Outlook comes with a built-in security feature that blocks attachments. It is a pretty unique feature of Outlook, isn’t it? Yes. It is done to protect your computer from viruses. However, the blocked attachments tend to remain in the email message. You can open blocked attachments in Outlook by following the simple methods mentioned in this article.

As Outlook considers some of the file types as unsafe, it blocks attachments of such types. You can open the file if it is sent as a link attachment by the sender. You just need to click the link and save the file on your computer.

What are the file types blocked by Outlook?

Here are a few of the file name extensions and file types that are being blocked by the Outlook application.

Whenever you receive an attachment with one of the above-mentioned types, it will be blocked by Outlook. Look at the solutions mentioned below to open blocked attachments in outlook.

Renaming The File To Open Blocked Attachments

You can rename the file to a different extension and save it on your computer. Ask your sender to rename the file extension and send it to you. Here’s how to rename the extension.

• step 1: Open the email application and an email message.
• step 2: Locate the attachment and then right-click on it.
• step 3: Click Copy and go to the desktop. Later, right-click on the desktop and choose Paste.
• step 4: Now, you can right-click the file and then select Rename. Type the different file extension and then click the Rename button. The file will be renamed. When prompted, select Yes.

For example, rename the .exe file as .doc file. By doing so, Outlook does not consider it as a potential threat. Now, save it to your computer. Later, rename it with the original file extension.

Preferably, use the file compression utility to open blocked attachments in Outlook. When you cannot open the blocked attachments, you can compress the file using the file compression utility such as WinZip. The compressed file creates another compressed archive file with a different extension. You can now use the attachments by saving them on your computer. This procedure doesn’t make the Outlook application block the attachments.