OL2000: (IMO) Winmail.dat Attachments Included in Received Messages

ID: Q196784

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook 2000

NOTE: These procedures only apply if you have installed Outlook with the Internet Mail Only (IMO) option. To determine your installation type, on the Help menu, click About Microsoft Outlook. In About Microsoft Outlook, you should see "Internet Mail Only" if you have the Internet Mail Only option installed.

SYMPTOMS

When you use Microsoft Outlook (IMO) to send e-mail containing attachments through the Internet, some recipients using e-mail clients other than Outlook report that the mail message includes an additional file called Winmail.dat. The file is usually very small, but cannot be opened in the mail message.

CAUSE

The Winmail.dat file is used to preserve formatting that the sending client includes in the message, but is not recognized by the receiving client. In the case of Outlook, the Winmail.dat file includes Rich Text Formatting (RTF) instructions.

RESOLUTION

To avoid including Winmail.dat, use the Plain Text mail format. To select Plain Text for all messages, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click Mail Format.

In "Send in this message format," click to select Plain Text.

If you would like to send RTF format to certain recipients and send others Plain Text, you have two options:

On the Format menu of the mail message, select Plain Text.

Select Plain Text on the General page of recipient's Contact form.

REFERENCES

For more information on Winmail.dat attachments, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q149203 : XFOR: Preventing Winmail.dat From Being Sent Over IMC

Q138053 : XFOR: Preventing WINMAIL.DAT Sent to Internet Users

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbdta CfgIM Intp3rdPty
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb