Earlier this year we moved to Exchange 2013. Still some minor tweaking but all is largely OK.

A good customer has a system that automatically generates and emails Word documents: orders from them, for us to carry out work.  We're currently using a work-around but that is a temporary solution.

All was well until the Exchange move.  Emails came through as Word attachments to the emails and the admin. staff opened them and processed the orders.  Now, ever since the move to Exchange 2013 the email has a scrambled version of the Word document embedded into the body of the email.  The customer has said that we need to fix our system and the problem is at our end.  None of their other suppliers have the same problem.

This has been puzzling me and I'd failed to find a solution.  Another IT pro suggested that software is available that automatically creates documents not using Word but a utility that produces what should be Word compatible documents.  He went on to suggest but that as Microsoft have never released code allowing people to match the format of Word documents precisely, the problem is with the software our customer uses.  The fact that none other of their suppliers has the same problem is probably that none of them is using Exchange 2013!

I need some assurance and an accurate reference point to reinforce what the other pro has suggested.  Has anyone any positive comment (solid eveidence would be great) that I can use to take me out of this problem, please?

Thank you.

I've never known Exchange to do what you're describing.  Are you employing any third-party antivirus or other message hygiene or mail relay system or solution between the Internet and Exchange, and if so, have you tried disabling or removing it?

Hello.

Thanks for the fast response.  The modem router is a Draytek Vigor VDSL device; antivirus is Sophos, which has never caused difficulties like this before.  There is a Barracuda hardware spam filter but that went in later, after the implementation of the server and after the problem first started.  There is nothing else.

Are you aware of any problems with people using software, other than genuine Microsoft Word, to create 'Word' (type) documents?

Thanks again.

Nope.  I would try temporarily removing the devices between the Internet and Exchange to see if the problem goes away.

Thank you. I'll try that later this week / weekend, when I can remove the devices.