Where does Outlook 2007 store opened attachments temporarily?

Question

If a 'friend' has double-clicked an Excel attachment from an Outlook 2007 email and worked on it, saved it and then closed Excel and the email, where would that file be lurking (assuming I haven't exited Outlook?

I seem to remember Outlook 2003 putting stuff in
%username%\Local Setings\Temporary Internet Files in OLK prefixed folders, but no sign of anything relevant looking in there.

~~I'm~~ he's on Windows XP.

Update
Temporary folder eventually found in:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook
but need to navigate directly to this folder via pasting into 'Run...' dialog or Explorer to see it.

Unfortunately, Outlook deletes the attchment when you close the email.

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 17 '10 at 18:05

I had the exact same problem.

Like BBlake said, do this: if all else fails, you can check in the registry to see where the temporary files are stored: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security\OutlookSecureTempFolder

It will point to a folder in c:...\Temporary Internet Files...

If you look in explorer and try to navigate to that folder, you won't see it. Instead, copy the entire path in to explorer. It will get there (at least it did for me). Not sure why it is hidden. I have my folder options to show all hidden files, and it still doesn't show up.

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 01 '10 at 18:36

2

if all else fails, you can check in the registry to see where the temporary files are stored: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security\OutlookSecureTempFolder

answered Jul 01 '10 at 18:36

BBlake

5,218

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 01 '10 at 18:33

This article explains how to find the location (it differs for each user and version of outlook). http://www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/outlook/find-the-microsoft-outlook-temporary-olk-folder/

If that doesn't work then I would suggest looking in %temp% and if it's not there, then %appdata%.

Good luck.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 01 '10 at 19:20

1

Another way to find the file is to use the advanced features of search and limit to .xl* files saved on the day in question.

answered Jul 01 '10 at 19:20

ale

3,410

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 19 '12 at 07:22

I found it under C:\Documents and Settings\smuthukrishnan\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\T4KZ5M1A.

To know the path specific to your environment, see in registry:

For Outlook 2010

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security

or

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security 

Value Name: OutlookSecureTempFolder
Data Type: REG_SZ

Outlook 2007

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security

or

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security

score 1 · Answer 6 · edited Oct 24 '12 at 08:53

JeffGl, you put me on the right track. I was looking for a Word doc and the tips about finding the secure outlook folder led nowhere. I then used your trick in Excel and it pointed to a subtly different location: c:\users\username\local\windows\temporary internet files\content.outlook\WDJU83756.

Although I told Explorer to show all files and folders, this folder did not appear. I had the Explorer window looking at the contents of \Temporary Internet Files\ and I clicked in the location bar and typed \content.outlook\ after the path and then it showed a list of folders I could not see, one of which was the one I was looking for.

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jul 01 '10 at 22:01

In my setup, the path you've noted is correct, but the folders you need to access are hidden, so navigating to them in windows explorer isn't easy.

What I do for someone if this happens is open the original email, open the attachment and then start a "save as" causing windows to show the full path to where it is going to save the document. I don't save (which would overwrite the edited version of the document) but note the full path names, which can then be manually typed into the address bar in windows explorer. I then find the saved version of the attachment and move it to a my documents folder.

I'm sure they may be an easier approach, but this has helped me rescue co-workers' documents more than once.

score 0 · Answer 8 · edited Oct 22 '12 at 17:35

0

The easiest way to find the location where Outlooks stores Excel attachments is by using the =CELL("filename") function to show the exact location.

In my case it's like these:

C:\Documents and Settings\jgi39692\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\K7VGFJBF

edited Oct 22 '12 at 17:35

ale

3,410

answered Jun 13 '12 at 06:03

JeffGI

1

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Jan 18 '13 at 09:56

0

Another way to know which folder is used is to open another attachment, and ask the editor where this file is.

For instance, in MS Word, open Prepare > Properties

answered Jan 18 '13 at 09:56

rds

127

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Sep 20 '13 at 17:59

I realize this is an old post, but this may be helpful for some who Google and come across this post looking for a solution. If you try all the proposed solutions offered above, and find that none of them work for one reason or another, you may try right clicking on the Temporary Internet Files folder, select Advanced, then check the box for indexing all files. It was only after I did that was I able to view and navigate the Content.Outlook folder in Windows 7.

score -1 · Answer 11 · answered Jul 01 '10 at 18:37

-1

If you open Excel, couldn't you just open the file as a Recent Item and then look at the path to that item?

answered Jul 01 '10 at 18:37

BioXhazard

717

Where does Outlook 2007 store opened attachments temporarily?

11 Answers11