Attachment Encoding Methods

ISSUE:

What are the Encoding Methods for attachments? What are the differences?

SOLUTION:

With Eudora, you can send attachments by using any of the following methods: MIME, BinHex, Uuencode.

MIME

The MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) standard uses Base64 encoding. It is the newest form of encoding and is a good choice for sending files to either a Macintosh or a Windows computer. It is, without a doubt, the best choice in general (that's why it's the default encoding selection in Eudora). However, since it is a newer standard, some older mail programs don't support it. So if your recipient has trouble reading your MIME attachments, try using the other encoding methods.

On the Macintosh, there are two ways to send MIME attachments, AppleDouble and AppleSingle. Use AppleDouble if you want to send attachments to both Macintosh and PC users. AppleDouble splits the data fork and the resource fork of the file during transport. The resource fork is useless to a PC. Therefore, a PC can trash the resource fork when it receives it and just use the data fork. Use AppleSingle to send attachments only to Macintosh users. Since you often don't know what kind of computer your recipient has, AppleDouble is usually your best choice.

BINHEX

BinHex is a traditional Macintosh method for the encoding of files. It is a good choice when sending Macintosh files to recipients who do not have a MIME compliant mail reader.

UUENCODE

Uuencode is best used only when the recipient asks for it. This mainly occurs when your recipient is using a UNIX or PC mailer that does not support MIME.

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