Word Error Message

When I want to save an email, I simply click "Save As" in the File Menu; browse until I reach the folder, where I want to save it; give it a file name; choose "Mail (*.eml)" in "Save as type "; click "Save" and that is that

What has happened with several messages recently was very strange. The file name appeared in the file where I had saved it but, clicking on the file in the normal way
to read it, produced a Microsoft Word error message

"[file name] is not a valid Web Archive "!

However, if I use the right click menu and click on "Open ", it opens normally and I can read it.

If I save the file as a text file, I can read it, but would rather not do so in Notepad

Does anyone have any idea, please, what is wrong and how to put it right?

I run XP Pro SP2 and Word 2002

Masochist

 

This sounds like a complicated way of saving an email. If you're using Internet Explorer, why not r-click on the relevant email and choose 'Move (or Copy) to Folder' and select the 'Saved Items' folder? Access is easy as well - open IE and click 'Saved Items' folder to see all your saved emails.

 

Thanks for your reply, Tony

I do use a "Saved Items" folder in Outlook Express for fairly short-term saving of occasional emails, when I need to think about them before being ready to delete them. This has nothing to do with my long-term or permanent saving requirements

For example, I have a very large hard drive folder called "Computer Information ", split into many sub-folders such as "Internet ", "Word" and "Photographic ". Much of the little I know about these subjects comes from emails from learned contributors to Groups, which I save to, say, "Information > Internet ". I know of no way to save these, other than the way I mentioned

What I would dearly like to know is why, after 3 PCs and 3 Operating Systems with no problems until recently, I can no longer save emails as Word documents and open them in the normal way, just by clicking on them

Incidentally, I was taught long ago that it is not a good idea to use the OE folders for long-term storage as it slows up the system

Does anyone else have any ideas, please?

Masochist

 

You are right, Pete C, I should have said "......I can no longer save emails and open them in the normal way...... "

However, you do not comment on my problem. When I do as you describe, no Outlook Express message window opens. All that I get is the error message I have quoted. Perhaps I should have made this clearer (I don't know how to incorporate a screenshot here). It reads:

"Microsoft Word [file name] is not a valid Web Archive "

I called this a Microsoft Word error problem because that is how the error message described itself! On reflection, I agree with you that Microsoft Word should not come into this at all. Unfortunately, on my PC, it thinks it should and I cannot do anything to prevent it

Any ideas, please?

Masochist

 

How right you were - my file associations had somehow become tangled up. I have no idea how or why as, frankly, I had never before ventured into Folder Options > File Types

Anyway, there was a weird association of the blue W in rectangle (for Word) followed by EML, associated with EML in the File Types column. This was easily corrected and I am delighted to report that my saved emails now open properly. I will now know where to look, in the event of similar future problems

Thank you so much for your patience and guidance

Masochist