Trouble Getting Attachment to Work in an E-Mail

[babywings76]

I have a Mac, so I'm not sure if this problem is because of this difference. Any Mac users, maybe you'll know...

Every now and then when I save a file and then try to attach it to an e-mail, it doesn't show up as a clickable attachment icon. Instead, it just shows the whole thing below the text of my e-mail. For example, I have a potential host who wanted me to e-mail her the upcoming months specials. I saved the Feb/March/April flyer that someone posted that was an Adobe file with the empty field for us to fill in. I attached that to the e-mail and it just showed the chart at the bottom of the e-mail. The potential host e-mailed me back saying that she couldn't open the attachment. That it said "the file was damaged and could not be downloaded". This worries me because I have sent out other e-mails to people with files that acted like this. Finding out that it doesn't work just frustrates and makes me wonder if it's failed for all those other people in the past. On my end it shows up and things look fine, even when she hit reply and it showed my e-mail below her words.

I just don't know why sometimes the file shows up as an icon and others as the entire document. And how can I know for sure how things are looking for others if I'm on a Mac and they are on a PC, or maybe that isn't really the problem?

HELP!!

 

[jodie]

i use mac too. when i attach a file i have to save the file first as a pdf or something that pc's can recognize. have you tried it?

good luck!

 

[chefann]

Attachments will show in the body of the email on Macs, but they're still attached. Much of the problem occurs in that Macs don't automatically save files with the extension (.doc, .xls, .pdf, and so on) - they use another method to identify to the system which program should be used to open it. But PCs won't know what program to use to open the attachment unless you make sure you include the extension as part of the file name.And, if you're using Mail or Entourage, there's a "send Windows-friendly attachments" checkbox that you should check. That only shows up when you use the "attach" button, not when you drag and drop the file into the message.

 

[babywings76]

Hmmm. These are files that were saved as a Word '97 document or it's the Adobe files that I have saved as .pdf files, so I'm baffled. I use Mail, and what I do is write my e-mail, then click the attach (paperclip) button and then select what I want. Then sometimes it comes as an icon of a file in the text section of the email, then other times it's the entire document in the text section.I'll look into the "send Windows-friendly attachments" box that you mentioned. Is that under preferences? I'll go look around.I have another Apple Store "one-to-one" session that I'm going to schedule next week and if I can't figure things out, maybe my tutor guy will figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

[babywings76]

I found it---it's already has a check mark on it, so it's set up to send Windows friendly attachments.

 

[chefann]

Does your customer have Acrobat Reader installed? I know it's unlikely, but I just encountered someone the other day who didn't have it (which completely baffles me, since it comes with so much software for the manuals and documentation).

 

[babywings76]

I have Adobe reader, that's the same thing right? I tried going into the program, bringing up the file that wasn't attaching right, and then clicked on File and "attach to e-mail". I figured I'd try that way. We'll see if it worked. It showed the document in the text of the e-mail, so I don't know if that's the way it should have worked or not. I did that late last night. I'm hoping to hear back from my contact on whether or not it worked. I can't send it to myself, because it always looks normal on my end.

 

[chefann]

Yes. Adobe is the brand name. Acrobat Reader is the actual name of the software. Your customer actually needs the Reader in order to open the attachment.