TROUBLE opening attachments

[helenscott08]

The following is a question a friend has been asking...I thought maybe someone here on Wacco would have the answer.

*****

Hi there...

I'm hoping someone can answer this question for me.

All of a sudden, I am unable to open attachments both in IncrediMail
and Outlook Express. Up until about a month ago, I've had absolutely
no problem with attachments, except for the occasional one from AOL.

Now when I click on the paperclip I get that weird little box that,
when clicked on, says, "cannot open this file". This is happening with
every single attachment I receive.

Can someone please tell me what might have caused this, and more
importantly, is there something I can do to fix it.

I'd really appreciate anyone's help with this.

[Tars]

All of a sudden, I am unable to open attachments both in IncrediMail and Outlook Express. Up until about a month ago, I've had absolutely no problem with attachments, except for the occasional one from AOL.(best guesses - worth what you paid for them)

Since you mention Outlook Express (Blecch!), your friend is using some variant of Windows. I would first test to see if the attached files are actually reaching his/her computer. Try right-clicking on the attached file's icon, and picking "Save As". Save the file in your preferred sub-directory, then try opening that file with the appropriate program.

If it opens, then it's possibly a problem with your email program settings, or Windows' file association settings. Perhaps an option to block attachments was inadvertantly chosen. If "Save As", produces a "file not found", or similar message, then the problem might be with your firewall, or internet service provider. Perhaps your friend has installed some other program (perhaps even without their knowledge) recently, that might also block attachments. Examples might be a new ad-blocker, virus scanner, parental control program, "system upgrade", etc. This possibility is compounded if more than one person uses the same computer.

And remember, computers make our lives easier!https://www.rpriddle.com/smile/shake.gif

[sonomarosa]

Thank you Tars, for replying to Helen's message about my attachment problems. It just started happening recently and it's driving me nuts.

I DID get another answer; checking the tools in OE under 'Security'. Removing the checkmark about receiving attachments that may contain viruses. Well, since anything can contain a virus, I'm hoping that by removing that checkmark, it will allow all attachments to go through.

If not, it's back to the drawing board. Thank you so much for your help!
Jean

[sonomarosa]

Good morning again Tars...

I tried what you suggested yesterday, about 'saving as' on the file attachments. It did work on a couple of them, but on most it did not.

By clicking on the paper clip and then 'save attachments', it did save it to 'my documents' and on that screwy icon, it showed 'Thunderbird attachment'. I am not using Mozilla nor Thunderbird...I am using OE 6 and IncrediMail, Windows XP SP2. Anyway, a couple did open, but no more.

Again, thank you for your suggestion. I will try it again later.

Jean