email attachment encoding problem

**rlcraven** · 03-31-2011, 08:02 AM

Hello,

I have a SL app that creates .DOC and .PDF files, attaches them to a message, and mails. Some of the documents contain non-latin characters. The process has been working as expected for about six months.

Beginning yesterday, the documents appear to be corrupted when received. A screen shot is attached.

Attachments.JPG

Here is some more information:

My app has error logging through the document creation process and I'm not trapping any errors (no guarantee of course but something).

If I FTP the documents from the web server, they are correct including the non-latin characters.

So far the problem occurs every time documents are generated and occurs with different users.

The last time the site code was changed was March 3rd.

Not sure how to tackle this one!

Thanks for any suggestions,

Randy

**Joseph Jun** · 04-18-2011, 01:39 PM

Sorry for the late response, I didn't see this post.

Just to isolate the problem, do you only experience the problem using Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail by any chance?

For example, if you send the message with the attachments to a Gmail address, do the attachments display properly?

If the problem is limited to the Microsoft clients that I mentioned, it might be related to the old winmail.dat issue that occurs when a message with richtext formatting is received.

Not sure which format you're sending your message in but try sending a plaintext message with the attachments to see if the problem continues.

**rlcraven** · 04-18-2011, 01:56 PM

Hi Joseph,

Thanks for responding.

The problem went away on its own as mysteriously as it started. As far as I can tell there was nothing I did to create the problem or to make it go away.

The only thing I can think of is that a server along the path had a temporary problem with the encoding.

If you have any thoughts I would certainly welcome them.

Thanks,

Randy

**Joseph Jun** · 04-18-2011, 03:26 PM

I don't suspect that there were any server-related issues involved because I dug through the closed tickets in the Technical Support queue in the help desk system and other than a ticket which I believe was yours, there weren't any other reports of problems which leads me to believe that this may have been an isolated incident.

If there were any problems occurring at a server level where a generated message exhibited the same behavior, there would be more cases that were opened.

I'm sorry that I don’t have any technical reason for the problem that was occurring but I am glad to hear that it resolved itself.

In the event that it surfaces again, open a new ticket with the Technical Support department using the DiscountASP.NET Support Portal and include the URL to this post and we'll investigate further.

**rlcraven** · 04-18-2011, 04:40 PM

It seems clear to me also that the problem wasn't located at DASP. Where and why it happened, I have no idea. It lasted about three days and then went away.

Thanks again for responding!

03-31-2011, 08:02 AM	#1
rlcraven Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 38	email attachment encoding problem Hello, I have a SL app that creates .DOC and .PDF files, attaches them to a message, and mails. Some of the documents contain non-latin characters. The process has been working as expected for about six months. Beginning yesterday, the documents appear to be corrupted when received. A screen shot is attached. Attachments.JPG Here is some more information: My app has error logging through the document creation process and I'm not trapping any errors (no guarantee of course but something). If I FTP the documents from the web server, they are correct including the non-latin characters. So far the problem occurs every time documents are generated and occurs with different users. The last time the site code was changed was March 3rd. Not sure how to tackle this one! Thanks for any suggestions, Randy

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04-18-2011, 01:39 PM	#2
Joseph Jun DiscountASP.NET Staff Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 470	Sorry for the late response, I didn't see this post. Just to isolate the problem, do you only experience the problem using Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail by any chance? For example, if you send the message with the attachments to a Gmail address, do the attachments display properly? If the problem is limited to the Microsoft clients that I mentioned, it might be related to the old winmail.dat issue that occurs when a message with richtext formatting is received. Not sure which format you're sending your message in but try sending a plaintext message with the attachments to see if the problem continues.

04-18-2011, 01:56 PM	#3
rlcraven Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 38	Hi Joseph, Thanks for responding. The problem went away on its own as mysteriously as it started. As far as I can tell there was nothing I did to create the problem or to make it go away. The only thing I can think of is that a server along the path had a temporary problem with the encoding. If you have any thoughts I would certainly welcome them. Thanks, Randy

04-18-2011, 03:26 PM	#4
Joseph Jun DiscountASP.NET Staff Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 470	I don't suspect that there were any server-related issues involved because I dug through the closed tickets in the Technical Support queue in the help desk system and other than a ticket which I believe was yours, there weren't any other reports of problems which leads me to believe that this may have been an isolated incident. If there were any problems occurring at a server level where a generated message exhibited the same behavior, there would be more cases that were opened. I'm sorry that I don’t have any technical reason for the problem that was occurring but I am glad to hear that it resolved itself. In the event that it surfaces again, open a new ticket with the Technical Support department using the DiscountASP.NET Support Portal and include the URL to this post and we'll investigate further.

04-18-2011, 04:40 PM	#5
rlcraven Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: North Carolina, USA Posts: 38	It seems clear to me also that the problem wasn't located at DASP. Where and why it happened, I have no idea. It lasted about three days and then went away. Thanks again for responding!