Outlook is the standard at most corporates and the PDFs there are usually the high-stakes ones — contracts, statements, board material. Treat them with care.
A solid Outlook workflow keeps you fast without missing anything critical.
Rules to route by sender
Outlook rules can auto-categorise incoming mail. Set up categories for your top sources — Finance, Legal, Vendors — and assign incoming emails with PDF attachments to the right category.
When you triage, you sort by category. PDFs from Finance get processed in your Finance window; Legal PDFs get the contract-handling pipeline.
Save attachments to a synced folder
Most corporate setups have OneDrive sync. Save attachments to a `/Inbox/PDFs` folder that syncs across devices. The PDF is now portable across your work laptop, home machine, and phone.
Don't leave attachments only in Outlook. Outlook can lose them; your folder doesn't.
Process via Flint in the browser
Open your saved PDF in Flint via the browser. No install means it works on locked-down corporate machines without needing IT approval for a desktop app.
Process the same way: rename, edit, sign, compress, file. The browser is your entire toolkit.
Send via Outlook with size discipline
Outlook's default attachment limit is often 20 MB but corporate policies can be lower (10 MB or even 5 MB). Compress every outbound PDF before attaching.
For anything over the limit, OneDrive share links are the corporate-friendly alternative. Outlook offers this option natively when you try to attach a large file.
FAQ
Can I automate Outlook attachment saving?
Outlook on Windows supports VBA macros and Power Automate flows for this. Set up once; auto-save attachments from specific senders to specific folders.
What about Outlook on the web vs desktop?
Same workflow; just slightly different UI. The browser version works identically with Flint.
How do I handle encrypted Outlook PDFs?
If they're sender-encrypted (Outlook IRM), they stay encrypted in the file system. Process normally; the encryption persists through Flint operations.
Should I use Outlook's built-in PDF tools?
Outlook has minimal PDF tooling. Browser tools are faster and more capable for actual PDF work.
Outlook delivers; Flint processes. Open the next Outlook PDF in Flint and feel the workflow click together.