OFF2001: Extra Extension Appears on the File Name of E-mail Attachments (303259)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac
  • Microsoft Entourage 2001 for Mac
  • Microsoft PowerPoint 2001 for Macintosh
  • Microsoft Word 2001 for Macintosh
  • Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac
This article was previously published under Q303259

SYMPTOMS

When an e-mail message has an attachment that you know was created in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you may see an unexpected extension on the attachment's file name. The file name may have one of the following extensions:
  • .bin
  • .hqx
  • .sit
  • .zip
  • .gz
  • .tar
  • .uu

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the sender's e-mail program does not correctly package the attachment. This behavior can also occur if the sender compresses or encodes the attached file before sending the file.

All e-mail programs use some form of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) encoding for attachments. When the file is received, the recipient e-mail program removes only the outermost encoding.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use a decoding program (for example, Stuffit Expander) to finish decoding the attachment. Stuffit Expander handles any of the standard encodings or archiving formats that are listed in the Symptoms section.
  1. Select the attachment in the Attachments pane of the message.
  2. Click Save. If you are prompted to do so, click Save again.
  3. Select a location to save the attachment, and then click Save.
  4. Once the file is saved, decode it by using the decoding/compression software of your choice. Refer to the software documentation for instructions about how to do this.

MORE INFORMATION

At the very least, it is good practice to compress a file before you send the file as an e-mail attachment. Both the Aladdin Systems Stuffit format (SIT) and the Info-ZIP group's ZIP compression formats are Internet-ready and do not need to be further encoded before you attach a file to an e-mail message.

The current versions of Stuffit Expander read and expand most Windows ZIP files. There is a version for Windows. You can download both versions from the following Aladdin Systems Inc. Web site:

http://www.aladdinsys.com

For additional information about the encoding technologies that Entourage uses when you send messages that have attachments, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

268320 ENT2001: How to Use Encoding Options in Entourage

For additional information about third-party compression utilities for Windows, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

195563 OL2000: Attachments Are Not Compressed by Outlook

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

For information about how to contact Aladdin Systems Inc., click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/14/2002
Keywords:kbfile kbprb KB303259
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.