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General discussion

Sending Attachments That Won't Open

Feb 28, 2011 4:09AM PST

I just realized that when I send an attachment that the person I send the attachment to is not able to open the attachment. I am trying to help a friend of mine get a job and I really need to figure out why the attachement for the resume won't open. This is the error message I get "C"\Users\Renee\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\TemporaryInternetFiles\Low\Content.IE5\KWX825uo\Ron%20Williams%20Resume(1)wps". The file maybe in use by another application, the file format may not be supported by any of the installed converters or file may be corrupt.

This a new resume I just created. I also tried sending my resume which I was in the past able to send as an attachment and would open and now it won't open either.

I have Windows, Vista, Service Pack. Let me know if there is any other additional information you need from me to help me.

I look forward to hearing from you and getting this issue resolved so I can help my friend get a job as he doesn't have a computer and I really want to help him as he has been unemployed for a long time.

Thanks again for the help,
Renee

Discussion is locked

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Tell us how you are sending this.
Feb 28, 2011 4:17AM PST

There could be issues but tell us more.

That resume seems to be in a temporary folder. Is that right? Are you trying to send it using your email software, or direct from your Word Processor?

If this were me I would create my resume using my Word Processor and 'temporarily' save it to some easy location like the Desktop. I would not use my Word Processor to send it.

I would then open my email client, compose an email to my friend, then "Attach" that resume file to the email and send it from there. Once it has gone I would then move the resume off the Desktop to where I normally save my personal documents.

The other issue I see is this. That resume seems to be a .wps file Is that Word Perfect? If so, do you know if your friend has Word Perfect installed on their computer? If they don't they may not be able to open the file.

Mark

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Created In My Word Processor
Feb 28, 2011 8:33AM PST

That's what is confusing to me about the temporary folder as I created the resume in word processor and saved it there in my documents.

I have tried to send it using my personal email address at yahoo as well as using my email address with Windows Mail by attaching it. I have done both of these by using my personal computer. I have Microsoft Works which is what came with my computer.

I am also not able to open documents that my boss sends to me at my personal email address at yahoo also. I forgot to mention that in my first post. I think the fact that I can't open attachments I send to my own personal email address from my own computer and not being able to open attachments that I receive are somehow related. Do you agree with that?

Hopefully someone will have some more suggestions for me. I really appreciate the help.

Renee

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It doesn't sound right to me.
Mar 1, 2011 4:42AM PST

Hi Renee.

It seems to me that when you tried to attach this document to the email you somehow went to this temp folder to do it. Can you see the saved file in your My Documents folder now?

If so, open your email software, (but don't open the document), and create an email to be sent to yourself just as a test. Now attach the document to this email from your My Documents folder. Use the Attach button in Windows Live Mail. See if that works.

I'm not sure about the other issue at the moment. It may or may not be related, but lets see if this works first. If so, you can then send the document to your friend in the same way. But don't forget, if she doesn't have Microsoft Works she may not be able to open it herself.

Mark

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That's how I do it
Mar 3, 2011 9:49AM PST

I tried what you suggested by going to my yahoo email and addressing it to my self then went to attachments and did browse and went to my documents and attached my resume. I still wasn't able to open the attachment and got that same message.

I really don't understand this at all. Hopefully there will be other suggestions I can try. If there is anything else you need to know please feel free to ask any questions so that I can give you more information if you need it.

Renee

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Try this
Mar 3, 2011 9:09PM PST

Instead of opening the attachment direct from the email, try saving the attachment to your hard disk, then opening it.

The attachment is a Works file. Most email software does not know how to open Works files, or any other attachment files except images.

Mark

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Don't Understand
Mar 3, 2011 9:36PM PST

I have the resume's saved in My Documents which is on drive C which I thought was my hard drive. I am able to go to my documents folder and open what I have saved in there.

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with this.

Renee

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What Mark means: ...
Mar 3, 2011 9:41PM PST

Save the attachment to any OTHER location on the c:-drive. Then you have both the original and this new copy. Do they look the same? Do they work the same? Can you both open them?

Also see my post below for a more detailed troubleshooting.

Kees

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But that is different.
Mar 3, 2011 9:46PM PST

See Kees' post as well.

Renee what you are doing is a test. You are testing whether 'sending and receiving an email with that file attachment' works. You already know that the original document file works. That is not the problem. The problem is, sending that file as an attachment via email.

So, that email you sent to yourself. When you receive it, can you open the attached file 'directly from the email'? If not, can you save that attachment to your hard disk and open it from there?

When I say, "Save the file to your hard disk", I mean save it to some temporary location, like the Desktop.

After the test, you can delete that file from that temporary location. The file will still be attached to your email unless and until you delete that email, (both from the Inbox and the Outbox).

The test is to see if you can attach the file correctly to an email, and if so, whether you, yourself, can then read that attached file.

We still have the problem of other recipients. Whoever you send this file to may or may not be able to open the file when they get it. If they do not have Microsoft Works installed, then they may not be able to open that file.

Mark

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In addition to what Mark says ...
Mar 3, 2011 9:35PM PST

your friend Ron could only open this resume you made for him if he has MS Works installed on his PC also. Most people don't.

So I would simply copy the contents of that resume to the body of your email and leave it to him to format it to perfection in his office software or even Wordpad. That should always work.


You should be able to open it yourself, of course. It's fully OK that if you try to open it from a mail in your browser it's in the Temporary Internet files (TIF). That you can't open it can mean two things:
1. Something wrong with your browser or the TIF.
2. Something wrong with the file association for the .wps extension.

To research that do three things:
a. Save the attachment to a folder on the hard disk and open from Works with File>Open
b. Open that same file on your hard disk by doubleclicking it in Explorer. What happens?
c. Install another browser (both Firefox and Chrome are free) and use that to read your mail and open the attachment.
The results of these simple experiments should show where the problem lies.

Kees

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Here's What Happened
Mar 4, 2011 11:04PM PST

I was able to create a folder on my drive C and saved the resume to it. I was able to open the resume by going to Microsoft Works, File-Open.

I also saved the resume to my desktop and was able to open it. I did email from the desktop and was unable to open it and got that same message.

I do not understand how to do B so I have not done that.

On C I was able to email to myself using Chrome and attached the resume and was able to open it using Chrome.

To me this means there is something wrong with my internet explorer that is keeping me from opening any attachments I get. Ron was also using my computer when he tried to open his resume as he doesn't have a computer at this time.

Again, Mark and Kee's thank you for helping me with this. Hopefully what I have tried and told you will help to figure out the problem with Internet Explorer so I can get it fixed.

Renee

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I have to ask.
Mar 5, 2011 3:31AM PST

Is this Ron the person you were attempting to send this Resume to? If so, why? If he was using your computer anyway, why could he not just use the original?

Mark

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Needs To Send To Companies
Mar 5, 2011 5:17AM PST

Ron is needing to be able to send his resume as an attachment when he responds to job ads that say to respond by email and attach your resume. That is why I sent it to his email address so he would have it and be able to send to those companies.

Renee

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Re: resume.
Mar 5, 2011 5:28AM PST

One the important points of a course on finding jobs certainly is: Do Not Send a Resume In MS Works Format.

Nobody (well, that's not true: it's practically nobody) can read it. It's the best way to NOT get an invitation to talk.

Formats that can be used are
- .doc format from Open Office (that's not the native Open Office format, but the MS Word one that it can write) or MS Word
- .rtf format from Wordpad
- .pdf format (made by printing to a 'virtual printer' like cutepdf - that's free)

But NEVER use Works!

As for the error with reading the resume file you made, let Ron try to read it on any other PC. He would need a PC to send it to the companies, so that's where it should work. Not on your PC.
And then immediately convert it to any of the three alternatives I mentioned.

Kees

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Let me restate that B that you didn't understand.
Mar 5, 2011 3:37AM PST

B. Open that same file (from the folder or from your desktop) by locating it in (My) Computer or Windows Explorer and doubleclick on it. What happens?

To test IE, do three things.
1. From the menu: Tools>Internet Options>Advanced tab>Reset to default (button)
2. From the menu: Tools>Delete browsing history. Choose Temporary Internet Files at the least.
Now try again. Does it work?

3. Run IE without add-ons as told in http://www.nirmaltv.com/2009/04/28/how-to-run-ie8-without-add-ons/ (if you happen to have IE7 look at http://www.watchingthenet.com/how-to-open-internet-explorer-7-with-out-add-ons-enabled.html).
Does that make a difference?

Kees

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What Happened
Mar 5, 2011 5:39AM PST

B. I can open the resume on my desktop. I can also go to my computer-Drive C-click on what I called it then click on the resume and it opens.

I did #1 and #2 to test IE. After doing #2 I still can not open the attachment and got the same error message.

3. Where do I go to find out which IE version I am using? Once I know that I will be able to do #3.

Again thank you Mark and Kees for helping me. I really appreciate it. It just doesn't make sense for me to be able to open the attachments in Chrome and not IE. I have to use IE for work for my full-time job and part-time job.
That's why I would really like to get IE working the way it should. It used to work in that I was able to open attachments so I have no idea what happened to cause it so that I can't open attachments.

Renee

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This seems to be new information
Mar 5, 2011 7:23PM PST

Chrome works, but IE doesn't.

So, this attachment is not failing, because it works in Chrome.

However, even this is confusing. You seem to be using a browser to manage your email and attachments to email, so you are using a Web Based email server and not email software like Outlook Express, or Outlook, or Thunderbird, or Windows Live Mail. Instead you are using a browser to log on to a web based email account to receive, read, and send, emails.

Browsers do not open attachments. Browsers do not know how to manage Works files. So, with the email being displayed in the web browser, you highlight the attachment, then either right click it to select "Save as", to save the attachment as a file to your hard disk where you can then try to open it, or you highlight it and use whatever options your web-based email provider supplies to save that attachment as a file to your hard drive, then try to open it. I always use my Desktop as a temporary location to save such files.

You say that you need IE for you work, but that is not relevant. What is relevant is what is Ron going to be using to send his resume by email to prospective employers. What PC is he going to be using, and what email method is he going to be using? So, unless any of this works for Ron, for his own purposes and use, none of this serves any purpose.

And, as we have being saying continuously, but you do not yet seem to have acknowledged or addressed, is using Microsoft Works to prepare this Resume. Practically no employers use Microsoft Works, so even if Ron is successful in receiving this file in an email, if he sends it off anywhere else, no-one is going to be able to open it to read it.

Mark

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What I've Done (Mark & Kees)
Mar 6, 2011 4:52AM PST

In the past I was able to use my yahoo email address to send and receive (open) attachments with IE which is why this is so confusing. Ron is going to be using my computer which I created his resume on with Microsoft Works and using hiis yahoo email address.

So if no one is using Microsoft Works, what do you suggest that I use to create his resume? I hope there is a free program that would allow me to create his resume so that he could send it with his yahoo email address and prospective employers would be able to open it.

I have IE8. I'm not sure what add-ons I should check as I have not once ever done anything with the Tool-Manage add-ons menu.

I also created another user. I was still unable to open the attachment for the resume with the new user.
The attachments I get from work say .pdf or .doc or image.gif and I am not able to open those with IE8.

Thanks again for helping me. Ron said to thank you also. We both look forward to getting this fixed since it worked in the past with no problem sending and opening attachments.

Renee

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In that case,
Mar 6, 2011 7:38PM PST

I would continue using Chrome, since that works, until you can sort out these problems with IE.

Generally IE problems can be traced back to bad Add-ons. If you haven't already tried it, try running IE in it's Safe Mode configuration, (Start > All Programs > Accessories > "Internet Explorer (No Add-Ons)". If that works, then you can either investigate which add-ons are causing this with an elimination test by disabling all add-ons then adding them back in one at a time, (IE > Tools > Manage Add-ons), or, you can RESET IE back to default using the Reset button in IE > Tools > Internet options, then the Advanced tab.

Microsoft Works is a particular problem. There are solutions, (workarounds), but none are particularly intuitive.

1] Using your Microsoft Works program, open that resume file that you know works. When it is open, goto File > Save as, and in there change the "Save as type:" to "Rich Text Format (RTF) (*,rtf)".

Rich Text Format makes the file name show as 'resume.rtf', (or whatever the name of the file is). Rich Text Format is a universal format for saving word processor files and is readable by all word processors. So if Ron sends that file as an email attachment, then all recipients should be able to read it.

2] Use another Word Processor, like Microsoft Offices's Word.

3] Use an online resource. This is what is known as "Cloud Computing", and the one I know best, but have never tried it, is Google Docs.

You would need to sign up to Google but it is free. Then you can use Google Docs to prepare the resume document and then 'share it' with others. That sharing means it is not saved on your computer and cannot be sent by email as an attachment. However a web link in an email can be sent for any prospective employers to click and read the resume.

More here about Google Docs.

And here are Google Docs Videos.

4] Download, install and use the "free" OpenOffice suite of office apps, from http://www.openoffice.org/.

OpenOffice is a free, open source, set of office apps like "Writer", (a word processor). It is fully compatible with Word, and documents created in Writer can be saved in .doc format, (the usual Word format for documents).

Mark

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Re: version of IE
Mar 5, 2011 7:25PM PST

Several ways to find out, but the alternative is just to try the options in the links and see if one of them works. You can't do any harm by just trying.

The easiest way (works for quite a lot of programs, because it's more or less standard): in the menubar click on Help>About Internet Explorer. That should tell you the version.
If you have IE7 or IE8, moreover, both have a Tools>Manage add-ons menu choice. You can use that to disable and enable individual logons.

Another thing to try (which is quite easy): make a new Windows user in Control Panel, and logon as that new user from the Welcome screen. Does IE work there? No need to keep that new user alive after the experiment. It's just as easy to delete as it is to create.

Kees

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Also nice to know.
Mar 6, 2011 2:42AM PST

Can you open other attachments (like pictures) that you received from other people? You might still have some in some folder in your mail to try.

Kees

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Still Not Working
Mar 18, 2011 7:06AM PDT

I apololgize for not getting back to you sooner. I have not been able to sit at my computer for long periods of time as I have a pinched nerve and a herniated disk so I have done a little of what you told me to do each day. I am running IE Version 8 without add-ons. I have tried all of the things that you have suggested. Not one of them has worked. I even attached his resume using Chrome and sent it to my part-time job email address and was not able to open it.

I just looked at Microsoft Word and was shocked at how expensive it is. At this time we just can't afford it as I've been out of work for the past 5 days. I did download Open Office but it doesn't have a template for resumes. If I create his resume with Open Office will that work as far as sending it as an attachment? If not then I don't see how Open Office will help us. He doesn't want to do the Google docs.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Renee

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Re: Open Office
Mar 18, 2011 7:30AM PDT

If OO doesn't have a template for a resume than try
1. Open your resume in MS Works
2. Copy to the clipboard (ctrl-A, ctrl-C)
3. Open a new document in Writer (the word processor of OO)
4. Paste it from the clipboard (ctrl-V or Edit>Paste)
5. See if you need to do any minor or major lay-out changes.
6. Then save it in Word 2003 format. That's essential. For example as resume.doc
7. Mail that file to Ron as an attachment and check that he can open it on your computer.
8. Then let him check on another computer that has either Open Office or MS Office installed. If he can read it there, any prospective employer can read it.

If he applies for a job where he is expected to be able to work with a PC, let him do step 5 himself. After all, it's his resume.

Kees

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Can I add just a couple of things?
Mar 18, 2011 7:40AM PDT

Excellent step by step instructions Kees, but could I add some things, because I just wonder if this may be an element in the problems.

DO NOT send the document whilst it is still open in any word processor. Instead, close down whatever word processor is used to create this document. Then use whatever email service that is being used, (web service or email software), create an email, then attach the saved document to that email.

Similarly, when Ron receives the email, he should not open the document attachment directly from the email. He should "Save" the email to his hard disk and open it from there.When he sends his resume to prospective employees, he should do the same. Send the saved file, not an open document.

Mark

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If all mail fails ...
Mar 19, 2011 12:22AM PDT

there are good alternatives, depending on the hardware both in your PC and the PC Ron is going to use to mail his resume:
1. Copy the resume to a diskettes (kind of old-fashioned)
2. Burn it to a CD.
3. Copy it to a USB-stick.

The USB-stick, the last 4 years or so, is the common medium to exchange files between computers if for some reason mail isn't applicable.

Kees

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Still Working On It
Mar 20, 2011 4:23AM PDT

Just wanted to let you know that I saved it as a doc file in MSWorks and sent it to my windows live email address and was able to open it. I also sent it to my part-time job email address which has MSWord which I go to work on Thursday and will try to open it there. Since I was able to open and view it with my Windows Live email address I would think that means employer's will be able to open it. If I am able to open at my part-time job Thursday I would think that means employer's will be able to open the resume even though it is being sent by his yahoo email address. Is that correct? Hopefully you will tell me that I am right.

As for open office I did download the most recent version which is 3.2 but it doesn't have the writer that you were talking about.

Thanks again for all of your help,

Renee

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Two remarks.
Mar 20, 2011 4:47AM PDT

1. OpenOffice is a free office application suite, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, drawing package and database, compatible with all other major office suites like Microsoft Office (97-2007 formats).
* Writer
* Calc
* Impress
* Draw
* Base
So it certainly includes a word processor called Writer.

2. If you saved it in Word 97-2002 format (one of the options, according to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884182) it's likely you can open it in MS Word at your work. And then anybody can. Can you tell us Tuesday evening?

Kees

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Still Can't Find Writer
Mar 20, 2011 7:17AM PDT

Hi Kees,
I do not see Writer in my open office. It has text, presentation, database, templates, open a new document, spreadsheet, drawing and formula.

I will let you know Thursday if I am able to open the resume at my part-time job. If I am that will be great and if not then I'll need your help in finding writer in my open office. I'm going to wait till Thursday to see what happens.

Thanks again for all of your help and hope you have had a good weekend. Have a great week. Be bach Thursdy.

Renee

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What happens
Mar 20, 2011 9:33PM PDT

if you select that, "Open new document"?

Mark

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I'd try text.
Mar 20, 2011 9:37PM PDT

After all, to run Calc (their spreadsheet program) you have to choose spreadsheet from the list. So these aren't program names, but descriptions of document types.

Kees