XCON: Attachments from HP OpenDesk May Not Open

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This article was previously published under Q164852

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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.

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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).

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WORKAROUND

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

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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

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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.

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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 KB164852

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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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