[ICords81]

I am wondering. Can anyone download an attachment from an email. Then copy this attachment via USB to their PC.

This file would be unsupported by any app running on the phone.

The problem is, I am often in areas that do not have WiFi access. I therefore would like to use my phone for file transfers. These files are nothing easy like .docx or .xlsx or anything like pictures.

How does your phone appear to your PC when plugged in by USB?

Thanks

[Ray Adams]

As a flash drive. You can copy anything you want . But you can not open attachment if there are no apps installed which can handle them

[ICords81]

Thank you for responding Ray Adams...unfortunately you are only partially correct. While the phone does appear as a "flash drive", it doesn't appear to support the file types that I am interested in transfering. I would like to download .zip attachments and then access them from this "flash drive". I would like to even do it the other way. Load a .zip file from my PC and then transfer it via usb to my phone, so that I can email it. I have had the phone for a day now, can't figure out how to do it. This is mission critical for my smartphone. If I can't figure out how to do it today, I am going to return the phone and go to Droid...GASP!!! I HATE ANDROID!!! Please help me figure out how to do this! I am also going to contact Microsoft today. I am hoping that they do not want to see a former iOS user switch to WP only to be forced to go to the devil (Android).

The phone is "okay" thus far. I'm a little disappointed. iOS 99% of the time works 100% out of the box. This HTC has a bit of a learning curve, and isn't "ragu". This morning for instance...I had to turn off my bluetooth on the phone inorder for it to resync with my sync allowing me to stream music and make phone call...it only wanted to be a phone for bit ;). Something I live with for the most part...but annoying. I never had to do that with my IPhone.

[Coolknight1968]

Yes... known problem... Did you check out to see if you can find an app that handles .zip files? like Archiver or UnRAR...

[Ray Adams]

Windows phone 8 has restrictions on all what you want form it. Yes, you can transfer .zip to it, but to open you need application. Send by email? Sorry, but email app can only attach images. So if this is mission critical its better to return to android. At this moment you can try other apps which can behave like file system. But they cannot replace real file manager.

[ICords81]

@CoolKnight...uNRar looks promising, but being new to the phone I would like your opinion before I spend 3 dollars on something I might be returning today.

[ICords81]

Where do unsupported files go when I download them from an attached email?

[Ray Adams]

Unsupported files will be deleted if no apps can open it. Until MS create download folder you can do nothing. But as I said you can try other apps. For example try Pocket FTP server. If has local file system , support for skydrive, box, yandex.disk, dropbox. Can open archives like zip, rar, 7z, tar. Can send any files by Bluetooth and has good FTP server to access locally stored files.

[Coolknight1968]

@CoolKnight...uNRar looks promising, but being new to the phone I would like your opinion before I spend 3 dollars on something I might be returning today.

I am like you, I did not want to spend the money. I think you need to ask in the WP8 app forum. Maybe someone knows it. Someone said that this kind of app can only access data on a SD card... You would need a phone with SD card to try it. Why don't you Google it on the web. It says, SD card required under app info.

[Coolknight1968]

Unsupported files will be deleted if no apps can open it. Until MS create download folder you can do nothing. But as I said you can try other apps. For example try Pocket FTP server. If has local file system , support for skydrive, box, yandex.disk, dropbox. Can open archives like zip, rar, 7z, tar. Can send any files by Bluetooth and has good FTP server to access locally stored files.

Da. Interesting piece of Russian Software. Did you try it? Whoever did this, made quite an effort. Own file system, FTP server. But it should look more like a file explorer.

[Ray Adams]

Da. Interesting piece of Russian Software. Did you try it? Whoever did this, made quite an effort. Own file system, FTP server. But it should look more like a file explorer.

I am using it for a lot of things. Good coverage of online storages and mainly because it can send any files via Bluetooth. WP8 has this ability but MS provided nothing to use it.

Btw. It is not Russian software. Having yandex.disk support doesn't make it Russian :) Support was added by requests from Russian users.

[MF73]

I have this issue, work in the graphics industry so have different file extensions than Microsoft software, causes me loads of hassle, generally I love the phone and platform, this is the only major hassle I have, hopefully the next update will address it, just cause there is no app to open a file you should still be able to download it.

[juanitoriv]

GetThemAll, can download media files, pics, vids and tunes to its local storage, then you can upload to your PC on your own WiFi network. There needn't be any internet present for this transfer between devices, just a wireless connection between them. I have an old router I use as a pass through with a USB wireless antenna to connect them up nice when i don't want to use my 8X's hot spot functionality.

Apps are just coming online that allow the upload back to the computer from their local storage. I have successfully downloaded hardware drivers via UCbrowser to its local, then uploaded to Skydrive, changed the file extension to .jpeg, downloaded back to the phone's Picture Hub to then upload to my PC with USB & Explorer. Was a pain though!!

Please know that the above will not work from the native WP8 email hub. You will need to use the above app(s) to access your email to do as I suggested.

I'm optimistic in these dev's ingenuity with ways of utilizing, almost skirting, WP8's rock-solid sandbox approach in ways to get the functionality we're desiring, asking for and sometimes needing.


Hope this helps.

[MF73]

This looks good, but cannot download and save email attachments

[dol4er]

Why don't you just share your phone's internet connection with your PC via WiFi and download all the attachments you need this way...

[juanitoriv]

This looks good, but cannot download and save email attachments

you can. Use these apps to open your email. The actual webmail... Will work that way.

[Coolknight1968]

With Hotmail / Outlook.com ?

[MF73]

Why don't you just share your phone's internet connection with your PC via WiFi and download all the attachments you need this way...

err, because I don't carry a PC around with me...

[MF73]

you can. Use these apps to open your email. The actual webmail... Will work that way.

ah, okay, long winded and a pain, would be much easier if you could just do it direct from your email on your phone, but in an emergency this is a useful workaround.

[jasqid]

I think your best bet is to use SkyDrive and the SkyDrive app. Instead of using the phone as a USB drive, place files in the SkyDrive in which you can share/send to anyone. I understand you want to open unsupported attachments which at this time there is no way, that I know of, that can be done. You'd have to wait for PC access. But again, want I first mentioned at least gets you to send already available files.

[juanitoriv]

With Hotmail / Outlook.com ?

Yeah. Those browsers, and the actual webpage

[juanitoriv]

Update. GeThenAll does do zips..

[juanitoriv]

UCBrowser now allow you to download stuff and save tobmusic hub by changing the extension to .mp3. You can connect with USB then to transfer and just rename the file back to original extension.