Event ID 27 when sending attachments outside of Outlook fails

Original KB number:   3007812

Symptoms

You attempt to send a file as an attachment from a program other than Microsoft Outlook (for example, Microsoft Word), and nothing happens.

In reviewing the Application Event log, you find an error for Outlook with Event ID 27 containing the following error text:

MAPISendMail: Failed to submit message. Attachments to the message exceeded the size limit set by your Administrator

This event log entry is shown in the following figure:

Cause

This error will appear in the Application Event log if you've attempted to send an email attachment that is over the size limit established in your Exchange environment, and the attempt was made outside of Outlook. An example of this would be when you right-click a file and select Send To and select Mail Recipient.

If the selected file is over the attachment size limit and Outlook is not running, you may be prompted for an Outlook profile if Prompt for a profile to be used is selected in the Mail Control Panel; however, a new message in which to send the attachment will not appear.

Resolution

There may be several options to prevent the Event ID 27, and successfully deliver the attachment.

• Reduce the size of the attachment if possible; for example, lower the attachment size by adding it to a compressed (ZIP) folder.
• Place the file on a share or web host accessible by the intended recipient, and send a link to the file via email instead.
• Request that your Exchange administrator increase the allowable limit for email attachments.

More information

Attempting to send the same attachment within Outlook, by selecting Attach File from the Message or Insert ribbon, results in one of the following error dialogs:

• Outlook 2013

  The file you're attaching is bigger than the server allows. Try putting the file in a shared location and sending a link instead.

  

• Outlook 2010

  The attachment size exceeds the allowable limit.

  

You can use the following steps to review Event ID 27 in the Application event log:

1. In Control Panel, open Administrative Tools.

2. Double-click Event Viewer.

3. In the left pane, select Application under Windows Logs.

4. In the Actions pane, click Filter Current Log.

5. In the Filter Current Log dialog box, select Error under Event level, and enter 27 as the Event ID (as shown in the following figure) and then click OK.