Generally, you double-click to open it. But, sometimes, the attachment doesn’t open, and Outlook returns an error message like “Error Cannot create file: Right-click the folder …” While restarting the Outlook app isn’t a silver bullet, it can solve the problem if the error occurs due to a minor glitch. For further troubleshooting, you can continue with the several solutions mentioned in the article.
How to Fix if Outlook Cannot Open Attachments?
If you are only unable to preview the attachment, you can just enable a setting called Attachment and Document Previewers in Outlook. But, if you cannot open the file, it usually means you have a different default app assigned for the particular file type. On the other hand, the solution can vary from one error message to another and depend on the type of file (word or excel document) you received as an attachment. So, apply the fixes one by one until the problem is resolved.
Change the Default App for Particular File Associations
If you try to open the attachment directly within the Outlook mailbox, you can encounter an error. That’s because the file might be associated with a different default program in your system. Therefore, you need to set the correct program as the default app for opening the attachment file type. To change the default app for opening a specific file association, Alternatively, you can change the default app for each file type from the Settings app. In case you don’t have a compatible app for opening the file type of the attachment, download and install one on your system.
Delete the Outlook Temporary Files
The Outlook app saves your attachments in a temporary folder called “OutlookSecureTempFolder”. Each time you open an attachment, Outlook creates a separate temporary file inside that folder. Once it gets full or runs out of its limited storage space, Outlook can no longer access the attachments. When this happens, you can receive an error message like “Error Cannot create file: Right-click the folder …” To solve this problem, you can clear all the contents inside that folder. Here’s how to do it.
Disable the Installed Add-Ins
Although add-ins provide additional functionalities in Outlook, they can sometimes cause problems with the app. And, therefore, prevent the attachments from opening. So, try disabling them until you find the add-in causing the issue.
Change the Mouse Properties
For some Outlook versions, you cannot open the attachment by double-clicking. So, you have to open it by right-clicking and choosing the Open option. Sometimes this can happen if you have set the double-click speed too high. Therefore, you have to adjust the mouse properties.
Disable the Firewall
Since viruses can spread through attachments and compromise your system security, Outlook blocks them for your safety. For example, Outlook blocks all EXE files as it suspects them as viruses. Along with EXE files, there are several other file extensions that Outlook blocks. On the other hand, if you have a Microsoft Exchange account, your administrator might have blocked some specific file types. So, you can ask them to unblock your attachment’s file type. If you have a file type blocked by Outlook, you can ask the sender to upload it instead to cloud storage like OneDrive and then share its link in the Outlook mail reply. Furthermore, you can try disabling the firewall.
Ask the Sender to Re-Send
If none of the above methods worked for you, the attachment file might be corrupted/damaged. So as a last resort, you have to request the sender to re-send the file after checking the correct file format.
How to Open a Word Document Attachment that Doesn’T Open on Outlook?
Some users receive an error message such as “Word experiences an error trying to open the file” or “The program used to create this object is Outlook. That program is either not installed on your computer or it is not responding….” If you also received this error message, you need to disable the Protected View on the Word app.
