Tuesday, June 14, 2005

How to Send or Receive mdb files with Outlook

Background: For security reasons, Microsoft Outlook automatically deletes email attachments which are Microsoft Access Database files (ex. filename.mdb). Some Antivirus software and firewalls automatically delete attachments which are considered 'executable' (exe, com, bat, scr, pif, vbs, shs, vbe, vbs, hta, sct, jse, shb, wsh, and lnk). . Trying to compress the file ('zip the file') does not always fool the firewall, and the attachment still gets deleted. Sometimes, we have legitimate reasons to send such files – especially Microsoft Access Database files. If you are trying to send/receive an e-mail attachment that Outlook is blocking , one option is a shareware (donations welcome) Outlook attachment manager. Otherwise, both the sender and recipient should complete the following:

How To Send the Forbidden File from a Windows PC:

1. Open "My Computer" – this may be on your desktop or in your Start Menu.
2.

Windows 2000/XP:

Go to the "Tools" drop-down menu and select, "Folder Options."
Windows 98:

Go to the "View" drop-down menu and select, "Folder Options…"
Windows 95:

Go to the "View" drop-down menu and select, "Options…"

3. From the [Folder] Options window, select the "View" tab.
4. Remove the checkmark (if it exists) in the box next to the entry, "Hide file extensions for known file types," and click, "OK."
5. Use Windows Explorer to find your file (ex. you could open "My Documents" or "My Computer" or just find the file on your desktop).
6. Notice the file extension on your file (the three-letter part after the decimal point). For example, if the file is named "filename.mdb," then the file extension is "mdb."
7. Right-click on your file and select "Rename" from the menu that appears.
8. Change the file extension to something else (ex. filename.mdb
--> filename.mmm). If it warns you that changing the file extension may make the file unusable, click "Yes" for the "Are you sure you want to change it?" question.
9. From your e-mail program (ex. Outlook), attach this newly-renamed file to the e-mail as you would for any other attachment. Do not send the e-mail yet, though. Unless you complete the following steps, the attachment will be useless to the person to whom you send it.
10. In your e-mail, include a warning to the recipient regarding the renamed file – YOU MUST MENTION WHAT THE EXTENSION USED TO BE. It would be a good idea to include in the e-mail a link to this document (or attach a copy) and let them know that they will be interested in the instructions on page 2. The following link would get them to it:
here
11. Send the e-mail with the attachment(s). If it still gets blocked, it may contain a virus, so please check the status of your virus protection.


How To Receive and Use a Renamed File from a Windows PC:

1. From your e-mail program (ex. Outlook), go to the e-mail which has the attachment in question. Save this attachment to a location on your computer which you will be able to find later.
2. Open "My Computer" (you may need to return to your desktop or Start Menu for this).
3.

Windows 2000/XP:

Go to the "Tools" drop-down menu and select, "Folder Options."
Windows 98:

Go to the "View" drop-down menu and select, "Folder Options…"
Windows 95:

Go to the "View" drop-down menu and select, "Options…"

4. From the [Folder] Options window, select the "View" tab.
5. Remove the checkmark (if it exists) in the box next to the entry, "Hide file extensions for known file types," and click, "OK." In Windows 95 the entry is worded, "Hide MS-DOS file extensions for file types that are registered."
6. Use Windows Explorer to find your file (ex. you could open "My Documents" or "My Computer" or just find the file on your desktop).
7. Notice the file extension on your file (the three-letter part after the decimal point). For example, if the file is named "filename.mmm," then the file extension is "mmm."
8. Right-click on your file and select "Rename" from the menu that appears.
9. Change the file extension back to that which the sender suggested (ex. filename.mmm
--> filename.mdb). If it warns you that changing the file extension may make the file unusable, click "Yes" for the "Are you sure you want to change it?" question.
10. Double-click on the file to launch it.

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