Duncan
RTF is hardly a step forward in terms of useless formatting included in the file - all the formatting information of every style (in use or not) is also in the rtf format and the graphics are all described as text as well which could massively blowout the filesizes.

Are you saying the recipient can't open the file direct from the email but if they detach the file and then try they can?

When sending many attachments through email, a hidden setting gets added to the file by the receiving application (ie Outlook). This setting tells Word to open the document in read-only mode in an effort to prevent possible virus infection on the receiver's machine. The same thing happens if you download a file from the internet. I know you feel like this is a bad thing but perhaps if your machine has been infected by a virus in the past you might feel otherwise.

Word is not assuming EVERY document is a potential source of virus - just the ones that come from email or web sources since those ones might not have come from a trusted supplier.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia