# Opening a .dat attachment



## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

I recently was sent an e-mail by a doctor detailing likely surgical expenses (elective, I'm not dying yet), but my computer says:
Windows can't open the attached file, which I have downloaded. it instead gave me the choices of using the internet to find a program to open it, or I cpould select one manually.I chose the first choice, and it took me to this page:

Windows can't open this file



> File: XXXXX XXXXX .dat
> 
> To open this file, Windows needs to know what program you want to use to open it. Windows can go on line to look it up automatically, or you can manually select from a list of programs that are installed on your computer.
> 
> ...


I chose the first choice, and it took me to this page:

http://shell.windows.com/fileassoc/0...ir.asp?EXT=dat



> (Windows logo) Windows
> 
> File Association
> 
> ...


Clicking the Free File Viewer option took me to a site called freefileviewer.com

At the top of the page was the name: FreeFile Viewer, and to its right it shoed a Norton "Secured" label was checked, then



> Easily Open Your Files, then a list of half a dozen recognizable file types it would open, and below that claimed
> License: Free! No Hidden Costs
> 
> THE FREE FILE VIEWER THAT JUST WORKS
> ...


I am suspicious of the "free" file opener. because the referral wasn't from windows.com but rather shell.windows.com and I see no reason for this program supplier to make this service available to me without them getting something from me in return.

Can I safely import a reader from Free FIle Viewer? Is there some other more conventional way to get a .dat reader for my PC? I presently have Word Office Suite 2007, and OpenOfficeOrg 3.X installed


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Is the attachment winmail.dat? If so, there's nothing usable in there for you.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

My first instinct would be to reply to the email and tell them you can not read the attachment and ask them to send it in another format.


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

jimmie57 said:


> My first instinct would be to reply to the email and tell them you can not read the attachment and ask them to send it in another format.


Yeah, I was just thinking of doing that. In fact, back when I didn't know what an attachment was, I used to tell people to copy the body of their attachment and to simply paste it onto an e-mail.

I have another laptop that is a decade or more old and is on Wiondows XP that I might start using just for importing things that i am apprehensive about. There are a lot of services offering free technical manuals for prodiucts they didn't furnish, but they require that I first download their "free reader". I think I'll do that on my slug computer.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Cnet.com has a free .dat file viewer. I have downloaded free stuff from them several times without problems.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

wonder if open office can open it..


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

I use Open Office and I looked at the file types when you choose "open" and I did not see the .dat type in the list.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

houskamp said:


> wonder if open office can open it..


If you have a business version of Awfuce, Outluck should be able to open it.

I use a utility from EOLSoft called Winmail Opener to deal with this particular Micro$oft malfeasance.

For background, this is usually a result of a broken (or wrongly configured) Exchange server that fails to convert the proprietary Microsoft storage format to anything that is RFC compliant before it goes out.

It is best not to use Microsoft tools for things that need to be standards compliant. They put their special brand of stink on most everything they do.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

jimmie57 said:


> I use Open Office and I looked at the file types when you choose "open" and I did not see the .dat type in the list.


.DAT is a widely used extension for various applications. You need to look very specifically for solutions to the winmail.dat issue.

See post #8 for one possible solution.


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

jimmie57 said:


> Cnet.com has a free .dat file viewer. I have downloaded free stuff from them several times without problems.


I went there and got a royal jerking. I tried to download the winmail reader, and when I got to the page where it offered me preselected super installation options where they took over my tool bar, search default, etc, I unchecked all of them and hit next or whatever but I got the cryptic "can't download, try again" message, so when i tried again, I got the preselected installation options offering that I again unchecked, and it gave me the no-can-do, try again message, so the third time around, I clicked an alternate download button but from there it skipped over the screen with the installation options, then it flipped me from the Mozilla browser I was using to my Explorer 10 screen, where the toolbar had been changed and a bubble in the upper left said, "now click finish to finish the intensive installation that you don't want" (or something like that) and it wouldn't let me click anything else, so I restarted the computer without "finishing" the installation. I still can't read a .dat file but when I accessed my Explorer 10, its tool bar now has some new options and most of the Explorer screen said that if I clicked "here" I could get Explorer 9 which I declined to do.

Somewhere along the sequence, it tried really hard to get me to download some kind of Reg cleaner to help speed up ,my computer, which I endeavored to decline but who knows, maybe it is possible for someone to assign "accept" to a "decline" button. I hardly ever use Explorer. so I might never know for sure how much it has been screwed up, but as I said in my previous post, I am going to simply contact my doctor's office and have them reformat the attachment.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Use the link near the bottom of the CNET page to do a direct download (without all the fireworks of the CNET installer).

The link is carefully disguised with the phrase "Direct Download Link".


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

AntAltMike said:


> I went there and got a royal jerking. I tried to download the winmail reader, and when I got to the page where it offered me preselected super installation options where they took over my tool bar, search default, etc, I unchecked all of them and hit next or whatever but I got the cryptic "can't download, try again" message, so when i tried again, I got the preselected installation options offering that I again unchecked, and it gave me the no-can-do, try again message, so the third time around, I clicked an alternate download button but from there it skipped over the screen with the installation options, then it flipped me from the Mozilla browser I was using to my Explorer 10 screen, where the toolbar had been changed and a bubble in the upper left said, "now click finish to finish the intensive installation that you don't want" (or something like that) and it wouldn't let me click anything else, so I restarted the computer without "finishing" the installation. I still can't read a .dat file but when I accessed my Explorer 10, its tool bar now has some new options and most of the Explorer screen said that if I clicked "here" I could get Explorer 9 which I declined to do.
> 
> Somewhere along the sequence, it tried really hard to get me to download some kind of Reg cleaner to help speed up ,my computer, which I endeavored to decline but who knows, maybe it is possible for someone to assign "accept" to a "decline" button. I hardly ever use Explorer. so I might never know for sure how much it has been screwed up, but as I said in my previous post, I am going to simply contact my doctor's office and have them reformat the attachment.


Dang it. Sorry about that. They did not used to do that.

Try opening the Control Panel and look for the program / toolbar that you see at the top of your page that you did not want and Uninstall them if they are there.
Don't just randomly uninstall things as some programs that you do use and want have some tag along programs with weird names sometimes.


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

harsh said:


> Use the link near the bottom of the CNET page to do a direct download (without all the fireworks of the CNET installer).
> 
> The link is carefully disguised with the phrase "Direct Download Link".


I think that was the one that worked but also opened Pandora's box.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Fergedddaboutit.... the dat files are frequently messy, and if things are done correctly, you never see them.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Winmail.dat is included with ETF formatted emails. Did they actually say they were sending an attachment? I never open any attachment that I'm not specifically expecting.


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

dpeters11 said:


> Winmail.dat is included with ETF formatted emails. Did they actually say they were sending an attachment? I never open any attachment that I'm not specifically expecting.


It has to be their attachment, because the critical information they were supposed to send me and had foreshodowed in the title of the e-mail was not included in the bidy of the e-mail


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

They probably forgot to actually attachment, you should have seen two.

Actually, to be honest, that kind of thing shouldn't be in a normal attachment and needs to be encrypted, but I'm no expert on HIPAA.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

AntAltMike said:


> It has to be their attachment, because the critical information they were supposed to send me and had foreshodowed in the title of the e-mail was not included in the bidy of the e-mail


Well, no, Mike, it actually doesn't have to be the attachment, and most likely is not. I'd e-mail back and ask for a re-send. 
Good luck!


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## AntAltMike (Nov 21, 2004)

Laxguy said:


> Well, no, Mike, it actually doesn't have to be the attachment, and most likely is not. I'd e-mail back and ask for a re-send.
> Good luck!


It actually DOES have to be the attachment, because otherwise, they did not send me the critical price information that they said in the title they were sending me and there would be no way for me to consummate this $10,000 plus elective surgery.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Otherwise....

Which could include:

They attached it, but it became unattached in transit.
They didn't attach it.
It got mangled in transit.

So, I wouldn't spend any more time on the .dat file unless you enjoy sleuthing. Recontact them and have it re-sent.

Best of luck.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

It actually DOES have to be the attachment, because otherwise, they did not send me the critical price information that they said in the title they were sending me and there would be no way for me to consummate this $10,000 plus elective surgery.


There is a reason gmail has an option to remind you that you forgot to attach the attachment you say is there. I can't say I've never done it.


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

It 's been so long since I have received a winmail.dat attachment that I had forgotten all about them. I never did anything but delete them.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I577 using DBSTalk mobile app


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

I tend to agree with Bob that you can just delete the DAT file, but if you are really curious you can open it with Notepad.

Some DAT files contain plain text; others will show up as gibberish in Notepad.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

It's common for someone to get an email with a winmail.dat attachment. Usually, it happens when the sender is using Microsoft Outlook and the recipient does not. The sender most likely sent the email in RTF format from Outlook. 


- Merg

Sent from my iPad using DBSTalk mobile app


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