Excel VBA - CDO Email Attachment Corrupting Excel File

[vbamagician]

Problem Overview

I am currently working on automating email sending through Excel VBA, utilizing the CDO (Collaboration Data Objects) method. The automation includes attaching an Excel file to the email. However, there have been reported cases where the client receiving the email with the attached Excel file indicates that the file seems to be corrupted.

Issue Details

The email-sending process, including attachments, is generally successful. However, there are intermittent instances where the attached Excel file appears to be corrupted when received by the client. This issue is inconsistent, and I am currently investigating the root cause to ensure reliable and error-free email attachments.

Proposed Solution

To address the issue of intermittent Excel file corruption in email attachments, consider the following steps:

1. Ensure Excel File Integrity:

• Prior to attaching the Excel file to the email, confirm that the file itself is not corrupted. Manually open and check the Excel file for any issues.

2. File Path Handling:

• Verify that the file path used in .AddAttachment is correct and accessible. Consider using a relative path or UNC path to avoid any issues with file path resolution.

3. Explicit Save Before Attachment:

• Explicitly save the Excel file before attaching it to the email to ensure that any changes are captured and the saved file is the intended version.

4. Alternative Attachment Methods:

• Consider using alternative methods for attaching the Excel file, such as creating a copy of the file explicitly for sending, or zipping the file before attaching it.

Next Steps

1. Implementation:

• Implement the proposed changes in the VBA code.

2. Testing:

• Test the modified VBA code with various Excel files and recipients to ensure consistent and reliable email attachments.

3. Feedback Collection:

• Gather feedback from recipients to verify that the Excel file attachments are no longer reported as corrupted.

Additional Information

• Excel Version: Any
• SMTP Server: I choose GMail Server for sending emails

I appreciate your cooperation in resolving this issue promptly. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to reach out.

Thank you.

[vbamagician]

Issue Resolution

I am delighted to share that the issue regarding the intermittent corruption of Excel files attached to CDO emails has been successfully resolved. After various attempts, including changing file extensions, the breakthrough solution was discovered through online research and a valuable community thread.

Resolution Details

1. Community Insight:

• While exploring various forums and threads, I stumbled upon an insightful discussion on Experts Exchange. This discussion shed light on a unique aspect of the problem that had not been previously considered.

2. Solution Discovery:

• The key finding from the community thread was that if an attachment is sent without any body text in the email, the attached file becomes corrupted. This was a crucial piece of information that had not been part of the initial investigation.

3. Testing and Verification:

• To confirm the validity of this solution, I deliberately reproduced the error by sending an attachment without any body text. The issue manifested itself consistently. Subsequently, sending the same attachment with accompanying body text proved to prevent corruption.

Why Body Text Matters?

The intriguing aspect of this resolution is the impact of including or excluding body text in the email. While the exact technical details are not explicitly mentioned in the discovered solution, it appears that the absence of body text might lead to unexpected behavior in the CDO email attachment process.

Next Steps

1. Implementation:

• Implement the necessary changes in the Excel VBA code to ensure that each email with an attachment includes an appropriate body text.

2. Testing and Validation:

• Thoroughly test the modified code across different scenarios to ensure that the issue of attachment corruption is fully addressed.

3. Documentation and Knowledge Sharing:

• Document the resolution, including the insight from the community thread, for future reference. Share this information with the team to enhance the collective knowledge base.

Conclusion

The collaborative effort in resolving this issue has been enlightening, and the contribution from the online community played a pivotal role. If anyone has additional insights or ideas on why the absence of body text might impact attachment integrity, please feel free to share.