Updated: May 3, 2022