Opening Inaccessible Attachments in Outlook 2011

One of my users ran into an unusual display issue in Outlook 2011, where emails with attachments will sometimes not be displayed in the reading window.

These messages will show up with the paper clip icon that indicates that there’s an attachment (indicated by the red square in the picture below.)

When opened, the message will not show the attachment line

(Note: the recipients have been redacted from the screenshot below.)

I have not found a fix for this issue, but I’ve found a workaround that allows access to the attachment. See below the jump for the procedure

1. Select the message where the attachment is not showing up.

2. Go to the Message menu and select Edit Message.

3. A new window will open up, with the attachment showing in the attachment line.