Question

Unable to download the .msg file attachments in IFS mobile

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Hi IFS Team

Mobile attachments showing cross mark icon for .msg files(Outlook email). I checked the ATTACHMENTS_BLACKLIST param as well where .msg is not included

 

  1. Attach the outlook email file in webclient(OnDemand checked or unchecked doesnot matter)
  2. Wait for the sync to mobile and go to Attachments screen
  3. For any On Demand .msg file the download option is displayed. But on clicking that the attchment download goes on forever. Not downloading anything nor the window is closing which shows downloading attachment
  4. For OnDemand unchecked .msg file, the Attachment screenshowing cross mark inside a hectagon
  5. On clicking that icon mobile opens the bigger cross mark icon and nothing happens.
  6. Other files like .jpeg, png etc are are getting downloaded successfully

This looks like a product issue in FSM UPD 21?

Is there any restriction at server level (configurations) causing this issue?

11 replies

roklde
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Hi Jagath,

I found this information in another thread in the Community which is only visible in the internal forum:

“I had the same issue with .msg file type - FSM R&D states “The file types that may be previewed in FSM Mobile for iOS include image/video files supported by iOS, plus files with extensions of csv, doc, docx, htm, html, log, pdf, ppt, txt, xls, xlsx.
                                                                                   
If you want this request to be considered as a possible enhancement in future releases, please enter it as an idea in IFS Community.”

That person also posted an idea on the Idea Wall, which unfortunately wasn’t considerd further:
 


Are you using iOS?

Best regards
Roman

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Hi Rokld

I am using Android device. I saw the conversation for iOS in community. Since I observed the issue in Android, I added the question.

First of all is this an issue for android? If yes when will IFS RnD consider for both Android and iOS?

 

roklde
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I believe this is a limitation in Android. For example, I saved a Email in msg-format and tried to open it from my onedrive on my phone - it’s not even listing the file. So, if the file isn’t officially supported by the phone OS, FSM would also not be able to open it. Eventually you can try to install a third-party app from the playstore that can open msg-files on Android. Set it as the default app for viewing those files and try again from FSM Mobile.

 

Best regards
Roman

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Hi IFS team

In my opiniion if the file type is not blaclisted it should download and open. If this is an issue or product limitation, since all android and iOS users are facing this issue, the IFS RnD should not ignore this request and need to look into this issue on priority.

Because .msg is a  common file format which user may use quite frequently for any approvals, acces requests etc. due to some restricted entry.

 

Is there any such IFS document describing this limitation?

Can you please recommend which application to be used?

 

 

 

Thanks,

Jagath

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Hi @IFS RD Product Management 
Do you have any update or feedback on the issue?


++ @ERCASHUTOSH 

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Attachments of type .msg are not supported in FSM Mobile, however they are also not blocked from being downloaded. In a default installation of IIS however, there is no mime type declared for .msg files, meaning IIS will not allow you to download files of that type. You can add the mime type in IIS to remove this limitation.

Bear in mind though that Outlook on Android currently does not seem to support opening .msg files but you may be able to find third party apps that can display them. The file viewing functionality in iOS operating system also lacks support to display .msg files. Only Windows supports opening .msg files seamlessly in Outlook.

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Hi Fredrik

Thanks for the reply and detailed explanation. I really appreciate that.

  1. If we add the mime type type in IIS, will there be any impact or security concerns at server level?
  2. As I see the the IFS R&D has given reply on iOS issue that “We have reviewed this submission, but are not considering this change as part of the FSM 6 product line at this time.” I assume that the issue will be considered by IFS R&D as an enhancement in the future, which means that this issue can be fixed at application level?

 

Thanks,

Jagath

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Only Outlook on Windows actually supports opening .msg files. It isn’t supported by Outlook on either Android, iOS or MacOS. There may be third party apps available that can let you view the files on other platforms than Windows but inherently, .msg files are a bad format for sharing information in a cross platform environment.

FSM Mobile provides support for common file types that are already natively supported on all platforms. In general, it is up to the platform that the FSM Mobile app runs on to provide the needed support, not the FSM Mobile app. Given this, and the lack of native support for .msg files on iOS and Android, it is unlikely that FSM Mobile can be enhanced to support .msg files.

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Hi Fredrik

Can I consider this and inform the customer as a formal comunication feedback from IFS?

Because we need to provide the response back to the customer.

 

Thanks,

Jagath

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Hi Jagath,

You may provide this information to the customer. However, I would like to emphasise that it is not really about FSM Mobile supporting or not supporting specific file types. If the platform can handle it, FSM Mobile is generally not the limitation. The other side of this is that it really isn’t up to FSM Mobile to provide support for any and all specific file types.

With this in mind I’d like to point out that while it should be Microsofts job to provide support for their .msg file format in Outlook on different platforms, there are third party options. However, as with many third party options it is a bit of hit and miss and therefore I am unable to recommend any specific third party app for .msg support. For iOS, the key is if the app provides Quick Look support for .msg files. In that case, that adds support for iOS and in turn FSM Mobile for iOS to display .msg file contents. For Android the app just needs to be able to open .msg files and display them.

Fredrik

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Thanks Fredrik and roklde

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