Open Outlook 2003 .msg files in Outlook XP

[Anthony]

My company has a mixture of Office 2003 and Office XP systems.
Several users of Outlook 2003 have saved emails over the years in .msg format.
When someone with Outlook XP tries to open these .msg files, they get an
error saying that they must have Outlook 2003 to open those files.

Is there any way to get Outlook XP to open these files?
I know we could open all those emails and resave them as HTM or TXT files,
but I was hoping there would be an easier/quicker method since there are alot
of these files on our network.

Any ideas/suggestions?
Is there something simple I am missing?

 

[Nikki Peterson [MVP - Outlook]]

You probably have the Outlook settings set to
save messages in Unicode format. Look at the following:

- Select the TOOLS menu
- Select OPTIONS
- Select the OTHER tab
- Click the ADVANCED OPTIONS... button

Check to see if there is a check mark next to "Use Unicode
Message Format when saving messages". If it is check marked,
turn it off and see if this helps.

Nikki Peterson

 

[Anthony]

Thanks Nikki,
I think that will make the difference for future messages.
Is there any way to fix the existing ones without resaving them all?
Or, is there a patch for Outlook XP to let it understand unicode format?

 

[Brian Tillman]

My company has a mixture of Office 2003 and Office XP systems.
Several users of Outlook 2003 have saved emails over the years in
.msg format. When someone with Outlook XP tries to open these .msg
files, they get an error saying that they must have Outlook 2003 to
open those files.

Is there any way to get Outlook XP to open these files?
No.

I know we could open all those emails and resave them as HTM or TXT
files, but I was hoping there would be an easier/quicker method since
there are alot of these files on our network.

Any ideas/suggestions?
Is there something simple I am missing?

In Outlook 2003, click Tools>Options>Other>Advanced Options. Uncheck the
box that says "Use Unicode Message Format when saving messages". Then when
you create a .msg file, prior versions of Outlok will be able to open them.

 

[Brian Tillman]

Is there any way to fix the existing ones without resaving them all?
Or, is there a patch for Outlook XP to let it understand unicode
format?

No and no.