Strange attachment problem with AOL, Mail in 10.4 vs 10.3

[sir42]

I tried sending an Excel attachment using Mail in 10.4 to one of my clients the other day but she reported back to me that she was unable to open the file. Since she's a client, and not entirely computer savvy, it's been difficult to pinpoint the problem. She's on a PC and is using AOL for email. My Excel attachment has a .xls name and I've checked "Send Windows Friendly Attachment" when sending her the file.

Here's where it gets really weird. When my coworker sends her the file (which is stored on central server), she is able to open it. The only difference is that my coworker is on 10.3. We tried this with a few more files and my client could always open them when sent from my coworkers computer, but never from mine.

I'd be quite grateful for any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[MisterMe]

Which email client does your computer-illiterate client use?

 

[sir42]

She uses the AOL program to check her email.

 

[mkrishnan]

Do you have Excel installed on both of your Macs (the ones you are *sending from*)? It sounds like you might have an issue with the MIME file type being imputed on the Excel file on your Mac... it could be that this is happening and that, for whatever reason, AOL Mail on her computer isn't getting your back (it should since the Windows system should just get the file extension and use it to determine what to open).

In the mean time though, if she has the option to launch a file directly from her mail application vs. saving it on the desktop or wherever and then opening it, ask her to do the latter instead of the former, and see if that helps.

 

[sir42]

Yup, we have Excel installed on my computer and my co-worker's computer.

Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot the MIME problem?