[HM] Can't open picture attachment

[Mary C. Youra]

Denise--
If you are getting attachments that are 1K in size, they are not 
pictures (that's just not large enough). If you able to save the 1K 
file to your desktop and do a Get Info (highlight, then cmd-I), what 
does it say it is?  If you're not getting an indication of an attached 
file (the paper clip), it sounds as though the attachment got stripped. 
The question is at what level--by the sender's ISP, yours, or your 
Outlook Express. Can you send an attachment to yourself? By any chance 
does your ISP have attachments blocked? It's been a long time since 
I've used Outlook Express, but I seem to remember that you could set 
its Rules to strip attachments--have you checked to see if something's 
gone amiss there (Tools>Rules>Mail)?. Does your ISP offer a way to 
check your email using the web? If so, check online to see if there are 
attachments, and how they are identified. That might help identify 
whether the problem is to do with Outlook Express or something to do 
with your ISP. I have no idea how Postini works--you say you've checked 
the settings, but have you ever gotten an attachment since your ISP has 
been using Postini? You might want to check with either your ISP or 
Postini Support about their default settings for attachments. (I once 
had to ask an ISP to reduce its Spam Sieve settings because it was 
blocking legitimate email, so they can be *too* aggressive.)

Another thought--is your ISP blocking attachments from particular 
ISP's? With the recent rash of viruses, some ISP's were doing just 
that. I have received other notices that ISP's are blocking 
attachments, but the recipient receives a 1K notice that there had been 
an attachment (typically, this happens when the attachment is suspected 
of being a virus).

Lots of questions, but no real answers, sorry. I hope something here 
helps you track down the source of the problem.

Mary

On Mar 15, 2004, at 8:30 AM, Home Macintosh Users List wrote:

>> Subject: [HM] Can't open picture attachment
>>
>> A friend is trying to email me some pics as attachments, from his PC. 
>>  I
>> know I have been able to open his pics in the past, but it has been a 
>> while.
>> I do not recall changing any settings.  He is sending them as .jpg, 
>> which
>> normally open on my iBook with Pictureviewer.  They are 1K in size.  
>> When I
>> click on the attachment in his email, nothing happens.  "Open" and 
>> "Save"
>> options are grayed out.
>>
>> Can you help me search out what I may need to change?
>
>
>  I got several helpful responses to my previous post regarding 
> attachments.
> However, I am still having trouble.  The friend mentioned in the above
> original posting showed me the emails he sent when I was at his house, 
> and
> they each showed two or more picture attachments were sent from his 
> computer
> to mine.  What I received was a grayed out, single attchment which 
> would not
> open.
>
> I have since had two other people try to send me attachments, one 
> picture
> attachment and one .pdf, and in each case, nothing (not even a grayed 
> out
> attachment) came through.  Not even a paper clip on the message 
> signalling
> an attachment.
>
> I am using Outlook Express for Mac 5.0.5.  I have checked both 
> "Preferences"
> and "Account Settings" and can find nothing amiss.  I have also 
> checked the
> filter which my ISP uses (Postini).  I am at a loss.
>
> Denise