Share files in a chat

last updated at: Jun 8, 2026

You can attach files to any chat message, either by picking something from Drive or uploading directly from your computer. Recipients can preview, download, or save the file to their own Drive.

Attach a file to a message

  1. Open the chat room.
  2. Click the paperclip icon to the left of the message box.
  3. In the Attach file dialog, browse Drive and click a file to select it. You can select multiple files at once by holding Shift or Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) while clicking.
  4. Click Select to confirm. The files appear as chips above the message box.
  5. Type an optional message, then press Enter to send.

To upload a file from your computer instead, click Upload from device in the bottom-left corner of the dialog. Your browser's file chooser opens, and the file is added to the chat when you send.

You can also paste an image directly into the message box. The image is added as an attachment without opening the dialog.

Remove a file before sending

Attachments appear as chips above the message box. Click the X on any chip to remove it before you send.

When you select a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or other Eigen file type from the Attach file dialog, it is shared as a link rather than a copy. The recipient sees a chip labelled Open [filename] and can click it to open the file in a new tab. They need access to that file to open it.

If you want the other person to have access to the document, share it with them first from Drive. See Share a file or folder.

Open or download a received attachment

Attachments in a message appear as chips. Click a chip to open a preview of the file.

Save received attachments to Drive

  1. Hover over the message that contains the attachments.
  2. Click the Save attachments icon (a down arrow) that appears in the top-right corner of the message.
  3. A dialog opens. Browse to the folder in Drive where you want to save the files, then click Save here.

If you'd rather download the files to your computer, click Download instead in the same dialog.