This is driving me nuts...
I've check all over MS site, and from their documents it appears to have something to do with how the mail is formatted by the sender. However, I've tried this -- formatted a mail as RTF, than as plaintext, attached the SAME file, gets through just fine. (Outlook 2k). Use Outlook Express, do the same thing, using the same RTF and plaintext formats and the same file, gets through OK. I also had no problem with Outlook 97, 98 or Express from my other machine.
However, other users on our network, using Outlook 98, generate mail that has winmail.dat attachments. From getting these little gems in the past, I know they're encoded -- and not just once, either.
WHY do they get generated? We have one user who saves his files as Word 97 rather than Word2K and then the attached files don't blow up -- but my files NEVER blow up, whether they're Work 2k, PDF, or WordPerfect. Others get WordPerfect files converted to winmail.dat for no apparent reason -- and what's doubly strange is that the person who used to use that machine didn't have any problems.
Is it in how the file is attached? I don't get an option to attach or make an inline attachment, but I know some versions of Outlook (or maybe it's particular settings) do get that... and I know there's an encryption option when you set it up, but that appears to only apply to Personal Folders.
Anybody got any clue? Like I said, a search of MS site doesn't give me much help.. it says that the RTF formatting is the cause, but I sent RTF mail and an attachment just fine from Outlook (to the same person who had trouble with other files/attachments) so I don't think that's it.
I suspect it has to do with HOW the file is attached... but since Outlook has so many @#(%*(#$%*!#$%(* permutations of settings depending on what version and how it was installed (and I think on the phases of the moon as well) I'm not even sure where to look anymore.
Anybody got any ideas? Backed up with documentation would be nice... ;-)
