PDFs display as winmail.dat on one iPad and open properly on other

Question

Level 1

6 points

PDFs display as winmail.dat on one iPad and open properly on other

My husband and I get the same emails with the same PDFs. He can open them on his iPad. On my iPad Mini and iPhone 5, they come across as winmail.dat files. On our shared MacBook Air, with both email accounts, they come across as winmail.dat files. We are both using Mac mail and we both have the same service provider. I just had to have him forward me an email with a PDF so that I could open it. Can anyone tell me how to fix this?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Posted on Oct 23, 2013 1:35 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 18, 2014 9:03 PM in response to reeniebean

I just had this same problem. I solved it thus: I sent the original message and attachment to a GMail account, where the document appeared as the PDF file it was. I was able to download the file to my computer and open as a PDF. So I recommend you try this first before you buy software.

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Answer 2

catlan

Level 1

46 points

Oct 23, 2013 4:17 PM in response to reeniebean

winmail.dat attachment originate from Microsoft Outlook or Exchange. When you read about different outgoing mail format settings it's meant for Outlook.

Some mail provider support winmail.dat files, like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, but most don't because this is a proprietary file format from Microsoft.

For the Mac I can suggest my product Letter Opener Pro, which converts winmail.dat files right inside Mail application, and Letter Opener Lite. And for iPhones and iPads Letter Opener Mobile.

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Answer 3

reeniebean Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 23, 2013 4:39 PM in response to catlan

Since my husband can open the pdf from the same email on his iPad, why can't I open it on my iPad mini or iPhone 5? I checked our settings, and they are the same. We are using the same service provider. I am not looking for software, but rather some solution to this perplexing issue.

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Answer 4

Jan 17, 2014 10:12 AM in response to reeniebean

this was very helpful and at least allowed me to open the files http://entredot.org/how-to-open-winmail-dat-files#comment-2487

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Answer 5

Eric Root

Level 10

684,027 points

Jan 17, 2014 11:26 AM in response to reeniebean

Since my husband can open the pdf from the same email on his iPad, why can't I open it on my iPad mini or iPhone 5?

Are they all running the same IOS?

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