OL: Size of Autosaved Outlook Messages That Have Embedded Objects May Double When Word Is the Default Editor

The size of messages that are composed in Outlook 2002 and that contain embedded objects may double if Microsoft Word is configured as the default e-mail editor and if the message is autosaved while it is being composed.

Service pack information

This problem is corrected in Office XP Service Pack 3. To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Office XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Office XP that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix by clicking the download link later in this article or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The fix is publicly available and can be downloaded using the following link:

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.
Note Because of file dependencies, this update requires Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 2.

To work around this problem, follow these steps to turn off the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages option:

1. Open Outlook 2002.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. Click the Mail Format tab.
4. In the Message format section, click to clear the Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages check box, and then click OK.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Office XP Service Pack 3.