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Q164852: XCON: Attachments from HP OpenDesk May Not Open

Article: Q164852
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): 4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbusage
Last Modified: 13-MAY-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0, 5.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

If you send mail with an attachment from Hewlett Packard (HP) OpenDesk mail to a
computer running Microsoft Exchange Server through the X.400 connector (1984),
the Microsoft Exchange Server recipient (on the same server as the X.400
connector) receives a message with an attachment of the correct name. However,
when the user clicks the attachment to open it, he or she may get an error
message reporting "This file does not have a program associated with it." The
title bar of the message shows that the file it is attempting to open is
c:\Temp\Att.dat. The error occurs even if you have an association for the file
extension of the attachment.

CAUSE
=====

HP OpenDesk message is malformed. It does not include the file name in the
"pathname" attribute, as specified by the Electronic Messaging Association (see
the MORE INFORMATION section of this article). The following is the incoming
message in ASN.1 format:

ASN.1 Parser Utility
Starting at Node 0ftrp [ id = 2879 ]
  3080
  A180     : 0cnty : ContentsType
  A080     : 0doct : DocumentType
  0605     : 0dctn : DocumentTypeName             :  OBJECT ID:
  "0x28C27B0503"
  0000

  0000
  A280     : 0envr : EnvironmentParameter
  A080     : 0aprf : ApplicationReference
  8008     : 0regi : RegisteredIdentifier         :  OBJECT ID:
  "0x2A864886F7140403"
  0000

  A380     : 0usvs : DescriptiveIdentifier
  190C     : 0usrv : GraphicString
  ="0x474E53494E56454E2E584C53"
  0000

  0000
  A480     : 0flat : FileAttributes
  AD80     : 0objs : ObjectSize
  8102     : 0actv : ActualValue                INTEGER 0x6800
  0000

  0000
  0000

No PathName is present, so the Microsoft Exchange Server MTA cannot apply a
proper attachment name for display. The fix supplied by Microsoft (see the
STATUS section of this article) treats the user-visible string as the file name
(in the example above, the user-visible string is the "DescriptiveIdentifier
GraphicString" attribute).

WORKAROUND
==========

To work around this problem, save the attachments as files before opening them.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server
versions 4.0 and 5.0. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft
Exchange Server 4.0 and 5.0 U.S. Service Packs. For information on obtaining the
service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base
(without the spaces):

  S E R V P A C K


MORE INFORMATION
================

The standards reference for File Transfer Body Part (FTBP) usage is from the
Electronic Messaging Association (EMA), Message Attachment Work Group File
Transfer Body Part Feasibility Project Guide, v.1.5.2, June 1996.

The following is an excerpt from section 5, File Transfer Body Part 15 Profile,
describing where the filename is supposed to go :

                              O  R    Notes
  File-Transfer-Body-Part
  FileTransferParameters
  Environment
  user-visible-string            R  M    note 3
  File-Attributes
  pathname                   R  M    note 4

  O - Origination, R - Reception
  R - recommended, M - mandatory

  Notes

  3. User-Visible-String
  This element should be used to convey any additional distinguishing
  information that might be of use to the receiver, eg. for presentation to a
  user or in cases where the application-reference is not recognized by the
  receiving system.

  4. Pathname
  If generated, the incomplete-pathname should be used. The SEQUENCE should only
  consist of a single GRAPHIC-STRING element containing the target
  file/attachment name without any preceding path information.
======================================================================
Keywords          : kbusage 
Technology        : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange500 kbExchange400 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : 4.0
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix

=============================================================================

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