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Saved Outlook messages do not display correct content

AngeloA-7806 96 Reputation points
2021-12-07T04:55:43.917+00:00

Hi,

I am currently experiencing an issue in Outlook desktop client.
I am running a Windows 10 21H1 installation with MS 365 CTR version 16.0.12527.22021 installed.

I have an email with (or without) an attachment in my Outlook client.
When i open the email, i can see all the text, images and attachments correctly.
If i save that email to my desktop or in a local folder, when i try to open it the content of the message is either missing or displays jumbled characters.

I have tried the following to no avail:

  1. changed default encoding methods to Unicode (UTF-8) in Outlook options
  2. i have changed the email format to and from HTML type
  3. updated the latest Outlook/Office 365 installation
  4. moved the affected PC to a network OU where no user nor computer policies are applied, except to enable licensing for Office applications
  5. restarted the PC
  6. logged off and back on
  7. run GPUPDATE /FORCE

What could be causing this to occur?

Any help is appreciated

Regards,

Angelo

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  1. AngeloA-7806 96 Reputation points
    2021-12-09T23:15:01.173+00:00

    This issue was resolved by deleting the 'UserChoice' folder in the HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\FileExts.msg registry key.
    We are using a file associations app via GPO and for some reason, when forcing .msg files to open by default with the Outlook client, it was affecting these downloaded/saved messages.

    Another way was to remove the association via the CMD promt using "assoc .msg=" on a single computer.

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  1. ChristyZhang-MSFT 21,261 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2021-12-08T02:43:36.163+00:00

    Hi @AngeloA-7806 ,

    Welcome to our forum!

    To further confirm whether the problem is related to the message itself, please log in to web mail and save the same message to check it there're any differences.

    If the same problem occurs with messages saved on Web mail, the problem may be related to the message itself. If the message saved on Web mail is ok, considering the data file or profile may be damaged in Outlook client, it's suggested that you could create a new profile(control panel>mail>show profile>add) and add the account to check if there are some differences.

    If it doesn’t work, considering the impact of some add ins, It is suggested that you try to start outlook in safe mode(win+R>type: outlook /safe) to check whether it works normally.

    In addition, as I know, it will also be affected when the outlook program itself is damaged. It is recommended that you try to fix the Office application.

    If the above is invalid, would you like to provide more information about the related questions for my better research?

    • Does this issue occur recently? If so, have you done any specific operations before that?
    • Does this issue occur when you save some specific emails or all the emails?
    • And how did you save the email and open the saved emails?
    • Do other user around encounter the same issue?

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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