Viewing and managing EML documents on a contract

When you add contract correspondence to a contract as an email file (.eml format), ContractHero displays it directly in the documents area as a preview — you see the sender, recipient, subject, date and message text without having to open the file separately in Outlook or another email client.

Your benefit

Contract negotiations, side agreements and important clarifications often happen by email. When those emails are attached to the contract, you need them right there in your contract management too — not as an external file that nobody wants to open:

• Contract history in one place. Emails, PDFs and amendments sit together with the contract instead of being scattered across several systems.
• Fast access during an audit. Auditors can see immediately what was negotiated for a contract — without having to open somebody else's email account.
• Smooth handover. External consultants or auditors can read the email thread without having to open .eml files themselves.

How it works

1. Save the email as an .eml file

In Outlook: select the email → File [Datei] → Save as [Speichern unter] → choose the .eml format. Other email clients (Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Gmail export) usually offer a similar function. .eml is the open standard format and is rendered directly as a preview by ContractHero.

2. Upload the file to ContractHero

Open the contract → Documents [Dokumente] area on the right → "+ Add document [+ Dokument hinzufügen]" → drag and drop the file into the upload area, or click to select it → Import [Importieren].

Note: In its format description, the upload dialogue lists "PDF, Word, Excel, image and PowerPoint formats" [„PDF-, Word-, Excel-, Bild- und PowerPoint-Formate"]. .eml is not explicitly mentioned there, but the format does work. The upload goes through without any warning.

3. The preview is created automatically

The .eml file appears in the document list with the format label EML. When you click on the document, the preview appears on the right with four header fields:

• From [Von] — sender address
• To [An] — recipient address
• Subject [Betreff] — email subject
• Date [Datum] — timestamp of the email

Below that follows the message text in plain text. You move between the documents of a contract using the arrow navigation at the top right ("Document N / M [Dokument N / M]") — exactly as in the PDF view.

Typical use cases

• Negotiation emails documented with the main contract — who promised what, and when?
• Clarification emails with the counterparty — clarifications that are not in the contract itself.
• Incoming confirmations (e.g. from an insurer or a bank) filed with the contract as evidence.
• Termination emails and their delivery confirmations — important for deadlines and later audits.
• Handovers when responsibilities change — your successor sees the full communication, not just the final documents.

What the preview shows (at present) — and what it does not

Being honest about the limits of the feature, so that you are not disappointed:

• Only From and To in the header. CC and BCC recipients are not shown in the preview header. If these matter for traceability, you should keep the original email as well, or record the matter in the comments/activity area.
• Date in a technical format. The date currently appears in the preview as an ISO timestamp (e.g. 2026-05-20T12:32:17.000Z) rather than in a localised format. The content is correct, only the display is unformatted.
• Body in plain text. The message text is rendered as plain text. HTML formatting, inline images or complex newsletter layouts do not appear in their original design — but the text content remains readable.
• Attachments to the email. Whether attachments in an .eml file can be displayed or downloaded separately depends on the structure of the file. For critical attachments, we recommend also filing them with the contract as separate documents.

Frequently asked questions

Which email formats are supported?
The preview works reliably with .eml files — the standard email format. We have not tested .msg from Outlook (a proprietary format) and the preview is not guaranteed for it — if necessary, convert a .msg to .eml beforehand (in Outlook: "Save as [Speichern unter]" → .eml).

Can the AI contract analysis extract data from .eml emails?
The AI analysis is optimised for contract documents. .eml emails primarily serve documentation and evidence purposes, not automatic data extraction.

Are the emails stored in a data-protection-compliant way?
As soon as you upload an .eml file to a contract, the same visibility logic applies as for all other contract documents: whoever is allowed to see the contract also sees the attached emails. With sensitive content, make sure the contract permissions are set accordingly.

Can I file .eml files from the Outlook import automatically?
The Outlook import saves the PDF attached to the contract in the new contract. If you also want to archive the email itself, upload the .eml separately as a document (see Related articles on the Outlook import).

Why is the date in ISO format and not "20.05.2026"?
At present the preview renders the technical timestamp from the email header one-to-one. A localised display is on the feature roadmap — but the content is complete and correct.

How large may an .eml file be?
The same size limits apply as for other documents. The upload dialogue states a range of up to 50 files per upload and 256 MB — with very large email threads, loading the preview can take a few seconds.

Where can I tell that a document is an EML in the document list?
In the document list on the right, the format label EML appears next to the file name — just like PDF, DOCX and so on. That way you can see at a glance which documents are emails and which are contract texts.

Good to know

• .eml is an open standard. Unlike .msg (proprietary to Outlook), .eml is a documented, cross-platform standard. For archiving and compliance purposes, .eml is therefore the more robust choice.
• Check for personal data before uploading. Emails often contain personal data (signatures, private telephone numbers). Before you make them visible to a wide group of readers, plan in a quick visual check.
• Clear naming saves you searching later. "Negotiation_Clause-5_2026-03.eml" is more helpful than "RE: RE: FW: Contract.eml". Both you and your colleagues will find the email thread again more quickly.
• For legally relevant emails: also save a PDF. If the email needs to be usable in court, we recommend saving a PDF printout of it as well — that is universally readable, even when no email client is to hand. CC addresses and HTML formatting are preserved that way too.
• The format details in the upload dialogue are incomplete. The format description in the upload dialogue currently does not list EML explicitly — the feature works nonetheless. The UI copy lags behind the scope of the feature here.

Not using this feature yet, or would you like to get more out of it?

Your account manager will show you how to integrate .eml documents sensibly into your contract workflow — 15 minutes is usually enough. Get in touch with us via the web chat or by email at support@contracthero.com.

Related articles

• Importing contracts into ContractHero via Outlook email
• How can contracts be uploaded by email?
• Which functions are available in the overview / on the contract's main page?

Updated on: 08/26/2026