If you cannot open Outlook attachments there are a few possible solutions that we can try.

You may be experiencing a message such as

Cant open this item. Cant create file permission denied.

The first thing is to make sure your hard drive has enough space, otherwise if you open any file it will attempt for create a temporary file and store it on your hard drive and give you an error similar to above.

You may have already had notifications from Windows advising you that your hard drive is getting low on disk space.

Did you know when you open an attachment from Outlook it stores these files in a secret hidden location!!

If the amount of files that you have opened becomes excessive this will mean lots of files stored in this location, and lots of files is the main cause of when we cannot open Outlook attachments .

If you’re experiencing this type of problem this is generally the main cause

So where can we find the hidden folder storing all the previous Outlook attachments?

This can vary from computer to computer, the name of the directory normally contains OLK or JRX and it’s normally in the temporary directory of your profile.

To find the exact location there are two ways to do this.

Perhaps the easiest way is to launch Outlook, find a message with an attachment and if possible open the attachment and then SaveAs and you may be able to see the location.

The other method involves using the Windows registry

From the Start/Run menu – type Regedit – now search for OutlookSecureTempFolder

Once it’s found you will be able to see the complete path

It will be similar to C:\Documents and Settings\ProfileName\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\JRXMX3DR\

Now go to the Start > Run menu paste in the OutlookSecureTempFolder location, then hit enter, this will then open the hidden location.

Next delete all files found in here.

Launch Outlook and try again to open an attachment

Our final reason when we cannot open Outlook attachments is folder permissions.

Make sure you have permission to save to the hidden file location; the easiest way to do this is to make sure your current login account has administrator rights, then go to the hidden file location and right click on the directory itself and give your self access if needed.

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