Attachments not opening

Question

Recently Outlook stopped allowing me to open attachments. Now I have to save the attachment to a folder, before I can open. How can I get back to being able to clock and then see an open attachment?

Answer 1

Hi Len,

This happens when Outlook blocks attachments from opening directly, often due to security settings or file associations. To restore the ability to open attachments by clicking them, you can try the following:

First, ensure that the file type you are trying to open is associated with the correct application in Windows. For example, PDFs should open with a PDF reader, Word documents with Word, etc.

Next, check Outlook’s Trust Center settings: open Outlook, go to File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings → Attachment Handling, and make sure that “Turn off Attachment Preview” is not blocking the file type you want to open.

Finally, ensure that your antivirus or security software isn’t preventing attachments from opening directly. Once these settings are adjusted, you should be able to click and open attachments without saving them first.

Answer 2

In Microsoft Outlook, if you are unable to open attachments by double-clicking them and have to save them first, this issue may be related to the double-click speed setting of your mouse being too fast. To resolve this, you can adjust the double-click speed setting:

1. Open the Control Panel and select the Mouse item. If Mouse does not appear, type mouse in the search box and select Change mouse settings.
2. On the Buttons tab, slide the Double-click speed slider to the left to slow it down, then select OK.

Typically, sliding the slider one step to the left is sufficient, but if the issue persists, you may need to adjust it further.