SAS email won't attach PowerPoint slide

[bijayadhikar]

I generated a PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) using the ODS PowerPoint destination and properly closed it with:

ods powerpoint close;

I use SAS 9.4 with EG 8.5. The PPTX file is created successfully and opens normally from Windows Explorer. The file size on disk is approximately 1.5 MB (1,495 KB).

However, when I send the same PPTX as an email attachment using the SAS Email engine, the recipient receives a much smaller file (approximately 514 bytes). When they try to open it, PowerPoint prompts to repair the file and then fails to open it.

There are no errors in the SAS log.

Troubleshooting completed:

• SAS can locate the file (FILEEXIST=1).
• SAS can read the file and reports the correct size (~1.5 MB).
• The PPTX opens normally from Windows Explorer.
• The network path is valid and accessible.
• PDF files attached from the same folder and using the same email code work correctly.
• FCOPY successfully copies the PPTX to a local WORK directory (RC=0).

Based on these tests, it appears the issue may be related to how the SAS Email engine is attaching .pptx files rather than a problem with the PowerPoint file itself.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue with .pptx attachments being truncated or corrupted when sent through the SAS Email engine? If so, were there any recommended workarounds or configuration changes?

[Quentin]

You might try something like zipping the pptx file before emailing it, if you suspect it's getting corrupted by SAS or your mail server.   Maybe that's a silly idea, since pptx is literally a zip file.  

You could try changing the extension on the .pptx to something neutral like .txt in case your email system has blocker on sending .pptx files.

If you have IT support, you might want to check with them to see if they can see if the mail server logs say anything interesting.

I guess it's possible SAS somehow munged the file during upload.  If you do a simple .pptx with just one slide from PROC PRINT, does the email work?