File attachments not opening in Affinity (Outlook)

[Catshill]

Outlook 2016 file attachments (jpg) no longer open in Affinity applications (2.3.0). Changing the file association to MS Paint and the file attachment opens correctly but if it is set to any Affinity app (I am using the exe version) it doesn't fire up the app or load.

[GarryP]

Where is the attachment; is it saved to a local storage device or ‘in’ Outlook?

If the file is ‘in’ Outlook, have you tried saving the file to local storage before opening it?

Which Affinity application(s) are you using?

Can you launch the applications ‘normally’ via the Start menu, desktop shortcut, etc.?

Once you have launched the application ‘normally’, can you open any image from a local storage device via the “File → Open” menu?

Can you launch the applications, and open an image at the same time, by double-clicking any image file on a local storage device in Explorer?

When you say “no longer open”, what has happened to your hardware or software since this situation changed?

[Catshill]

11 hours ago, GarryP said:

1. Where is the attachment; is it saved to a local storage device or ‘in’ Outlook?

2. If the file is ‘in’ Outlook, have you tried saving the file to local storage before opening it?

3.Which Affinity application(s) are you using?

4.Can you launch the applications ‘normally’ via the Start menu, desktop shortcut, etc.?

5.Once you have launched the application ‘normally’, can you open any image from a local storage device via the “File → Open” menu?

6. Can you launch the applications, and open an image at the same time, by double-clicking any image file on a local storage device in Explorer?

7.When you say “no longer open”, what has happened to your hardware or software since this situation changed?

1. It’s an email attachment aka a jpg 

2. Yes of course but email attachments normally open in the relevant application without having to save them first. This is the case if the file association is changed to MSPaint.

3. APu, ADe, APh - all three fail to open when an attachment is opened

4. Yes of course. This bug relates to opening email attachments not opening files stored locally.

5. Yes

6. Yes

7. I believe this behaviour only came about after the Affinity 2.3.0 update.

[GarryP]

Thanks for the extra information.

My guess is that the situation could have arisen because of a change to Outlook rather than the Affinity applications.

If the applications aren’t launching when you try to open the attachment, but they launch ‘normally’, then that would suggest to me that it’s a problem with Outlook in that it’s not launching the applications. (I could be wrong but that’s how it looks to me at the moment.)

Are you using Outlook as an application (installed on your machine) or as a web service (via a web browser), or something else?

Which ‘flavour’ of the Affinity applications do you have installed; MSIX or MSI/EXE?

Where did you download the Affinity applications from: Serif Store or MS Store?

Would any of the answers to the three questions above have changed between V2.3 and the previously installed version?

[Lee D]

@Catshill I don't have Outlook 2016 to test with but JPG attachments open in Affinity Photo V2 (2.3.0) from Outlook 365 (2311) for me on Windows 11.

[Catshill]

If MS Paint is set as the jpeg default then Outlook correctly opens the attachment.

Outlook 2016 is not a web service but installed as part of a local installation from an executable.

I am using the exe versions of the Affinity apps downloaded from Affinity directly.

@GarryP I’ve not changed anything prior to the issue occurring.

 

[GarryP]

Thanks for the extra information, again.

I don’t use Outlook (of any version) so I can’t experiment with this myself.

Would it be possible for you to, without exposing any private information, record a video showing what you do to try and open the attachments when they don’t open?

Just out of curiosity, where are you setting MS Paint to be the default application to open JPEGs? Are you doing that in Outlook or the OS (e.g. File Explorer)? If it’s in Outlook, have you tried it in File Explorer?

My only further ‘advice’ at the moment, without being able to get on the machine myself and have a poke around, would be to create a new document, add a shape to it (of any type, just so there’s something to export), and then export the document to various file types: JPG; PNG; SVG; PDF; etc.

Then you can email each of those files to yourself and then try and open each attachment and see what gets opened by what application. That might give you some idea of what’s getting opened and what isn’t, which may give a better idea of any ‘pattern’ which may be present.

[walt.farrell]

17 hours ago, Catshill said:

I am using the exe versions of the Affinity apps downloaded from Affinity directly.

And Windows is set to use Affinity Photo 2 for JPG files?

[Catshill]

5 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

And Windows is set to use Affinity Photo 2 for JPG files?

Yes of course and as stated it has worked previously. It’s only when I set the file association to be Affinity that it fails to open. No issues if I associate jpgs with another application.

[GarryP]

If you have told Windows to open JPEGs in Photo and they are opening in Photo when double-clicked in File Explorer but not when you try to open them when they are an attachment in Outlook then I’m out of decent ideas at the moment.

Have you tried restarting your machine, just in case some setting or other needs to be dropped from a cache and ‘woken up’ in its new state?

[- S -]

Does Outlook 2016 give you the ability to see the file path where the email file attachments are stored?  For example:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\1ABCAB\Attachment 01.jpg

If so, is there anything abnormal about the path of the file attachments, for example any special characters anywhere in the path, or a non-standard path?

Once you know the path where it's stored, try opening the file attachment directly.  For example, change the below jpg file path to the path of the Outlook file attachment on your machine (not the exact path I have below as an example) and enter it directly in the Windows Run dialogue [Windows Key + R].  N.B. This should be the path where Outlook automatically stores received email attachments, not where you manually save attachments from Outlook.

"C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo 2\Photo.exe" "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\1ABCAB\Attachment 01.jpg"

Also try just the file path itself, which should invoke the default application for opening jpg files.

"C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\1ABCAB\Attachment 01.jpg"

- If the JPEG file opens OK from the Windows Run dialogue, then it demonstrates that Affinity Photo is able to open the file if the Affinity Photo executable is correctly invoked and the path is valid and passed to it in a valid format – therefore the issue likely lies elsewhere.  Either in Outlook itself, or something third-party preventing Outlook file attachments being opened in Affinity Photo.  Perhaps security software restricting what applications can open Outlook file attachments, I.E. what processes Outlook can spawn or invoke.  I don't know.

- If the JPEG file does not open OK from the Windows Run dialogue, what is the error message displayed in Affinity Photo?  Also, what happens if you try the same thing with another non-Microsoft third-party application capable of opening JPEG files other than Affinity Photo?

 

[Hangman]

Hi @Catshill,

Are you running Windows 11?

If so, just a stab in the dark but do you have the 'New Outlook' toggle switch in the top right corner of your Outlook screen? If you do and you toggle it off, does it make any difference if you then double-click the attachment when you have Affinity Photo as the default app for JPEG and JPG files?

[Catshill]

On 12/23/2023 at 9:46 AM, GarryP said:

Have you tried restarting your machine, just in case some setting or other needs to be dropped from a cache and ‘woken up’ in its new state?

The PC has been restarted numerous times since the issue surfaced.

[Catshill]

22 hours ago, - S - said:

Does Outlook 2016 give you the ability to see the file path where the email file attachments are stored?  For example:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\1ABCAB\Attachment 01.jpg

If so, is there anything abnormal about the path of the file attachments, for example any special characters anywhere in the path, or a non-standard path?

Once you know the path where it's stored, try opening the file attachment directly.  For example, change the below jpg file path to the path of the Outlook file attachment on your machine (not the exact path I have below as an example) and enter it directly in the Windows Run dialogue [Windows Key + R].  N.B. This should be the path where Outlook automatically stores received email attachments, not where you manually save attachments from Outlook.

"C:\Program Files\Affinity\Photo 2\Photo.exe" "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\1ABCAB\Attachment 01.jpg"

Also try just the file path itself, which should invoke the default application for opening jpg files.

"C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\1ABCAB\Attachment 01.jpg"

- If the JPEG file opens OK from the Windows Run dialogue, then it demonstrates that Affinity Photo is able to open the file if the Affinity Photo executable is correctly invoked and the path is valid and passed to it in a valid format – therefore the issue likely lies elsewhere.  Either in Outlook itself, or something third-party preventing Outlook file attachments being opened in Affinity Photo.  Perhaps security software restricting what applications can open Outlook file attachments, I.E. what processes Outlook can spawn or invoke.  I don't know.

- If the JPEG file does not open OK from the Windows Run dialogue, what is the error message displayed in Affinity Photo?  Also, what happens if you try the same thing with another non-Microsoft third-party application capable of opening JPEG files other than Affinity Photo?

 

This is the path and yes if I double-click the attachment from there it opens in Affinity

C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\Content.Outlook\H32RAHPM

 

[Catshill]

17 hours ago, Hangman said:

Hi @Catshill,

Are you running Windows 11?

If so, just a stab in the dark but do you have the 'New Outlook' toggle switch in the top right corner of your Outlook screen? If you do and you toggle it off, does it make any difference if you then double-click the attachment when you have Affinity Photo as the default app for JPEG and JPG files?

Outlook 2016 does not have a toggle switch at the top right hand corner of the min menu.

[walt.farrell]

Does Outlook 2016 provide any configuration settings for how attachments are opened, such as which applications to use or where they're located?

[Catshill]

I've also changed my COM Add-ins so they do not load at startup.

[Catshill]

44 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

Does Outlook 2016 provide any configuration settings for how attachments are opened, such as which applications to use or where they're located?

This is done via Windows settings not Outlook.