File Format & Compatibility

Fix Outlook MSG Files Opening as Garbled Text from Excel Macros

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to fix an issue where email messages generated by an Excel macro display incorrectly after being saved locally.

Product: Microsoft 365 Outlook / Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Saving macro-generated email messages to a local drive as MSG files and subsequently reopening them in Outlook.
Observed behavior: The macro-generated messages display correctly initially in Outlook, but the text becomes garbled when the locally saved MSG files are reopened.

Before you start

Ensure your Microsoft 365 apps are fully updated, as recent updates often contain patches for character encoding and file-saving glitches in Outlook.

Solution 1Recommended

Test with a New Windows User Profile

Determine if the garbled text issue is caused by corrupted Outlook settings or configuration conflicts within your current Windows profile.

Since the macro-generated message displays correctly before saving, the issue often stems from how the current user profile's Outlook configuration handles saving or encoding MSG files locally rather than the macro itself.

Create a new user profile

Open Windows Settings, navigate to Accounts > Family & other users, and add a new local user account with administrator privileges.

Log into the new profile

Sign out of your current Windows session and sign in using the newly created account credentials.

Replicate the macro process

Open Excel and Outlook in the new profile, run your macro to generate the email, save it to your local drive as an MSG file, and reopen it to verify if the text remains legible.

Profile Issue: If the file opens correctly in the new profile, your original Windows user profile or Outlook application data is likely corrupted and may need to be rebuilt.

Solution 2

Troubleshoot the Excel VBA Macro Encoding

Investigate if the VBA macro is injecting non-standard characters or formatting that corrupts the MSG file encoding upon saving.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do MSG files show garbled text when opened?

Garbled text in MSG files typically occurs due to a character encoding mismatch. This happens when the encoding used to write the file (like UTF-8 or ANSI) isn't properly recognized by Outlook when reopening the file, often due to corrupted profile settings or complex HTML injected by macros.

Can I fix the text encoding directly in Outlook?

Yes, if the text is merely displaying incorrectly due to encoding, you can sometimes fix it by opening the email in Outlook, going to the Message tab, selecting Actions > Other Actions > Encoding, and choosing a different standard such as Unicode (UTF-8).

Are Excel macros fully supported for creating Outlook emails?

Yes, Excel VBA macros are fully supported for automating Outlook emails. However, if the macro creates complex HTML bodies or relies on external data sources with distinct character sets, saving those generated emails locally as MSG files can sometimes trigger rendering bugs in Microsoft 365.

Document & File Issues