TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Troubleshooting: Unable to Open Attachments in Outlook Express
► Summary:
The following troubleshooting information offers solutions for issues with attachments not opening in
Outlook Express.
► Symptoms
► Cause
Note:
Suddenlink does not provide technical support for the following e-mail programs.
The content below is for reference only.
There are many reasons why you would not be able to open an attachment. The most common reason is
that your computer's antivirus is blocking email attachments. It does this to prevent your computer
from receiving a virus. To prevent this, configure the antivirus software to allow attachments. For
information on how to configure the antivirus software to allow attachments, refer to the help
documentation that came with the software or contact the software manufacturer for technical
assistance.
If you do not have antivirus software or it is not set to block attachments automatically, then it is
possible that Outlook Express is set up to block attachments. For information on how to configure
section.
In addition, if Windows does not recognize the file format of an attachment, the attachment will not
open. For information on how to choose a program to open the attachment, go to Choosing a Program
Finally, if the attachment was sent in BinHex format, it will not open. The only solution is to request
that the sender configure his or her email client to encode attachments using another format, and then
resend the message.
► Solution
Allowing Attachments in Outlook Express
1. Launch Outlook Express
2. From the Tools menu, click Options
3. From the Options dialog box, select the Security tab. Click to clear the Do Not allow
attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus.
4. Click OK.
Choosing a Program to Open a File
1.
Open the email containing the attachment.
2.
Right-click the attachment and select Open
3.
The Open Mail Attachment dialog box will appear. Click Save.
4.
From the Save As dialog box, select a location to save the file such as your My Documents
folder or the computer Desktop.
5. Locate the saved attachment and right-click.
6. Select the Open With option.
7. From the Open With dialog box, locate Programs. Click to select the program to open the file
and then choose OK.
Note: In this example, Notepad was selected.
► Applies To
·
Outlook Express
