View individual .eml email files from Windows Mail, Outlook Express, Thunderbird exports and email attachments, without installing any email client. Full HTML rendering with attachment preview.
Version 5.2 | 12 MB | Windows 7/8/10/11 | No Outlook needed
EML File Sources
EML Viewer opens email files from all these sources, no matter how you got them.
Windows 10/11 default
Windows XP legacy
Windows 7/8 era
Save As / Export
Forwarded emails
Download as EML
Also opens EML from: Apple Mail exports, eM Client, Mailbird, The Bat!, Zimbra, Zoho Mail, ProtonMail exports, email forensic extractions and any RFC 5322 compliant email files.
Univik EML Viewer is a free Windows application that opens and displays individual .eml email files without requiring Microsoft Outlook or any other email client to be installed.
What is an EML file? EML (Electronic Mail) is a file format that stores a single email message in plain text following the RFC 5322 standard. Unlike MBOX which stores multiple emails, each EML file contains exactly one email with its headers, body and attachments encoded in MIME format.
Common scenarios: Opening email attachments that were forwarded as .eml files, viewing Windows Mail or Outlook Express archives, reading emails saved from Thunderbird, opening emails downloaded from webmail (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) and forensic examination of individual email evidence.
Technical details: Full MIME decoding support including multipart messages, Base64 and Quoted-Printable encoding, HTML and plain text rendering, inline image display and attachment extraction. Handles international character sets (UTF-8, ISO-8859, etc.).
Key advantage: While you can technically open EML files by importing them into Outlook or Thunderbird, EML Viewer lets you instantly view any EML file without configuring email accounts or cluttering your mailbox.
Powerful Features
Every feature designed to make working with EML files effortless.
Double-click any EML file to view it instantly. No need to import into Outlook or configure email accounts, just open and read.
Load hundreds of EML files at once from a folder. Perfect for reviewing Windows Mail archives or email forensic collections.
View emails exactly as intended, complete HTML formatting, inline images, tables and styled text preserved perfectly.
Preview images, PDFs and documents directly in the viewer. Save individual attachments or extract all at once.
Search across all loaded EML files by sender, recipient, subject, date, or keywords. Find specific emails in seconds.
Full support for all MIME encodings, Base64, Quoted-Printable, 7-bit, 8-bit. Handles international character sets correctly.
View complete email headers including routing information, timestamps and server hops. Essential for email forensics.
Print emails with full formatting preserved. Customize print layout, include headers and batch print multiple emails.
EML Viewer never modifies original files. Perfect for forensic work where evidence integrity is crucial.
Quick Start Guide
View your EML emails in under 2 minutes.
Run the installer and follow the wizard. Installation takes less than a minute. Launch EML Viewer when complete.
Click "Add Files" to select individual EML files, or "Add Folder" to load all EML files from a directory. You can also drag and drop files directly into the window.
Click any email in the list to view it. Preview attachments, search for specific messages, analyze headers and print if needed.
💡 Pro tip: Set EML Viewer as your default application for .eml files. Then you can double-click any EML file to open it directly!
Common Questions
To open EML files without Outlook:
EML Viewer opens emails instantly without any email client configuration or account setup.
EML (Electronic Mail) is a standard file format for storing individual email messages. Each .eml file contains exactly one email including headers, body text and attachments encoded in MIME format.
Programs that create EML files:
EML files use an open, text-based standard (RFC 5322) that any email client can read. The content is plain text with MIME encoding for attachments.
MSG files are Microsoft's proprietary format used exclusively by Outlook. They use a binary format that requires Outlook or special tools to read.
Bottom line: EML is more universal, MSG is Outlook-specific. If you have MSG files, use our MSG Viewer instead.
Yes! Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail and Outlook Express all stored emails in EML format. Even though these programs are discontinued, EML Viewer can open your archived emails.
Where to find old emails:
%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Local Folders\%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\%LocalAppData%\Identities\{GUID}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\Yes! EML Viewer supports batch processing:
Once loaded, you can search across all emails, sort by date/sender/subject and browse them in a unified list.
Yes! EML Viewer provides full attachment support:
EML Viewer is designed for viewing EML files. You can save attachments and print emails, but full conversion is not included.
For converting EML to PST, PDF, MBOX, or other formats, use our EML Converter tool which offers comprehensive export options.
Yes! EML Viewer includes a headers panel that shows complete email metadata:
This is particularly useful for email forensics, spam analysis and troubleshooting delivery issues.
Real-World Scenarios
"Someone forwarded me an email as an .eml attachment. I don't want to import it into my mail client, I just want to read it. EML Viewer lets me open it instantly."
"I have thousands of EML files from my old Windows Live Mail. The program doesn't exist anymore, but EML Viewer opens all my archived emails perfectly."
"In our investigations, we receive individual email files as evidence. EML Viewer's read-only mode and header analysis features are perfect for examining emails without modification."
"I downloaded important emails from Gmail for backup. They saved as .eml files. Now I can review them offline using EML Viewer without logging into my email."
"I need to analyze suspicious emails without risking my computer. EML Viewer shows me the email content and headers safely without executing any scripts or loading remote images."
"I don't want to clutter my Outlook by importing random EML files. EML Viewer lets me quickly check what's in an email without adding it to my mailbox."
Open EML files instantly without Outlook or any email client.
Download EML Viewer, FreeVersion 5.2 | 12 MB | Windows 7/8/10/11 | No email client required
All EML Sources
Full Attachment Support
MIME Compliant
Format Comparison
Understanding email file formats helps you choose the right viewer.
Open standard used by many email clients
Microsoft proprietary format
Technical Details
| OS | Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11 |
| Architecture | 32-bit and 64-bit |
| RAM | 2 GB minimum |
| Disk Space | 50 MB for installation |
| .NET Framework | 4.5 or higher |
| Outlook Required? | No |
| RFC 5322 | Full Support |
| MIME (RFC 2045-2049) | Full Support |
| Base64 Encoding | Supported |
| Quoted-Printable | Supported |
| UTF-8 / Unicode | Supported |
| HTML Emails | Full Render |
Need more than just viewing? Check out these related products.
Need Help with EML Files?
Our support team is here to help with Windows Mail, Outlook Express, email attachments, or any other EML files.
