How to Open, Detach and
Save Emailed File Attachments:
Caution!!! Remember
each and every attachment to an email message should always be scanned by virus detection
software before execution or opening of the attachment. Viruses can only travel through
embedded executables, file attachments or hard media. For more information
read our FAQ Section on: Viruses
- How do you check the validity of a Virus Alert?
Opening Email Attachments using Netscape Communicator-
- When you receive an email that includes a file attachment your Communicator window will
look like the following example:
How you open a received email attachment depends on the attachment's type. To open an
attachment, follow these steps:
1.If you haven't already done so, from the View menu, choose Attachments, then choose As
Links.
2.Click the attachment's link.
3.Image and web page attachments open in a Navigator window.
- Helper applications expand Communicator's ability to interpret and display different
kinds of computer files. Communicator has the built-in capability to read HTML-formatted
pages, including GIF, JPEG, and XBM graphic file formats. With helper applications, this
capability extends to each file format
recognized by each helper application.
To keep track of the file formats requiring helper applications, Communicator maintains a
mapping between file formats and helper applications. When Communicator retrieves a file
with a format that Communicator itself cannot read, the application looks at the mapping
to find the appropriate application capable of handling the file format.
To install and configure helper applications (many are already configured), open the Edit
menu, choose Preferences, then select the Applications panel, which is in the Advanced
category. When you click New Type or Edit, a dialog appears that lets you add or modify
information such as file extensions or actions associated with a helper
application or plug-in. For further information on this subject review the Netscape Help
Contents = About Helper Applications and MIME Types.
When you click on the first attachment link for txtatt.txt, shown in our Example Email
above, because text format (.txt) files are supported by Netscape, this attachment
will open for viewing in a Navigator Window.
To save this attachment to your harddrive:
- Click on File/Save As and the following Window will open:
- Save in: You may choose to save it in the default folder that is shown
in your Window or create a new separate folder for your email attachments.
- File Name: You may choose to save it with the same file name as
received or change it to another name by entering the new name in the File Name field.
- Save as Type: You should always save it as the same recognized file
type that appears in this field.
When you click on the attachment link for gifatt.gif, shown in our Example Email above,
because graphic formats (such as .gif) files are supported by Netscape, this
attachment will open for viewing in a Navigator Window.
To save this attachment to your harddrive:
- Click on File/Save As and the following Window will open:
- Save in: You may choose to save it in the default folder that is shown
in this Window or create a new separate folder for your email attachments
- File Name: You may choose to save it with the same file name as
received or change it to another name by entering the new name in the File Name field.
- Save as Type: You should always save it as the same recognized file
type that appears in this field.
4. When you open other types of attachments, like the worddocatt.doc (MS Word
Format) or rtfatt.rtf (Rich Text Format) shown in our Email Example, Messenger gives you
two options from which to choose:
- Opening the attachment in its native application (such as MS Word for .doc )
or
- Saving the attachment to your computer
When you click on the links in the email for these types of attachments, the
following window will appear:
If you choose to open this file attachment for immediate viewing, select the Open it
option as indicated above. The native application, in this case MS Word for
.doc and .rtf files, will open for viewing of the file attachments. The following
window will appear:
If you choose to save it to disk without immediately viewing it, select the Save it to
disk option as indicated below.
The following window will appear-
- Save in: You may choose to save it in the default folder that is shown
in this Window, create a new separate folder for your email attachments, or we recommend
that you save it in your standard My Documents folder.
- File Name: You may choose to save it with the same file name as
received or change it to another name by entering the new name in the File Name field.
- Save as Type: You should always save it as the same recognized file
type that appears in this field.
5. After the attachments have been individually saved to your hard drive,
- We recommend, for more efficient file management and space consideration, you
delete the entire email message.
6. Other Email Attachment Tips and Troubleshooting Guidelines:
- File Formats supported by the Macintosh Operating System may not be supported by PC
Operating Systems. You may receive files that you are unable to view because your
Operating System does not support the file format or or your Computer does not have the
application installed to support it. For further information on this subject review
your Operating System's and the Individual Application 's Help Function for information on
File Formats supported.
- BinHex Encoded Attachments are generally received from a sender who is using an older
Macintosh Email Application. Most current PC Email Applications are MIME Encoding
Compliant. In order to be able to view an attachment, the encoding between the
sending and receiving systems must be the same. For further information on this
subject review the Email Application's Help Function Contents = Encoding,
or BinHex or MIME.
- Keep in mind that a 200K to 300K attachment can take a long time to download on a
computer that does not meet the Minimum System Requirements...
- If you are trying to receive a large attachment and you are operating a low-end or older
computer system, make sure you are do not have other applications open or running at the
same time you are downloading your email.
- See our Instructions on How to
Clear Your Cache in your Web Browser. After you have completed this operation, close
your Web Browser and make sure you have no other applications open or running, then try to
download your mail.
If you have any other questions, comments or problems, please
complete our Technical Support Request. |
