Author Topic: Sending attachements to PC uses with "Mail" (Read 3620 times)

RobW · « **on:** June 07, 2003, 02:18:09 PM »

Hi,

I've been helping (via email and telephone) a family member who's new to computers and especially to Macs. She's having some problems sending pictures (jpegs) to PC users. (I get them fine.) She uses Mail on her relatively new iMac which she bought a few months ago.

I use Entourage and know how to set attachements, encoding settings, etc., but don't have any idea what to tell her to check with Mail to make sure her PC friends can open the pictures.

Any thoughts or links for her???

Bill · « **Reply #1 on:** June 07, 2003, 03:38:28 PM »

Rob W.
I use mail in Jag. I looked around in the mail preferences and it appears the 'viewing' tap is for incoming.
Sending wise,you have two choices. Either click (see pic) or up in the menu - edit>scroll down to 'attach file'! Both send you through your computer till you find what attachment you want to send.
Forgot about a third way of sending. Plain old dragging.

You mentioned jpeg. I take it your friend is making sure there is a jpeg or jpg .. gif .. etc at the end of the sent file.
If so,got a hunch the problems at the receivers end. Settings off ... aol ... lives near Bernie. <gr>

RobW · « **Reply #2 on:** June 07, 2003, 05:48:12 PM »

Humm, I think one of her friends who can't open the file uses AOL. (My cousin can attach the file--she just can't get the PC user on the other end to be able to open it.) I had my cousin send me a picture that I can open (it has .jpg at the end) and I sent it to her friend from my computer. I know my email program is set up for PC users to be able to open jpegs, because I do it often. If she can't open it, I'll assume it may be a setting on that person's end. Tell me more about the AOL issue. (I guess I should have paid attention to those threads here before.

)

Unless there's a setting in Mail my cousin has to change for PC users to open files she sets. In Entourage, there are "encode" settings that can be changed if necessary.

Bernie · « **Reply #3 on:** June 07, 2003, 07:26:19 PM »

I heard that Bill! Leeme see, Hmm? Where's my picture CD's LOL

"palws@ ************

Paddy · « **Reply #4 on:** June 07, 2003, 09:19:21 PM »

Rob, AOL is FAMOUS for mangling attachments. Another solution to try would be to put the attachments online somewhere (.Mac is great for this) or get the recipient to sign up for a free Yahoo account, send the attachments to them there and then save to the desktop from the browser. I think it's just AOL's email servers that are the problem - though I couldn't swear to it, since I have never had the slightest thing to do with AOL, other than using their ubiquitous CD's to make mobiles with a bunch of preschoolers!

clarification: we made the CD's into mobiles...not the preschoolers.

krissel · « **Reply #5 on:** June 08, 2003, 12:06:24 AM »

Rob, if the file is just a jpeg or gif then dropping it in a browser window or on its icon will show it.

If that doesn't help or other factors are involved, try reading these threads from the archives:

sending files to PCs

seeing jpgs on PC

Paddy, gee, I conjured up a really interesting visual image of the little tykes hanging by their jumper straps, spinning in the wind...

RHPConsult · « **Reply #6 on:** June 08, 2003, 01:16:53 AM »

Rob:

The only AOLer I know who understands it, and even likes it, is Harv.

Send him a note and see if he has an idea for you, and your kinfolk.

I'll probably be iChatting with him tomorrow, and I'll suggest he look in on this thread.

PS: Interesting Sidebar . . . just out of curiosity, I checked the posts of the 6 of us on this thread and they total 18,767! Put that in your CPU and smoke it!

pendragon · « **Reply #7 on:** June 08, 2003, 08:11:59 AM »

Rob, A bit of info that may help.

As a quite happy AOL user...

When sending attachments, especially large attachments such as pictures, I always first stuff them with Stuffit, ZipIt, or other similar program. Since most all PC users can open a zip file, I typically use that.

When AOL sends large attachments (I do not know the exact size), it will automatically stuff the attachment using some (admittedly) facockta mime algorithm of theirs. (I am not certain AOL uses mime for stuffing, but I think so.) This gives some users fits, as they do not know what to do with the mime encoded file when it is received, e.g. they can't open it. So, to preclude AOL from automatically doing the stuffing, I first stuff the attachment before sending it. AOL then sees that the attachment is already stuffed, does not do any further stuffing, and merrily sends the attachment along the way.

If you are on a Mac and receive a mime encoded file, it is easily unstuffed using Decode da Code or similar program. Just drag and drop the mime attachment on to the icon and voila!

It's so easy even Bernie can even do it (but not Dick).

I believe Tacit is also a happy AOL user. If so, perhaps he can clarify what I have muddied.

BTW, I do wonder how many of those who fault AOL have (even) tried the new AOL 10.3 for OS X.

Harv

RobW · « **Reply #8 on:** June 08, 2003, 10:03:43 AM »

Thanks everyone. I'm still trying to sort this out before I pass it on to her. Hey RHP, can you imagine the total combined posts if Kelly joins this thread??

Part of the problem in me helping her is that the people she sends the attachments to who use PCs are also not real experienced--so it's been hard to get information from them on what's going on at the other end.

What I want to do is to make it as easy as possible for my cousin, using Mail, to send the attachments to PC users who will be able to open it without much effort--or me being called to intervene.

Harv, I have to see what compression programs she has. This certainly might explain what the issue is. I didn't know that AOL compresses those on their own. Also, while I've used the word "facockta" often, I've never seen it in written form before.

Paddy, you're idea of having her put the images online is a great idea. I know she has a dialup modem, but actually, it's more of a time saver to upload once then to have to send a jpeg a bunch of times. Even so, I still want to figure out how to have her do the email attachments somewhat easily and pain free.

RHPConsult · « **Reply #9 on:** June 08, 2003, 11:29:59 AM »

QUOTE

Hey RHP, can you imagine the total combined posts if Kelly joins this thread??

How's this for a number, Rob?

26,332 mol !

tacit · « **Reply #10 on:** June 08, 2003, 12:56:24 PM »

MIME encoding is not a form of stuffing. All email programs, with no exceptions, always encode all email attachments, using typically one of three encoding methods: MIME (used by 95% of all email programs, including AOL, Outlook, Entourage, Mail.app, and so on), UUencode, or BinHex.

AOL *also* compresses attachments if you attach more than one file, or if you attach a folder. It's based on the number of files, not on the size of the attachment. One file: MIME encoding. Multiple files, or one folder: MIME encoding plus compression.

Now, here is where it gets complicated:

Mac files have two "parts," called a "resource fork" and a "data fork." Other computers do not use or understand two-part files.

Apple has invented a type of encoding called AppleDouble to handle two-part files. The file is broken into TWO files: One part of the data fork, one part for the resource fork plus special Mac information (icon, Type code, Creator code, and so forth).

Each of those two parts is encoded using MIME. Then both parts are emailed.

Some mail programs do not understand AppleDouble. The person who receives the email sees TWO attachments, not one. One attachment is the file. The other attachment is the resource fork and Mac information. The first attachment is useful, the second attachment can not be used on a PC and sould be ignored.

AOL gets very confused by AppleDouble emails. AOL will not show you the attachment. Instead, if you send an AppleDouble attachment to an AOL user, the AOL user will see this:

"This email has an attachment encoded using MIME. AOL can not decode the attachment. To decode the attachment, you will need to download the email and then use a decoder program. For more information, visit Keyword: MIME."

The message means exactly what it says. The attachment can't be decoded by AOL. In order to use it, the AOL user will need to download the email and then run a MIME decoder program. (I believe the newer versions of Stuffit Expander can decode MIME.)

Unfortunately, there is no way to turn off AppleDouble in Mail.app. As a result, I don't use Mail.app.

sandbox · « **Reply #11 on:** June 08, 2003, 01:16:29 PM »

IAWP, if you have Stuffit Deluxe, contained within it is, a ZIP encoder, under the Top drop down menu, in the Encoding menu. If not ZipIT is a small shareware program. This should work for PCs. If your emailing a Unix/Linux machine use “Zip and UU Encode” to create a ASCII file. Sometimes PCs can’t read a Appleworks formatted JPG in which case I recreate them in PhotoShop. I convert all AppleWorks Documents going to PCs to “MS Word Mac 4, 4.5, 5.1d (MacLink)” which seems to cover all the bases even the early dos or the latest MS Word 6,7,........ programs.

pendragon · « **Reply #12 on:** June 08, 2003, 01:29:54 PM »

Tacit, Thanks for jumping in and adding some sanity to my misleading (wrong) comments.

Harv

Pascalin · « **Reply #13 on:** June 08, 2003, 02:34:37 PM »

Tacit

What sugestions do you have for OS X 10.2.6?

I have a couple friend with AOL and asked them to open an account with Yahoo or similar.
or may be transfer the file with iChat?

Dreambird · « **Reply #14 on:** June 08, 2003, 04:54:34 PM »

Sorry I don't know a whole lot about the workings of AOL and mail... but thanks bunches Tacit for your explanation of things! Learned something again...

I think there is a Windows version of Stuffit expander too, at least there was... I've used it and it worked well.

And then...

there's Bill...

Another excellent illustration... is that your errr... "beer belly"?

News:

Author Topic: Sending attachements to PC uses with "Mail" (Read 3620 times)