Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The links below will bring you to the appropriate section. If you can't find the answer to your question here, please see Technical Support and Known Issues.

Lost License Code

I had to reinstall ZipOut due to a hard drive crash or other system failure and I no longer have my license code. How can I reinstate my license?

Send a request to and we will check your e-mail address against our license database. If you have changed your e-mail address, please advise us of your original e-mail address or the name under which you ordered ZipOut. We will return the correct license code via e-mail.

Command Bar Buttons
I ran the ZipOut installation program, but I don't see any toolbar buttons on my messages. What's wrong?
There are several reasons why the ZipOut toolbar buttons might not appear on a message. Here are the most common scenarios: 

1.  ZipOut hasn't loaded yet - ZipOut is loaded when Outlook starts. If you installed ZipOut while Outlook was running and have not shut down and restarted it, then ZipOut has not been loaded. You should close Outlook.  Be sure that you see the "Please wait while Outlook exits" dialog box (Outlook 2000 only). If you have any open messages, you will need to close those also in order for Outlook to completely shut down. Now start Outlook again.

2.  ZipOut is disabled for this message type - The ZipOut toolbar buttons will only appear on enabled item types. You configure ZipOut options on the ZipOut Property Page. Select Options on the Tools menu to display the ZipOut property page. By default, ZipOut is enabled for Mail, Appointment and Task items, but if one of these is unchecked then the toolbar buttons will not display when that item type is opened. See ZipOut Help for more information on item types. To display ZipOut help, click the Help button on the ZipOut property page.

3. You are using Word as your default e-mail editor and Outlook 2000 - If you have selected Word as your editor and you are using Outlook 2000 only, the ZipOut toolbar buttons will not appear on an Outlook Inspector. ZipOut toolbar buttons are operational with Word as your default e-mail editor and Outlook 2002 or later. This issue is covered in detail below.

4. You're using Outlook 2007 - Office/Outlook 2007 introduced a new interface called the Ribbon for displaying toolbars and menus. Locate the Add-Ins tab on the top of the message and click there to find the ZipOut buttons. An updated version will be released soon that will put the ZipOut buttons on the front of the Ribbon where they will be more accessible.

5. The message was created using the Windows Explorer Send To extensions - You can send a file, web page, or Office document to someone by accessing the Send To menu.  ZipOut is able to recognize and operate on the attachments to many of these messages while Outlook is running, and in those cases the ZipOut buttons will be visible on the message toolbar.  The ZipOut Options button does not operate when you create a message using Send To extensions. If Outlook is not running, then the ZipOut buttons will not appear on the message and ZipOut will not operate on this message. See below for more details.


How can I control the position and appearance of the ZipOut toolbar in the Outlook Explorer window?

The ZipOut Toolbar provides important ZipOut commands, including Manage Attachments and Find Attachments. Here are some useful tips regarding the ZipOut Toolbar.

1.  The Toolbar is not visible - Click the Outlook View menu, select Toolbars, and then check ZipOut in the pop-up list of toolbars.

2. ZipOut remembers the last Toolbar position - Position the toolbar in a convenient location. You can drag the toolbar to a new location. ZipOut will remember this position when Outlook starts.

Using Word as the e-mail editor
Does ZipOut operate when Word is Outlook's default e-mail editor (WordMail)?
Yes, if you are using ZipOut version 2.1.2301 or later. With Outlook 2002 or later, ZipOut command bar buttons are fully integrated with the Standard toolbar for all WordMail formats. Due to limitations in the Outlook 2000 object model, ZipOut command bar buttons will not appear on any message (Inspector) where Word is the e-mail editor. In this case the ZipOut command bar buttons will be available on the ZipOut Toolbar in the Outlook Explorer window.

Mail Format Outlook Editor (Outlook 2000 or later) Word as E-mail Editor (Outlook 2000 only)
Microsoft Outlook Rich Text (RTF) OK OK. No ZipOut Command Bar buttons are available on the Word e-mail Inspector. You can use the ZipOut Command Bar buttons on the ZipOut Toolbar to control the operation of ZipOut on a message by message basis.
Plain Text OK OK. No ZipOut Command Bar buttons are available on the Word e-mail Inspector. You can use the ZipOut Command Bar buttons on the ZipOut Toolbar to control the operation of ZipOut on a message by message basis.
HTML OK OK. No ZipOut Command Bar buttons are available on the Word e-mail Inspector. You can use the ZipOut Command Bar buttons on the ZipOut Toolbar to control the operation of ZipOut on a message by message basis.

Note for Word 2002 or later  With Office XP or later all instances of Word share common toolbars. If you have a message open in Outlook 2002 or later that uses Word as the e-mail editor and then also open a Word document, the ZipOut command bar buttons will appear on the Standard toolbar in both WordMail and the Word document. Ignore the ZipOut command bar buttons on the Standard toolbar in Word.


I use the File Send command in Internet Explorer and select Page by Email. ZipOut does not consistently compress the HTML page. What's happening?
If you attempt to send an HTML page using the File Send command in Internet Explorer and HTML is your default mail format, Outlook will embed the page in the message and no compression will occur. Due to limitations in the Outlook object model, ZipOut will not operate if you use the Send To command in other applications and Outlook is not running. See the table below for supported Send Methods. 

Send Method Outlook Running Outlook Not Running
Outlook Send Supported  Not applicable
Windows Explorer
Send To > Mail Recipient MAPI
Supported  Not operational
Internet Explorer
File > Send > Page by E-mail
Supported in RTF and Plain Text. When you are using HTML as the default mail format, the page is embedded rather than attached. Not operational
Office Application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
File > Send To > Mail Recipient
Not operational on the original document. If additional attachments are added to the original document, then ZipOut will operate on the additional attachments. Not operational
Office Application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
File > Send To > Mail Recipient (As Attachment)
Supported Not operational
Office Application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
File > Send To > Routing Recipient
Not operational  Not operational
Office Application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
File > Send To > Exchange Folder
Not operational Not operational
Managing Attachments in Folders
Why do I see uncompressed attachments in the folder where I just ran Manage Attachments?
There are several reasons why uncompressed attachments appear in a folder. Here are the most common scenarios: 
  1. ZipOut will not compress attachments with extensions that are listed in the Manage Settings dialog box. You can modify the excluded extensions for manage attachments by clicking the Send Settings button in the ZipOut Property Page.
  2. Due to the way Outlook views are cached, the Inspector for the message will not show the compressed attachment until you change the view on the folder. Click the View selector on the Advanced toolbar or use the Current View submenu on the View menu to change the current view. Once you have reset the view on the folder, the Inspector for the item will correctly display the icon for the compressed attachment.
  3. If you have the Outlook E-mail Security Update installed,  Manage Attachments will not operate on items located in Contact folders. These folders will be skipped and will not be included in the Compress Attachments Log.
  4. You did not check the folder that contains the item with uncompressed attachments in the Manage Attachments dialog box.

Why are attachments in my Contacts folder skipped when I use Manage Attachments?

The Outlook E-mail Security Update is installed on your system, preventing programmatic access to items in a Contacts folder. When ZipOut detects this update, attachment management skips folders that contain contact items. You can still compress attachments to individual contact items by checking Contact Items on the ZipOut Property Page.

Indexing and Finding Attachments
Can I index files in folders that are not in my personal mailbox?

When you set up indexing you will see a list of all the available "message stores" in your Outlook profile. Your personal mailbox will always be available, but if you any additional personal folder (PST) files such as an archive file in your profile those will also show up. And if you are connected to a Microsoft Exchange server and have added other users' mailboxes to your profile (assuming you have been granted the rights to do so), those other mailboxes will available for indexing as well. ZipOut will index attachments in all of the folders of each message store that you select.

When the results of a search are returned, ZipOut includes the name of the folder where the attachment is located but not the name of the message store. If the attachment is in a PST file, then you must currently have the PST open in your profile to be able to work with the attachment. If the attachment is in another user's mailbox, as long as you still have rights on that mailbox you will be able to access the attachment, even if you have removed the mailbox from your profile.


How do I search for attachments from someone when I'm not sure of their e-mail address?
Find Attachments gives you two ways to search by message sender.
  1. Use the From button to select one or more names from one or more Address Lists, such as your Contacts folder or your organization's Global Address List. The search will return any message where the sender exactly matches any one of the names that you select.
  2. Alternatively, you can enter a semi-colon delimited list of names or partial names to search against. In this case ZipOut will return messages in which the sender's Display Name or e-mail address contains any one of the names you have entered. For example, if you enter Dan; Tom then your results would include attachments to messages from Dan Smith, Ann Daniels, Tom Engel, Jill Tomlinson as well as peg_allen@alliedatomics.com

I created an index while I was offline. When I go back online, the index does not return the correct results. How can I fix this problem?
Offline indexing is not recommended unless you synchronize all folders and items within those folders. If your index does not return the correct results, you should select Index Attachments on the ZipOut menu or ZipOut shortcut menu and check the Delete Existing Index and Rebuild box.  You can also schedule a task that will delete the existing index and rebuild the index. Select Index Attachments on the ZipOut menu or ZipOut shortcut menu, check the Delete Existing Index and Rebuild box, and then click the Schedule button to create a scheduled task. The Scheduled Task will rebuild the index instead of performing an incremental index.

I log on to my mailbox from a number of different machines. Do I have to regenerate the index each time I change workstations?
No, the index is actually stored in your mailbox so you can access it from any machine where ZipOut is installed. For any profile using that mailbox as the primary message store, you will be searching against the same index. However, if profiles on different machines include different message stores then in some cases all of the results of your search will not be accessible from a particular machine.
ZipOut Dialog Boxes

I lost track of a ZipOut dialog box. Where did it go?

If a ZipOut dialog box is open, the dialog box is shown in the Windows Taskbar. If you cannot find a ZipOut dialog box, look for it on the Windows Taskbar (usually at the bottom of your display).

Windows XP only:

If you turn on Windows XP taskbar grouping, Windows XP groups ZipOut dialog boxes and ZipOut Help with Outlook on the Taskbar. You can turn Windows XP taskbar grouping on or off by right-clicking the Taskbar and selecting Properties from the Taskbar shortcut menu. Clear or check the Group similar taskbar buttons box to turn grouping off or on. For additional information on Windows XP taskbar grouping, see the following KB article:

How to Change the Behavior of Taskbar Grouping

ZipOut is disabled

Outlook displays a message stating that a serious problem occurred and either offers to disable Micro Eye ZipOut, or else to start in Safe Mode. When I start Outlook ZipOut seems to be gone. Even if I re-enable ZipOut in the COM Add-Ins dialog it still doesn't load. What can I do?

Outlook 2003:
  1. Select About Microsoft Outlook on the Help menu.
  2. Click the Disabled Items... button on the About Microsoft Outlook dialog box.
  3. Select ZipOut in the Disabled Items list, and click Enable.
Outlook 2007:
  1. Select Disabled Items... on the Outlook Help menu.
  2. Select ZipOut in the Disabled Items list, and click Enable.
Outlook 2010:
  1. Select the File tab on the Explorer Ribbon.
  2. Click Options in the left-hand navigation pane.
  3. Click Add-Ins in the navigation pane.
  4. Select Disabled Items in the Manage drop-down at the bottom of the page and click Go....
  5. Select ZipOut in the Disabled Items list, and click Enable.

For additional information, please see Enabling ZipOut.

ZipOut Tasks do not run

I used ZipOut to schedule a compress/index attachments task, but the task does not run. Why not?

You must provide a password in order to run the task under Windows XP Professional or Home editions. If you view the Windows Task Scheduler folder, you may see a "Could not Start" status next to the task. For additional information to correct  this problem, please see the following KB article:

Task Scheduler Does Not Run Tasks When "Run As" User Account Has No Password