Scenario:
The user opens email attachments with the same name multiple times
over a period of time as a result of a particular job function and/or
workflow. (i.e. The user is mailed or accesses a public folder with
email notifications that contain the same attachment name which they
must open on a continual basis through Outlook to view.)
Every time an email attachment is opened Outlook creates a cached
copy of the attachment within an Outlook temporary OLK folder. This
folder is generated with a random name and therefore is different for
every user. The location can be found by viewing the registry key from
the user’s profile based on their Outlook version. I wrote a post
earlier on how to
Find the Microsoft Outlook Temporary OLK Folder. Take a look there for a MAP which details the location of the OLK folder for all versions of Outlook.
Depending on the operating system, version of Outlook
and
user logged in, the OLK temporary folder is created in a different
spot. The good news is it’s simple to find no matter the version of
Outlook including the latest versions, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010 and
even Outlook 2013.
To find where it’s been created, open the Windows registry using regedit.exe and look for the Registry key
OutlookSecureTempFolder using the map below:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
|
Outlook 97: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Outlook\Security
Outlook 98: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.5\Outlook\Security
Outlook 2000: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Outlook\Security
Outlook 2002/XP: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Security
Outlook 2003: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security
Outlook 2007: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security
Outlook 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security
Outlook 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Security
|
Update 11/15/2012
Office 2013 didn’t change anything in regards to the OLK folder. Outlook 2013 users
looking for the OLK temporary folder also known as the
OutlookSecureTempFolder can track down the folder using the registry key
map above.
Using the chart above, here’s a few screenshots comparing my Windows
XP system running Office 2003 vs. my Windows 7 system running Office
2010.
Solution:
Browse to the Outlook Temp OLK foder (also knows as the
OutlookSecureTempFolder) and delete all files matching the “
<attachment name>(number)”.
Typically the list of cached attachments are not cleared out
automatically and have reached the number of (99). Due to long file
names, the cached attachment name is not able to grow any higher and
therefore file creation fails and notification is sent to the user
(hence the error message). Once the cached files are cleared out and
Outlook is restarted, the user should once again be able to open the
attachments.
