Preview Attachments in Outlook 2007

By Jane H | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0) (1,612 views)

One of the neat features in Microsoft Outlook 2007 is the ability to quickly preview some email attachments without opening the the attached file. This can be done in either the Reading Pane or in an open message window. Messages that have attachments are identified by a paper clip icon in the message list. Of course, in order to preview a file created in Office 2007, you must have Office 2007 installed.

HTML and plain text formatted messages support attachment preview, but you cannot preview attachments in messages formatted as Rich Text Format. Also, you cannot preview attachments when you are creating a message.

To preview an attachment in either the Reading Pane or in an open message, click the attachment icon. In the following image, I clicked on the attached Excel file from the Reading Pane. I could have also opened the message and clicked on the attachment icon.

Attachment1

When you preview an attachment you will receive a security warning (see following image). If you trust the source, click the Preview file button. If you do not wish to see this warning again, clear the check box for Always warn before previewing this type of file .

NOTE: Also, Outlook blocks potentially unsafe attachment files (including .bat, .exe, .vbs, and .js files) which can contain viruses.

Attachment2

In this example, I can now preview the Excel 2007 file, scroll through the worksheet, and view different worksheets by clicking on the tab.

Attachment3

To return to the message, simply click the message icon.

Attachment4

NOTE: Attachment previewers that come with the 2007 Microsoft Office system allow you to preview the files created in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 (i.e. Outlook 2007, Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Excel 2007, Visio 2007, images and text files). Other software manufacturers may provide their own previewers that support their file types. You can search the Web to find additional information.

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Topics: Outlook
  • ChrisBee
    How much more useful would this feature be if it would preview older versions of Office documents? Novell Gropuwise has had previewers as standard for years
  • Alex
    This option there is in next tool-view pst files,which in my opinion one of the best in this sphere,luckily utility is free,it can help to restore a mailbox,stored on Microsoft Exchange Server or a file with *.pst extension,tool belongs to programs that view .pst,it will process any file,it is safe to work even with damaged files,will perform necessary actions, you can see a preview window,that shows recovered folder tree and emails in a preview mode,can convert your file to a file with *.pst extension, that follows the original structure,viewing pst files without Outlook is not usually needed on a regular basis.
  • Scott
    Not sure if this is the right place to ask but its been driving me crazy. Nothing I do will allow me to see images in the preview pane in Outlook 2007. Changing the Trust settings does not do anything. About to rip my hair out and drop outlook completely for a 3rd party email client.
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