winmail.dat opener
Got an e-mail with a winmail.dat attachment instead of the files you expected? Open it here to see the message and save the attachments packed inside, on any computer or phone.
DATtoPDF / EML
Choose your files
or drop the winmail.dat file (or the e-mail it came with) here
Up to 20 files at a time. Your files stay on this device.
Read the e-mail
Save
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Your files stay on this device: the conversion runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Learn how your files are handled
How to open winmail.dat
- Save the winmail.dat attachment from the e-mail to your device.
- Choose it here, or drop it on the page. You can also choose the whole e-mail saved as .eml and click Open next to winmail.dat.
- Save the attachments listed in the message, one by one or all as a .zip.
What is winmail.dat?
winmail.dat is how Outlook and Microsoft Exchange pack a message sent in Outlook’s own rich text format: the formatting and the attachments go into one file in a Microsoft format called TNEF. Outlook unpacks it automatically. Other mail programs often can’t, so the recipient sees a winmail.dat attachment instead of the files.
How to stop receiving winmail.dat
It has to be changed by the sender. In Outlook, they can write messages as HTML instead of rich text, in Outlook’s mail options. Their mail administrator can turn off rich-text sending to other organisations; in Microsoft 365 that is the remote domain setting Use rich-text format: Never. Until then, open each winmail.dat here.
Saving as PDF
There are two ways, both on your device:
- Download PDF makes the PDF straight away: the subject, sender, recipients and date at the top, then the message text and the list of attachments. Long messages run over as many pages as they need. This PDF uses standard fonts, which cover English and Western European languages; other letters (Polish, Czech or Greek ones, Chinese, Arabic) and emoji print as “?”, and you are told when that happens.
- Print or save as PDF opens your browser’s print window with the message as it looks on screen, pictures included. Choose Save as PDF (or Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows) as the printer. This keeps the layout and every alphabet.
With several messages, One PDF of the messages listed puts them all in one file, each starting on a new page. Search first to include only some of them.
Private by design
Nothing is uploaded. The files are read by your browser on your device, and pictures from the web inside a message are not loaded, so the sender can’t tell the message was opened.
Outlook, Exchange and Microsoft 365 are trademarks of Microsoft; Gmail and Google Takeout of Google; Apple Mail of Apple; Thunderbird of the Mozilla Foundation. SheetConvert isn’t affiliated with any of them; the names are used only to say which files the tools open.
Frequently asked questions
Why did I get a winmail.dat file?
The sender used Outlook with its rich text format, and Outlook (or Microsoft Exchange, passing the message on) packed the message and its attachments into winmail.dat. Your mail program doesn’t unpack it, so it shows the package itself.
Is winmail.dat a virus?
No, it is a normal Microsoft format. The files inside are whatever the sender attached, so treat them with the same care as any attachment.
Can I open winmail.dat on an iPhone or Android phone?
Yes, in your phone’s browser. Save the winmail.dat attachment to your files, then choose it here.
The winmail.dat has no attachments. Why?
Sometimes it only carries the formatting of the message, not files. The opener then shows the message text.
Is the file uploaded?
No. Your browser reads it on your device, and nothing is sent anywhere.
