Outlook 2007 Won't Open Picture Attachments

Outlook comes pre-coded to disallow certain attachments to be opened.

There are plenty of malicious hackers and virus-writers who would like to introduce a small bit of code to your computer that could wipe out your hard drive, allow someone to steal (or plant) files on your computer, or even to take control of your system. Part of Microsoft's answer to these threats was to program Outlook to automatically disallow certain attachments to be opened. You, however can undo that security with just a few tweaks to the registry.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Enter the Registry and Make Changes

1. Make sure Microsoft Outlook is closed. Then click the "Start" button in Windows, and in the bar for running commands type "regedit." Agree and bypass any security warnings that may pop up.

2. Browse to the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" folder, followed by "Software", then "Microsoft" and "Office." Choose the version of Office you are using, which may be 9.0 10.0, 11.0 or 13.0, then open the folder tree for "Outlook", and finally "Security."

3. With the security folder selected, select "Edit" from the menu at the top, then "New" and then "String value". This places a new string in the pane on the right that needs to be named. Click on the string name and call it "Level1Remove" with no spaces, and press "ENTER" when done.

4. Double-click on the string value to open it for editing. In the "Value" field type in the names of the extensions that you want to be able to open in Outlook separated by semicolons and no spaces. For example, if you were having trouble opening .jpg, .gif .png and .jpeg files you would enter:

   ".jpg;.gif;.png;.jpeg"

5. Close the registry editor and re-open Outlook and you should be able to open previously forbidden extensions.

Tips & Warnings

• Any improper editing of your registry can result in damage to your operating system, even to the point of it becoming unusable, so proceed with caution and follow the steps carefully.

References

• Microsoft Support: Outlook Error Message
• Slipstick: Opening .exe attachments
• Annoyances.org: Force Outlook to allow EXE and MDB file attachments

Resources

• Microsoft Outlook Development Center