OL98: Error Opening Attachment in Outlook

ID: Q188447

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Outlook 98

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to open an attachment received in a message in Microsoft Outlook 98 by double-clicking its icon, you receive the following message:

The path or file name for C:\Temp\<File name.xxx> is invalid

where <File name.xxx> is the name of the attachment. The message is generated by the program associated with the attachment.

CAUSE

A rare condition exists within Outlook which may allow Outlook to delete the file before the associated program has time to open the file.

Two conditions must exist for this to occur:

The associated program does not support Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE).

The associated program does not allow concurrent instances.

Microsoft PowerPoint is an example of such a program.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


File name   Version
-------------------
Outlib.dll  8.5.5424

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Outlook 98.
This problem was corrected in Microsoft Outlook 2000.

Additional query words: 98

Keywords :
Version : WINDOWS:
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug