Danny Davids

Microsoft Outlook 2000 Tips – I Can’t Send My Attachments!



Posted: Saturday, January 21, 2006

by Danny Davids

A sales rep emails a client, including pictures of the new products his company is introducing.   A proud grandmother emails photos of her latest grandchild to all of her friends.   A graphics designer includes pictures of his latest ad campaign in the email he forwards to his manager.   However, the recipients find they cannot view the attachments.   What happened?

The people in our examples above can rest assured they probably did everything right when including their attachments.   The problem is with the way Outlook communicates with other email programs.   By default, Outlook sends all its emails in a format called Rich Text.   When Outlook sends an email with attachments to another Outlook user, the recipient will see the enclosed attachment with no problem.   Other email programs, however, may not be able to handle the Rich Text format.   In these instances, attachments may come across as a file with a .DAT extension, and may be unreadable by the recipient.

So what’s the solution?   Buying a copy of every email program all your friends and business contacts are using, and then remembering which program to use for which group of people, is not feasible.   Don’t worry, there’s a much easier way to fix the problem.   Open up a new email.   Before you do anything else, go to the menu bar.   Click on Format.   At the bottom of the drop-down window that appears, there will probably be a check mark to the left of the menu option Rich Text.   Just above that menu item is Plain Text.   If you click to the left of that option, a window appears letting you know that formatting will be changed if you select this option.   Click Yes to accept these changes.   (If you already have some text in your email message, don’t be surprised to see the font style change once you’ve clicked Yes.)   Then type your email message, include your attachments, and click Send when you’re done.   Those who receive your email should be able to view your attachments with no further problems.

Isn’t it nice to know that some solutions can be so simple?

About the author:   Danny Davids has over 25 years of experience in computer support, network administration, and computer consulting.

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Danny Davids has worked in the computer industry for nearly 30 years. He has provided end-user support, training, and network administration services in arenas as diverse as the service bureau, health, education, communication, manufacturing, the arts, and consulting industries. He currently works as a computer analyst for a government agency. He is married, has two dogs, two adult children, and an absolutely adorable grandson.
 
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)
» left by clogman from UK 6 years 91 days ago.
Go to Tools, Options, Mail Format tab and select the way you would like to send all messages. Select Plain Text and then select the fonts you want to use.
» left by Sanjeev
from Mauritius Island 4 years 49 days ago.
I had same problem and thought it was a technical problem or technical configuration, that's so nice, people share their problem and solutions. Thanks DD, so kind of you. Cheers
» left by Anonymous
 3 years 356 days ago.
Excellent site. I have looked for several months for this elusive piece of info, causing me to wonder why Gates and Co. do not seem willing to let their customers know this simple fact. I have been using OE for many years and did not know they sent in RTF. Eli Jenkins, St. Pete, Fl.
» left by Danny Davids 3 years 352 days ago.
72 fans.
Eli, I'm glad this article helped!
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