Email Attachments
Sending
Mail Attachments
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The procedure for attaching a file or files to an email message varies a
little depending on the email program you use. In general, you can click on
an attachment icon, such as a paper clip, located on the toolbar of the
mail program or select Insert on the menu then select File...
You then browse the hard drive or removable disks to select the file you
want to attach. When the file is found, click the file to select it and
click "OK". The attached file will appear as part of the email
header or as an icon within the body of your email message.
Many mail programs will allow you to drop and drag a file you want to
attach into the message. To use this method, locate the file you want to
send on your hard drive or removable disk. Once the file is located, open
your email program and begin composing a new message. Drag the file on the
hard drive or removable disk to the body of the message and release the
mouse. Note: If the message cannot be dropped into the body, try dropping
it into the subject field.
Note about sending attachments:
The maximum message size any user can send through the VailNet mail servers
is 6MB (or 6,000 Kb). However, it is recommended that you do not send a
file larger than 1-2 MB to eliminate possible problems in sending or
receiving mail attachments. If you would like to send a large attachment to
someone, consider using a "Zip" application, such as Winzip to zip and compress
your attachment files or break down your attachments into parts and mail
them as separate, smaller email messages. Bear in mind that the size of the
message will include, in addition to the attachment, some overhead -
namely, the encoding to convert the file to text when sent then back to
it's original form when received.
Very large mail attachments may be rejected by the recipient's mail
server and cause their email box to exceed the mail quota; the email with
attachment may be bounced back to the sender as "undeliverable".
Large attachments may also cause the recipient's email to "hang" when he or she attempts
to download the message. Note that,
on a dial-up, a 500k file takes about two minutes.
Troubleshooting Mail Attachments
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Problems with attachments include viewing, opening, sending and receiving.
Large attachments can cause a locked box and "hang" the download of messages. Attachments may also hang
on sending, resulting in an undeliverable message or the message(s) to be
stuck in Outbox. Large attachments can also result in an over quota email
box. Some common problems with attachments are discussed below. Refer to
the section on mail quotas
for additional information.
A word of caution about email attachments. Is it a
virus?
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Do not open the attachment without first determining that it is safe to
open it. Make sure it is an attachment that you expected to receive from
a trusted source. Take a few precautionary steps to make sure that the
attachment will not launch a "payload" virus or worm.
- Does the
attachment icon look like an executable (program) file even
though the file name indicates it's an image? If the attachment does
appear to be an executable program, do NOT click on it. Doing so may
launch a program that contains a virus.
- Look at the name
of the attachment by right clicking on the attachment and selecting Properties.
The three letters to the right of the period indicate what type of
file it is: filename.xxx.
Files that end with ".exe", ".ini",
".bat", ".pif". ".vbs" are a few extensions
of executable files that can launch dangerous programs, although
they are, of course, sometimes legitimate.
If the attachment is suspicious, delete the message immediately. See Viruses
for more information.
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Unable to send or receive an attachment
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Large email attachments may cause the mail download to “hang” or cause the message to
get “stuck” in the
Outbox and result in an undeliverable message. A virus such as Happy99 may also prohibit you from
sending email attachments. (See MSKB Q221486).
A 200K attachment can take a long time to download on a computer that
does not meet the Minimum System Requirements. If you are trying to receive
a large attachment and you are operating a low-end or older computer
system, make sure you do not have other applications open or running at the
same time you are downloading your email.
If you or the recipient is protected by a “firewall” or using an Exchange server configured to block
attachments, sending and receiving attachments may be problematic. To make
the file pass through intact, you can generally change the file extension
from .xxx to .xx_ (use an underscore as the final character) and provide instructions
to the email recipient for renaming the file back to it's original
extension after it is saved locally.
Cannot open or view an attachment
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The most common cause for this problem is a security setting in Outlook
Express. Check under the Tools -> Options menu, and click on the
Security tab. There is a check box that reads Do not allow attachments
to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus. Uncheck that
box and try to re-open the message. You should be able to view the
attachment.
File format issues
An email attachment you receive may not be in a format that you are able
to view if you do not have a program installed on your computer that can be
associated with the attachment's file extension. For example, a file with
an .eml should open with Outlook Express on a default system. A file with a
.doc extension can be opened with Microsoft Word. Any .htm ot .html
attachment would open Internet Explorer or another browser such as
Netscape. If you do not have a program installed on your computer that is
associated with the file type, you will be prompted to Open with ?. Note that
file formats supported by the Macintosh Operating System may not be
supported by PC Operating Systems.
Determining what program is associated with a file type
To determine what program is associated with a file extension, refer to TechFileFormat
or Whatis.com
for a list of file extensions and their associated programs.
Unable to open .eml files
If you are not able to open an .eml file, refer to Q312355: Unable to Open EML File Attachments in Outlook
Express. Note that this may sometimes be caused by
installing/uninstalling a program such as Incredimail.
Compressed files
If the file extension is ".zip" then you need a compression program
like "Winzip"
to open it (Note: Windows XP has a built-in compression utility). If the
file extension is ".hqx" or ".bin" then you need a
compression program like "StuffIt" to open it. This program comes
in both Mac and Windows versions.
Common image file types and associated programs
An attachment that ends in .jpg is a jpeg compressed image. One ending
in .gif is a graphic interchange format image. Most graphics programs will
open these file types. Images may also be sent in .tif format. The
recommended TIF viewer is Imaging for Windows. This software is installed
with all Windows operating systems. If you do not have it installed on your
machine you can reinstall it from your system CD.
- Double-click My
Computer.
- Windows 2000/ME:
Select Tools | Folder Options.
- WinNT: Select View
| Options.
- Windows 98: Select
View | Folder Options.
- Select File Types.
- Under Registered
File Types, select TIF extension.
- Under Details, click
Change.
- Locate Imaging for
Windows and click Open.
- Note: If you
cannot find the program, reinstall Imaging for Windows from the
system CD..
- Click OK.
- Then restart your
browser and see if you are able to view the images.
Microsoft viewers
If you receive a file attachment for an Microsoft Office product, such a
file with the extension of .doc (MS Word) or .pps (Power Point) but do not
have Microsoft Office installed on your computer, download and install the
appropriate Microsoft viewer to open and view the attachment.
See Tools on the Web for a list of Microsoft viewers that
can be downloaded and installed. Direct links to viewers for the more
common Microsoft products are: MS Word | MS Excel | MS Visio | MS PowerPoint
Email
encoding properties
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If you have problems viewing attachments, and it comes up as gibberish
in the text of the message rather than as an attachment, it is possible
that your mail application's encoding is different from the sender's email
application. In order to be able to view an attachment, the encoding
between the sending and receiving systems must be identical. Generally
speaking, your email software will automatically encode the attachment and
the recipient's software will automatically decode the file. However older
email applications may not support some of encoding protocols which may
include:
- MIME
Encodings (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) is an Internet
standard for multimedia mail which allows different mail applications
to exchange a variety of types of information. Most current PC Email
Applications are MIME Encoding Compliant.
- No encoding
does not encode the attachment at all. This can be risky to use for
Internet mail and should be used only if you know that the attachment
is a plain text file with no high bit characters.
- ASCII text
Indicates that the file is plain text with no formatting or high-bit
characters.
- UUencoding
This encoding is widely on the Internet. This encoding is a good
choice.
- BinHex Used
with Macintosh machines but not widely used on other operating
systems. Before sending an attachment, check in advance that the
recipient is able to deal with BinHex-encoded files.
If you are having problems properly Decoding a
file, contact the sender to determine what email program they are using.
You should try and determine which encoding scheme is in use and make sure
your software supports it.
Outlook Express 6 virus protection feature strips
attachments
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If you are using Outlook Express 6 on Windows XP and cannot receive
attachments, the virus protection feature may need to be adjusted. Open
Outlook Express, click Tools on the menu then select Options.
Click the Security tab and uncheck the "do not allow" box.
You will not be able to open the current attachments you have, but this
will allow you to open any new attachments you receive. Refer to MSKB Q291387 for information.
Unable to view any html messages in Outlook Express
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Open Outlook Express, click Tools on the menu then select Options.
Click the Read tab and uncheck the box to "Read all messages in
plain text".
Using an attachment to send an AOL customer an HTML
message
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Attachments from AOL are often multiple, forwarded messages. You can
send an HTML message to an AOL user by making a saved attachment of it.
They can then use Outlook Express to view it. AOL HTML cannot be read by
Outlook Express.
Unable to Open EML
File Attachments in Outlook Express
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When you attempt to open an .eml attachment in Outlook Express, either
the file may not open or you may receive an error message that states that
there is no program associated with this file type. See MSKB Q312355 for a solution.
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