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Outlook: “Can’t Create File” Error When Opening Attachment

Outlook: “Can’t Create File” Error When Opening Attachment

by 99 Comments

When you try to open a file attachment in Microsoft Outlook, you get an error:

Can’t create file: filename. Right-click the folder you want to create the file in, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu to check your permissions for the folder.

This problem occurs usually when Outlook cannot access the temp file the file is linked to. To resolve this problem, try the following steps.

  1. Hold the Windows Key, then press “R” to bring up the Run dialog box.
  2. Type “Regedit“, then press “Enter“.
  3. Click “Edit” > “Find” and type “OutlookSecureTempFolder“.
  4. When regedit has found the entry, it will tell you where your Outlook temporary files are stored. It will look similar to one of the following:
    • C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\ Content.Outlook\randomnumber\
    • C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\OLKrandomnumber
  5. Bring up the File Explorer, then navigate to the location in the registry key.
  6. Delete all of the files in this folder.
  7. Restart Microsoft Outlook and you should be able to open your attachment.

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Comments

  1. sufiyan says

    thanks bro its working but evreday same type email comming evryday i try this method then open my pdf you
    have permanent solution ? pls help

  2. sufiyan says

    thanks bro its working but evreday same type email comming evryday i try this method then open my pdf you permanent solution

  7. Mike Z says

    Just wanted to say thank you very much, this fixed the issue with our Outlook 2010. Great job!

  14. rahul says

    For Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2007:
    Select Start, select All Programs, select Accessories, and then select Run.
    In the Run dialog box, type the following command (including the quotation marks), and then select OK.
    “C:\Users\ username \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files

    then delete all data, try to open the outlook attachment

  23. Tracey says

    I am using Outlook 2007 and using a current version of MS Excel & word. I followed the directions, which seemed like they were going to work, although not exactly the same issue I am having. When I click onto an excel worksheet in an email, Excel starts up but then I get “the file is corrupt and cannot be opened.” Do you have a fix for this?

    I did shut down Outlook before trying again.

    Sorry for posting again, but I did want to mention that if I save the excel doc to my computer, it opens.

  24. Tracey says

    I am using Outlook 2007 and using a current version of MS Exce & word. I followed the directions, which seems like they were going to work. When I click onto an excel worksheet in an email, Excel starts up but then I get “the file is corrupt and cannot be opened.” Do you have a fix for this?

  40. Alok Singh says

    Hello there,
    I followed the steps and found its not working for me, kindly help with another way if possible.

  55. Dean Brusnighan says

    This didn’t fix the problem for me. Your instructions were great, but after deleting the files I still can’t open the attachment. It happens to be a Meeting.ics file from WebEx.

  58. Alan Clayton says

    When I got to the folder I had a message that it was unreadable or corrupted. What do I do now?

  65. Bidur says

    I have followed the instruction what you provided but without deleting any file because I am scared if other file will delete coz I am confusing about the value data. I have restarted the system, finally it is working.

    Many thanks….

  72. Perry says

    C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache\ Content.Outlook\randomnumber\

    The Registry gave the above name but in the file folder all I found was INetCacheContent.Word

    I deleted the files in this folder and it worked fine opening attachments (.pdf) in Outlook

    Thanks! Perry

  73. Greville says

    A massive thank you. I have been plagued with the problem of not being able to open a particular pdf doc sent to me regularly by my employer. I have had to use a different laptop every time!
    Various people have tried to fathom the problem including clients for whom I work who are supposedly experts.
    I followed your instructions and it now opens normally. Really pleased!
    Finally a real expert!

  76. Coert says

    Cheers! In my case it occured because the same filename was already saves 200 times

    5.pdf
    5 (1).pdf
    5 (2).pdf
    …
    5 (199).pdf
    etc.

  78. Tammy says

    Thank you worked great. The other solutions involve changing the registry and always scared to do that

  80. Gran says

    Never works for me. I have tried several times and changed the temp directory as well and still doesn’t work.

  85. Usman says

    Been panic to fix the problem for an angry enduser of my network. And it helped me a lot.. Acted like a wizard. Thanks

  87. CH says

    What the heck, this fixed nothing…

    Just kidding, worked like a charm. I didn’t want to comment the same as everyone else, sounds like an echo in here.

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