Resource Dynamics, Inc.

Tele-Support HelpDesk Hot Tips

Tech Tip:

Attachments to e-mails sent through Outlook come in to HelpDesk with the attachments replaced by "winmail.dat" files.

The "winmail.dat" file is a Microsoft proprietary format created in some e-mails sent through Microsoft Outlook/Exchange that can contain attachments, formatting, images, etc. You may need a winmail.dat extractor (there are a number of freeware versions available online) to extract the data contained within.

It appears that this is actually a problem in Outlook/Exchange where the winmail.dat files are actually generated on the sending-side when e-mails are sent in Microsoft rich text format. See the following link for a Microsoft article about this:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q241538

The following link provides instructions on setting up Outlook to avoid using the winmail.dat files:

http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/et121705.htm

Following are some links to forums in which this topic has been discussed:

• http://www.tpg.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1175&sid=9878207010a9cf861bcd9954f0a3f38
• http://www.gpc.edu/~jbenson/resource/winmail.htm
• http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=370297