Outlook express, attachments

[Guest]

I am running XP Pro and using outlook express. Anytime I get an attachment
that the extension isn't recognized I can't get to the "open with" or "choose
program" window so I can choose the program to use.
I would use the folder options to assign the correct program but the file
name, including extension, is never the same twice so that would be useless.
I know I can save the attachment and then open it, but I am looking for a
way to do it from outlook express.

Jason

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I am running XP Pro and using outlook express. Anytime I get
an
attachment that the extension isn't recognized I can't get to
the
"open with" or "choose program" window so I can choose the
program to
use.

Find *any* file with that extension (save the attachment, if
necessary), right-click on it and choose Open With. Choose the
program and check the box "Always use this program..." That will
set the association from then on.

 

[Guest]

I think that would only help me if the extension was always the same. I
regularlly get these emails and the extensions are always different. It is
the same report and I always want to use notepad, but there is no consistancy
in the extension.

 

[PA Bear]

Cannot Open E-Mail Attachments in Outlook Express After You Install SP1:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329570

--
OE6-specific newsgroup:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress

~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE) & Security, AH-VSOP

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I think that would only help me if the extension was always the
same.

Yes. I missed the point that the extensions were different.

I regularlly get these emails and the extensions are always
different. It is the same report and I always want to use
notepad,
but there is no consistancy in the extension.

Who is sending you the same report regularly with different
extensions? Tell him to use the same extension. If it's a text
file suitable for opening in notepad, he should be using the .txt
extension.

 

[Guest]

It is a generated file from the bank. The file name, including extension is
random. I don't know why.
I know this isn't an issue with Outlook, only with Outlook express. I'm
just wondering if there is a way to have it work the way I want it. It
worked fine before upgrading to windows XP.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

It is a generated file from the bank. The file name, including
extension is random. I don't know why.

If I were in your shoes, I would ask the bank about this and
explain your problem to them.

I know this isn't an issue with Outlook, only with Outlook
express.

You say the "extension is random." If that's the case, this has
nothing to do with Outlook *or* Outlook Express. You would have
exactly the same problem if you saved the file in Outlook Express
and then tried to open it from Windows Explorer. Windows knows
how (in what program) to open files for which associations have
been created--file extensions like doc, xls (if Office is
installed), exe, txt, etc.--but has no idea what to do with
random names.

I'm just wondering if there is a way to have it work the way I
want
it. It worked fine before upgrading to windows XP.

If that's truly the case, something has to be wrong with your
description of the problem. Whether it's Windows XP or an earlier
version, random extensions can not possibly work.

That's why I suggest that you contact your bank and talk to them
about this.

 

[Guest]

If I save the attachment and then open it I get prompted to choose which
program I want to use. My issue is that when I try to open the attachment
from outlook express I don't have the option to choose which program to use
without having to save it then open it. I did have the option pre-Windows
XP, and I do have the option is when opening from outlook.
I tried on a PC with outlook and outlook express installed. I recieved the
email and tried opening the attachment with both programs. With outlook I
can select the program without having to save the attachment first. With
Outlook express I have to save the file, then open it.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

If I save the attachment and then open it I get prompted to
choose
which program I want to use. My issue is that when I try to
open the
attachment from outlook express I don't have the option to
choose
which program to use without having to save it then open it. I
did
have the option pre-Windows XP, and I do have the option is
when
opening from outlook.
I tried on a PC with outlook and outlook express installed. I
recieved the email and tried opening the attachment with both
programs. With outlook I can select the program without having
to
save the attachment first. With Outlook express I have to save
the
file, then open it.

What happens when you try to open the attachment in Outlook
Express? If you get an error message, please quote it verbatim.

 

[Guest]

I don't seem to be explaining myself proerly.
I want to know why, when I open an email with an attachment (with unknown
file type/no program associated with it) in outlook express I have to save
the attachment first before I am ever given the option to choose which
program to use. When I try to open it right from the email I get the
message, " This program doesn't have a file associated with it for performing
this action. Create an association in the Folder Options control panel". I
understand this message and know what it means, this isn't the issue. The
issue is, that in previous versions of windows I would have been able to
right-click on the attachment and select "open with" to choose the program I
wanted to use without first having to save the file.
I emails and attachments from the bank. The attachments' names are always
different, as is the extension. Don't ask me why, it is how they do it and
it won't change.
My question is, is there a way to skip the step where I have to save the
attachment before I can select which program to use to open it? I don't want
to create file associations with it everytime because the files/extensions
are never the same twice. I could do it before upgrading to XP.

 

[PA Bear]

Things are different in WinXP SP2, which I'm assuming you're running.

WinXP SP2: What's New for Internet Explorer and Outlook Express
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/ieoeoverview.mspx

How the Attachment Manager works in WinXP SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=883260

Detailed description of the DEP feature in Windows XP SP2
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=875352

Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2: Browsing
Security Enhancements
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2brows.mspx

Changes to Functionality in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2: Email
Handling
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2email.mspx

 

[jake the clown]

running windows XP when I get a power point presentation (pps) and try to
open it I receive the message "this file does not have a program associated
with it to perform this action. Create an association in the folder options
control panel". If I save it in my document folder I can open it with the "r
point viewer". I indicate this program should be used to open all these
files, but it does not happen. What am I doing incorrectly.

jake the clown

 

[Bruce Hagen]

Please start your own new thread in the future instead of hijacking another.
Thank you.

1: Save the attachment to your HDD. Right click on it and Open With | Choose
Program. Find and choose a program that works and then check the box: Always
use this program to open this kind of file. This should enable you to open
these attachments in the future.

2: Unable to open .PPS attachments directly from Outlook Express using
XP/SP2 or XP/SP3:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ppsopen.htm