How to fix: Microsoft Outlook 2013 Bug: Body of email disappears when sending attachment!

I’m sharing this bug (maybe Microsoft considers it a feature?) as well as the (partial) solution so others can be aware that this issue occurs and how to avoid it in the first place.

The problem I discovered was that when sharing a copy of a Microsoft Office document (such as a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file) using the built-in File > Share > Email > Send as attachment option from within the Office program, the body of the email sent sometimes would disappear! The person receiving my email would get a blank email with just a subject and attachment but no explanation!

After researching the issue, I know why it now happens – and for most folks the fix I found should work in all cases for you. Unfortunately, my own case is more complicated because as a consultant, in addition to my own company’s Microsoft Exchange Server email, I typically have a client’s Microsoft Exchange Server email account added to my laptop’s Outlook account.

The reason this issue occurs is because your Microsoft email account file (typically a .OST file extension) is not set as the default data file. Your default is probably set to an archive .PST file, or in my case, my company of employment’s .OST file but not my client’s .OST file.

Hence, when I try to send an attachment from my client’s email – while I can change the email address I’m sending the email from (it defaults to my company of employment’s email address), the body of the message is not delivered when I hit the send button. It only works if I use my company of employment’s default email address.

To check if your email account is set as the default data file, open up Outlook and navigate to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Data Files (tab). Ensure that the little black circle with a white check mark (default) is set to the correct .OST file for your exchange account. If it’s not, you need to set it to default by selecting the correct file in the list & clicking the “Set as Default” button.

Unfortunately for me – this means it will continue to work so long as I always use my email for my company of employment, if I want to send the email using my client’s email address, I have to manually save the file & attach to the email using other methods.

Hope this helps you if you are experiencing this issue!

Yosef

Picking an Anti-Virus Software

There are many different Anti-Virus software available for both PC’s & Mac’s (yes, Mac’s get virus’s too…) – the question is, how do you choose one?

Personally, I have had very good success with Avast! Anti-Virus software (www.avast.com/) however I also practice very careful internet browsing so I probably don’t attract the same number of nasty programs as your typical internet browser.

That being said, I recently did some research on Anti-Virus software and came across a great resource, a publication called Virus Bulletin (www.virusbtn.com). In reviewing their test results, I built an interesting graph that I think compares a lot of software in an easy to digest manner (click the below picture for a full size view):

Virus Bulletin Software Comparison – July 2015 (click to zoom)

I’ve highlighted in red two different software that I think are noteworthy, ESET & Microsoft Endpoint Protection (aka Windows Defender – per Microsoft’s statement of: “Most of our security software uses the same technology and offers the same level of protection.”).

ESET has been around a very long time and has been reviewed by Virus Bulletin for a total of 90 tests. It was not submitted for review for 4 test periods & failed only 2 tests. This by far, is the most impressive long-term passing streak of any of the software reviewed.

In contrast, Microsoft’s product has not been around for that long (roughly half as many test cycles as ESET). It has also not been submitted for review for almost half of the time it’s been being developed. That being said, of every test it’s been submitted for, it has never failed a test – all in all, pretty impressive as well.

I think that this type of visual depiction is very helpful for a quick comparison – keep in mind though that you should review Virus Bulletin’s methods to ensure that you’re comfortable with their testing strategy.

I hope these resources help – I would love to hear which Anti-Virus software you think is the best & why!

~Yosef

Excel: How to hide “0” values

A while ago I posted a how to video on YouTube as an experiment… and then forgot all about it.

I have decided to post it here to the blog and see if people like it. One piece of feedback I have received is that people wanted to hear me talking. My thought was, if I was watching this video, I would probably be in an office setting and not want to interrupt others with sound – hence, subtitles and no voice. Have an opinion? Want to hear my voice? Leave a comment and let me know!

Thanks and enjoy!

~Yosef