Unable To View Email Attachments

Had this problem a while back. Documenting now ...

Problem: User would complain that he is unable to open attachments in Lotus Notes. On examining, the attachments are simply picture icons and not actual attachments.

Analysis: This was affecting Lotus Notes 6.x versions and is documented here. Basically, Lotus Notes creates a temporary file on the sender's machine when processing attachments and is supposed to delete this particular temporary file after completion. If for whatever reason, the file system locks this file, and therefore cannot be deleted (e.g., when multiple instances of Lotus Notes are running or a previous instance quits abruptly), a email message cannot process attachments. Instead of showing an error message to the sender, Lotus Notes sends the email message anyway, with picture icons of attachments instead of the actual files. This happens on the sender's machine and the recipient cannot do anything once the mail is already sent.

Resolution: Sender must quit Lotus Notes and delete all temporary files created by Notes.