Wanted: Simple EML viewer

[app103]

I need something simple, lightweight, no nonsense, and free to view EML files.

I am currently manning the support desk for a web development company and sometimes clients attach .eml files to posts, which I must view in order to understand what they are reporting as bugs.

I don't want or need a full blown desktop email application capable of sending/receiving email, address book, etc...just something to quickly open and view the content of these individual files with.

Anybody have any suggestions?

[Ath]

You must have googled for it, but have you tried these?
http://www.nucleustechnologies.com/eml-viewer.html Seems to be free.
http://www.emlviewer.net/2012/10/eml-file-viewer.html Looks almost the same

[skwire]

April, EML files are plain-text files; you can view them in any text editor.  Or, were you looking for something a bit fancier?

[app103]

April, EML files are plain-text files; you can view them in any text editor.  Or, were you looking for something a bit fancier?

I had no idea. I am and have always been a web mail user (except way back when I was on AOL)

Nice to know I probably don't need anything I don't already have. 

Thanks for the info.

[app103]

Notepad2 worked beautifully. 

[skwire]

I had no idea.

Keep in mind that an EML file contains everything a raw email is made up of e.g., all headers, attachments, etc.  Regarding attachments, because of the way attachments are encoded in email, this can result in a huge amount of what looks like garbled text within the EML file.  Anyway...just some things to consider.  =]

[app103]

Well, attachments are highly unlikely, as these are all from various forms submitted from the clients' websites, so Notepad2 should do just fine.

[skwire]

so Notepad2 should do just fine

Right on.  =]

[Target]

here's another one, just in case...

MailViewer

[app103]

here's another one, just in case...

MailViewer

That one is nice & simple. I'll hold on to it. Thanks! 

[Lintalist]

If you use Total Commander (a shareware dual pane file manager) you can use a plugin http://totalcmd.net/plugring/wlx_msg.html
The plugin may also work with Double Commander (a freeware dual pane file manager very similar to TC)

Advantage of using TC/DC is that you can install a variety of plugins to view a lot of different files quickly without the need to open another program. Here is a screenshot of quick view (showing an image but could be PDF, EML, Word, Excel etc) https://www.ghisler.com/screenshots/en/02.html

[app103]

Advantage of using TC/DC is that you can install a variety of plugins to view a lot of different files quickly without the need to open another program.

Two disadvantages for me would be

1. You probably can't copy text from the previews, and I would need to be able to do that.
2. I really don't like any of the 3rd party file managers I have tried, which includes Total Commander, Directory Opus, XYplorer, and a few others.

It is not a common problem that I would come across files I can't open and need to go find an app that can do it. In fact, it's quite rare, actually. I think my biggest problem these days is when I am sent an attachment that I have to actually go through the trouble of downloading and viewing externally, because I can't use the quickviewer in Zendesk or open it in a browser tab. (most of my work is done in a browser, these days)

[KodeZwerg]

I'd never saw someone wrote no to TC. Very unusual. I do alot of things with TC, or in fact most of everything. In my case, many years ago, i needed a simple Filemanager like MSDOS Norton Commander. My biggest wish was Ftp support, since then there are so much plugins invented. To your textline "need to copy Text", TC's Viewer has several Display modes, Text also.

[Shades]

Mailstore Home is light nor heavy and looks likely too fancy when you start using it. However, it can import all your .eml messages (and attachments!), from which it creates a database that allows you to search quickly through messages and attachments. Once imported you can view the selected message as they are intended. Copy-paste info, attachments etc.

It is freeware and also available as a PortableApp (but you must have the correct .NET version installed in Windows), if that is your thing. Anyway, searches are fast with more search options than I have seen in any mail client, it can even act as a "mail client", but only for receiving messages from an account on a mail server. Myself, I use it for keeping a mail archive spanning over ten years. Most days I receive over more than 100 messages, often with one or more attachments. Searches still only take a few seconds.

Once you have set it up as you like it, you will quickly wonder how you ever managed without it. No other association than being a happy user.

[timlentz]

Have a look at Softaken Free EML Viewer utility to view, open or read EML files. Without installing their respective email client application and it supports all the version of Windows OS.