Winmail Reader is a useful and simple tool for anyone who sends or receives messages from the older Microsoft Outlook 97 and 2000 applications (winmail.dat). With Winmail Reader, the user can read, convert, and save file attachments that come from Outlook, Outlook Express, and Microsoft Exchange applications as well as Thunderbird and Lotus Notes e-mail clients. It is a freeware application that works on the later versions of the Windows operating system including XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
The layout of Winmail Reader will be familiar to any Windows user, and there aren't many options, so most people will be able to jump right in without any assistance. The main display window is divided into two panes, with the one on the left listing attachment names and the right pane displaying the item that is highlighted on the left. We liked that you could drag and drop items to the interface, making it a little faster to view them. The five basic options are neatly laid out at the top of the left-hand pane, letting you quickly open or save your items. Winmail Reader also allows you to easily convert files to other formats.
The download and installation process for Winmail Reader is quick and painless. It boots up fast and runs stable under all of the latest editions of the Windows operating system. It is free, user-friendly, and is available in a number of languages. The learning curve is zero for anyone who is familiar with Windows. This is a good choice for anyone who deals with winmail.dat attachments.
What do you need to know about free software?
Do recipients of your emails complain about a mysterious attachment called winmail.dat which they cannot open? Do files you attach to emails disappear in that winmail.dat abyss? Does winmail.dat show up for some but not all recipients of your messages? Fortunately, you can get rid of winmail.dat altogether by making sure Outlook does not send mail using RTF.
WinMail DAT Viewer is the easiest, fastest, most reliable way to extract, view, and save the contents of winmail.dat files. It's completely frustration-free: just double-click the win mail.dat file and you're instantly presented with a list of its contents.
Microsoft Dat File Reader
Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003; and Outlook for Office 365.
When, How, and Why Winmail.dat is Created
If Outlook sends a message using the RTF format for bold text and other text enhancements, it includes the formatting commands in a winmail.dat file. Receiving email clients that do not understand this code display it as an attachment. Outlook may also pack other file attachments in the winmail.dat file.
Prevent Winmail.dat Attachments from Being Sent in Outlook
To prevent Outlook from attaching a winmail.dat file when you send an email:
Go to File.
Select Options.
In the Compose messages section, select the Compose messages in this format dropdown arrow and choose either HTML or Plain Text.
In the Message format section, select the When sending messages in Rich Text format to Internet recipients dropdown arrow and choose either Convert to HTML format or Convert to Plain Text format.
Prevent Winmail.dat Attachments in Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003
To make sure Outlook 2007 to Outlook 2003 do not attach winmail.dat files:
Select Tools > Options.
Go to Mail Format.
Under Compose in this message format, choose either HTML or Plain Text.
Click OK.
Disable Winmail.dat for Particular Recipients
The standard settings for outgoing mail formats in Outlook can be overridden for an individual email address. If a recipient still receives a winmail.dat attachment after you have made the settings changes, reset the format for individual addresses.
In Outlook 2019 and 2016
Make sure the email address is not in your Outlook Contacts.
Outlook 2019 and 2016 currently offer no way to change sending preferences for email addresses that are assigned to an address book entry.
Open an email from the desired email address or start a new message to it.
Under Internet format, select Send Plain text only.
Search for the desired contact in your Outlook Contacts.
Double-click the contact's email address or right-click the desired email address, then select either Open Outlook Properties or Outlook Properties.
Under Internet format, select either Let Outlook decide the best sending format or Send Plain Text only.
Click OK.
Extract Files from Winmail.dat without Outlook
Win Dat File Opener For Mac
If you receive winmail.dat attachments with embedded files, extract them using a winmail.dat decoder on Windows or OS X.