Skip to main content

Performance: Mac Mail / Win. Outlook PDF Attachment Issue (Workarounds Provided)

Last Updated:
2011-07-27 04:00:00
Event:
2011-07-21 04:00:00
Status:
Closed
Brief Description:
User Impact:
N/A
Workaround:
There is no workaround for this issue
Current Status:
N/A
Services Affected:
Full Description:
THE ISSUE:\nMicrosoft's last set of patches to Exchange, applied Sunday morning July 17, introduced an issue where PDFs attached to a mail message sent from Mac Mail* cannot be seen by Outlook 2007 and 2010 users on Windows. The attachment is sent, it is just not visible in Outlook. The paperclip icon is visible in the Outlook client, indicating that the attachment is present, but the attachment cannot be opened. \n\nNote, the only type of attachment that appears to be affected is PDF. The handling of other types of attachments is either unaffected or improved.\n\nOUR NEXT STEPS:\nWe have opened a case with Microsoft and are working on getting a fix from them. In the meantime there are a number of ways around the problem.\n\nMORE INFO:\nSets of patches, called rollups, are periodically released by Microsoft and routinely applied to Exchange and related systems. The rollup applied on July 17 had a fix for a longstanding problem with the Mac Mail application, where text that was intended to be part of the mail body was hidden in attachments. However, the fix unfortunately introduced the issue described above.\n\nIf you have questions, please contact the CIT HelpDesk (call 607-255-8990, email helpdesk@cornell.edu).
CIT TDX ID:



Timeline of Changes

Description Current Status Date Time
This problem has been resolved as of 12:15 am on Wednesday, July 27th. A fix for the CIT Exchange 2007 servers was provided by Microsoft and applied.\nMessages sent on or after Wednesday will not exhibit this issue.\n This problem has been resolved as of 12:15 am on Wednesday, July 27th. A fix for the CIT Exchange 2007 servers was provided by Microsoft and applied.\nMessages sent on or after Wednesday will not exhibit this issue.\n 2011-07-27 04:00:00
YOUR OPTIONS:\n• *Mac users can use Outlook Web Access (OWA) or Outlook 2011 to send messages. PDF attachments are only hidden with messages sent from Mac Mail.\n\n• Mac users can change their options in Mail to always append attachments at the end of the message. In some cases, doing so will prevent the attachment from being hidden. In Mac Mail, from the Edit menu, click "Attachments," and select "Always Insert Attachments at End of Message."\n\n• Outlook users who receive one of these messages can log into Outlook Web Access (OWA) to view and download the attachments. YOUR OPTIONS:\n• *Mac users can use Outlook Web Access (OWA) or Outlook 2011 to send messages. PDF attachments are only hidden with messages sent from Mac Mail.\n\n• Mac users can change their options in Mail to always append attachments at the end of the message. In some cases, doing so will prevent the attachment from being hidden. In Mac Mail, from the Edit menu, click "Attachments," and select "Always Insert Attachments at End of Message."\n\n• Outlook users who receive one of these messages can log into Outlook Web Access (OWA) to view and download the attachments. 2011-07-22 04:00:00
We have opened a case with Microsoft and are working on getting a fix from them. In the \nmeantime there are a number of ways around the problem.\n\nMac users can attach the PDF at the very end of email, and this will prevent the attachment \nfrom being hidden. There is an option in Mail to always append attachments at the end of the \nmessage. From the Edit menu, click "Attachments", and select "Always Insert Attachments at \nEnd of Message".\n\nOutlook users who receive one of these messages can log onto Outlook Web Access (OWA) to \nview and download the attachments.\n\nMac users can also use OWA or Outlook 2011 to send messages. The hiding of PDF \nattachments only happens with messages sent from Mail.\n\nThe only type of attachment that appears to be affected is PDF. The handling of other types of \nattachments is either unaffected or improved.\n We have opened a case with Microsoft and are working on getting a fix from them. In the \nmeantime there are a number of ways around the problem.\n\nMac users can attach the PDF at the very end of email, and this will prevent the attachment \nfrom being hidden. There is an option in Mail to always append attachments at the end of the \nmessage. From the Edit menu, click "Attachments", and select "Always Insert Attachments at \nEnd of Message".\n\nOutlook users who receive one of these messages can log onto Outlook Web Access (OWA) to \nview and download the attachments.\n\nMac users can also use OWA or Outlook 2011 to send messages. The hiding of PDF \nattachments only happens with messages sent from Mail.\n\nThe only type of attachment that appears to be affected is PDF. The handling of other types of \nattachments is either unaffected or improved.\n 2011-07-21 04:00:00