XFOR: Unexpected Text Attachment in Mail Received from Internet

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This article was previously published under Q153464

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SYMPTOMS

When you receive mail by way of the Internet Mail Connector (IMC), there is a file attachment with a name such as ATT00000.txt; the attachment contains only text.

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A multipart/mixed MIME document is received that contains more than one text section. Only the first text section appears in the message body; all remaining text sections are interpreted as text file attachments.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0. 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

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. Service Pack for Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.0. 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

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MORE INFORMATION

This happens most commonly with an Internet mail client that is sending an attachment and also appending an auto-signature. For example, here is a fragment of a multi-part mime message:

   Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
   boundary="=====================_856378041==_"
   Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

This sentence will be seen in the body of the message.

   --=====================_856378041==_
   Content-Type: application/msword; name="WORD.DOC";
   x-mac-type="42494E41"; x-mac-creator="4D535744"
   Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
   Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="WORD.DOC"

   0M8R4KGxGuEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOwADAP7/CQAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAQA
      AAAAAAAAA

   <Base64 MIME Encoding - Removed for Brevity>

   /v8JAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAQAAACAAA=
   --=====================_856378041==_
   Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

This paragraph will be seen in the text file attachment. Frequently this text contains the auto-signature text sent by Internet mail clients, such as Eudora Light 3.0.

   --=====================_856378041==_--

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APPLIES TO

Microsoft Exchange Server 4.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 Standard Edition

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kbbug kbfix kbusage KB153464

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Retired KB Content Disclaimer

This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.

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