Can doc/docx attachments kill an email?

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kiwifidget

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#319638 16-May-2025 18:26

I agree, a bit of a bizarre question.

However, I have people claiming that emails sent to them containing doc/docx files fail to materialise in their inboxes.

Not once or twice, but "many times".

No proof of this has been offered, just accusations. No one willing to disclose OS and apps.

Yes, I have confirmed the email addresses are correct.

Has anyone ever heard of this occurring?

Even if the recipient didnt have Word installed, they would still get the email, just not be able to open the attachment?

At least that is my understanding.

If there are known circumstances where this can occur I would like to know so I can do some testing.

Thanks.

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#3373779 16-May-2025 18:31

Yes, entirely possible that attachments could be causing emails to be blocked or quarantined prior to reaching the recipients inbox - this would be most common in a corporate environment.

Normally a .doc/.docx file would be unlikely to do this; but false positives can happen; and if you're using macros in templates, then that may also be a trigger - hard to say, really.

Further to the above; I'd fully expect the recipient to be notified by a corporate quarantine system; but that's also not a guarantee.

Do you know if anyone has checked their SPAM folders?

kiwifidget

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#3373780 16-May-2025 18:56

This is not a corporate environment. Just emails from a personal account to a list of other personal accounts.

Definitely no macros, none of us are that clever.

Spam/Junk folders are said to have been checked.

I only have people's word (ironic) for it.

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loceff13

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#3373781 16-May-2025 19:01

Are you sending your emails from the likes of gmail, can you see the attachment in the sent mail history for that email? Are you waiting for the file to fully upload before you hit send?

kiwifidget

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#3373829 16-May-2025 19:07

Right, so this bit is probably important.

There are about 60 people on the list, most receive the email and the attachments just fine, every time.

There is a group of about 6-7, a clicque if you like, who insist they never get the emails.

It's not a random bunch of people, just this one little group, every time.

EDIT: the emails are not sent by me, but by someone who does use gmail. No client as far as i know.

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mattwnz

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#3373835 16-May-2025 19:53

kiwifidget:

Right, so this bit is probably important.

There are about 60 people on the list, most receive the email and the attachments just fine, every time.

There is a group of about 6-7, a clicque if you like, who insist they never get the emails.

It's not a random bunch of people, just this one little group, every time.

EDIT: the emails are not sent by me, but by someone who does use gmail. No client as far as i know.

If they are sent from an SMTP server like SMTP2Go, you can track in their logs if the email is received by the recipients email server.

Goosey

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#3373838 16-May-2025 20:54

What requires the purpose of sending as a doc/docx.

Would a pdf be better?

that group of people might be hinting this…due to them not having anything suitable to open/view.

kiwifidget

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#3373839 16-May-2025 21:08

Yes, usually a file is sent in both formats, pdf and doc/docx.

These are forms, so print pdf-fill by hand-scan-email back or open doc/docx-fill in digitally-email back.

The claim being that the inclusion of the doc/docx files renders the entire email unreceivable.

This has never been raised before until emails recently sent regarding an AGM.

In the absence of any proof/evidence, I just want to get a handle on how likely this scenario actually is, or if its a bit more like "the cheque is in the mail".

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mattwnz

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#3373841 16-May-2025 21:25

Likely it could be going into their junkmail folder on the actual server. Plus some maybe just denying receiving it. Also if they have McAffee or similar software it could be deleting the email if it has a doc attachment. I have had trouble with McAffee and email client recently on a family PC

fe31nz

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#3373846 16-May-2025 22:00

How large are the attachments? The size limits for an email vary wildly between email servers, so it may simply be that the emails are too big to be received by some people.

loceff13

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#3373853 16-May-2025 23:34

Why not put the file/s on google drive etc and just send the link to that in the email

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#3373862 17-May-2025 08:13

i've been told to not send someone as doc/x because they get spam filtered, requested to send pdf instead. i just do as i'm told.

MadEngineer

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#3373871 17-May-2025 10:34

You've included "doc" as a file format which makes me question that oddity. I seem to recall seeing an email filter that will increase the spam score of emails with such attachments as that's pretty much never used now vs docx. Have you got any emails from said recipients? Check the headers for any clues as to any filtering services.

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#3373919 17-May-2025 10:59

As pointed out above, perhaps file size exceeds the 'standard' 10MB attachment limit many ISP's impose?

I've also found in the past that multiple emails with attachments many get deemed spam depending on which of the many servers the mail might pass through. Prevalent when using free, public services rather than corporate/commercial globally sanctioned email servers.

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#3373928 17-May-2025 12:31

kiwifidget:

This has never been raised before until emails recently sent regarding an AGM.

Being cynical. Is this group of people who did not receive the documents, perhaps voting in the same way at this AGM? Or they disagree strongly and by not voting they could claim the AGM is invalid?

As suggested above, place the files on a shared Google Drive folder, then send just the link to everyone. It will prevent triggering any filtering rules related to attachments.

kiwifidget

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#3374237 18-May-2025 07:51

@freitas , well, cynicism would not be misplaced here.

Regardless, I am left to ascertain the validity of their argument.

And if it is valid, find a resolution to it.

After this is dealt with, I will need to look into other ways of managing the outgoing communications.

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