# How do I preview email attachments?

### What won't work

For tasks that use [the Email action](/core/actions/email.md), you'll see a preview of the email itself in the task preview area.

![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/helpscout.net/docs/assets/5ddd799f2c7d3a7e9ae472fc/images/600f41e32e764327f87c22a8/file-PldK5WTNBy.png)

This preview includes an "Expand preview" button, which *then* allows you to send a copy of the message to the email address of your choice.

Importantly, *this feature does not include attachments*. (Under the hood, this is because compiling attachments can take an unpredictable amount of system resources, making this job best served by [Mechanic's run system](/core/runs.md).)

### What will work

The best way to approach this is by creating a brand new task, which...

* ... subscribes to mechanic/user/trigger, allowing you to run the task on demand
* ... uses [the Files action](/core/actions/files.md), using the same data that you're using in your "email" action's attachments

(This technique leverages the fact that Mechanic generates files in the same way, across the "email" and "files" actions; see [File generators](/core/actions/file-generators.md) for more on this.)

In order to make this work, you may need to pull in data needed for your files. For example, if you're working on an email attachment based on order data, you may need to pull in a sample order object, like this:

```liquid
{% assign order = shop.orders[1234567890] %}
```

Using this technique gives you a dedicated workspace, in the form of a task, for iterating on your file attachments. Once you have your attachment-generating code the way you want it, bring that code back to your original task.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://learn.mechanic.dev/faq/how-do-i-preview-email-attachments.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.