Mail won't allow WMV files...?

[d.f]

Hi. have searched but couldn't find an answer.

when i fwd a wmv file to my home email - me@mac.com - it's attached but called winmail.dat. saving it to the laptop and trying to open it doesn't work. even changing the filename to winmail.wmv doesn't help.

am i doing something wrong, or are .mac accounts and WMV files arch enemy's....?

any help appreciated.

 

[vniow]

Try zipping it up then send it. Maybe being in an archive will solve the problem.

 

[Scottyk9]

I have no idea why some attachments come as winmail.dat (what machine and OS are you sending these from - I assumed these type of attachments were only created when sent from Windows computers...), but I receive a few (even word and ppt docs).

A workaround is to used this program (TNEF enough, link below) to extract the file from winmail.dat. A bit of a pain, but it works. Maybe someone else has more insight into why this happens in the 1st place...

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/8415

Edit: the product description gives some background - as I thought, it is outlook / exchange that causes this

 

[yellow]

90% likely to be sent from Outlook. And it's a known problem with Outlook and Exchange Servers. Mainly it's because (shockingly) Microsoft wants to do things their way and everyone else be damned.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q138053/

http://www.pchell.com/support/winmaildat.shtml

What is this winmail.dat file?
Many times you might receive an email with an attachment called winmail.dat. The file is sent from people using Microsoft Outlook as their email program. The file allows Outlook users to send Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF) information along with the email so that it retains the look and feel of the document with formatting, fonts, and colors when its received by another Microsoft Outlook user.
Unfortunately, the file is only relevant and used by Microsoft Outlook. Users of Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape Messenger, and other email programs will receive the attachment called winmail.dat with the email.

That link also shows how to cope with it..