How to open .eml files and included attachments in Ubuntu or any other GNU Linux distro

If you are a regular GNU Linux user there is a very good chance that you will come across emails forwarded to you as .eml files once in a while. .eml is the extension used for files saved as emails from Microsoft outlook or outlook Express. It is normally just a matter of opening these files with gedit as the files are plain text files unless they have attachments. If the attached .eml files themselves have attachments you run into the problem of actually having to open these base64 encoded attachments. The default set of applications in Ubuntu does not directly allow you to do this but there is an easy work around for this problem.

1. Open evolution and compose a new mail.
2. Attach the .eml file as an attachment to this mail.
3. Save the mail and close the compose window.
4. Select the mail from the Evolution main window.
5. Below the viewing pane there will be an option to view the attachment inline. Click on it and enjoy.

This is only a workaround for the problem but it is an easy work around. If you know an easier solution please do share it with us for the benefit of everybody out there.