If the file is received as an attachment then it should be appended with the .doc extension. You can right-click the attachment and "save as" and then open it.

When I get the e mail - I right click and choose 'save page as'- what I get in the word or excel box that comes up is not the file name but instead DisplayMessage.aspx and file type Webpage complete

That is correct, the "save page as" is not saving the file but rather the page itself. How are you receiving this "file", as an attachment or inline? If it is "inline" then you can hilite the text and then paste it into Word for instance. If you could be a bit more specific on how you are receiving this "file" it would help. Also what email service is this, web mail I assume - what provider?

Thanks for getting back to me. Basically I get an e mail on AOL mail and until now no problem - I right click and the option I get then is 'save page as' so that brings up a list of my word or excel files - the 'save as' option box - so you normally get the word or excel file address appearing in the top box and the file extension in the bottom box just as if you were opening a file in word or excel. I've done it thousands of times but it no longer works in Firefox. However if I log directly into AOL and say download and again up comes the excel or word files and no problem - only on Firefox is there an issue and it seems to be since the last update - on both my desktop and laptop

Ok, I might defer to another support guru that is a lot more familiar with AOL mail than I am. Is there a way to right-click on the "file" itself to save as? Try deleting cache and cookies and try again.

Mny thanks for trying anyway - yes you right click on the file itself to download it

When you right-click on the "file" what are the choices?

Edit: This may help:

http://help.aol.com/help/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=220747

Different version of AOL unfortunately - when I right click I have choice of ....back or reload or bookmark or save page as or send link or select all or view page source or view page info or inspect element

So then there is no right-click for saving the file, only the page or an action on the page, etc. That doesn't make sense for some reason. What does this "file" look like in the email, a filename with a link, an attachment or what?

Sorry for the delay - the file just looks like it always did - say Todays post.doc or todays post.xlsx. I have found though that if you click the file itself you get an option to save or open but even if you say to do the same action each time you still get prompted to save or open the next time. I'm not sure what has gone wrong - it used to be fine - and I'm sure there was a 'save file as' option before. Either it is the new version of AOL mail that is at fault or the new version of Firefox - Firefox 10 that has caused this.

If you get a prompt to "save or open" then that is normal. Any change from previously isn't the fault or function of Firefox. "save" and "save file" is the same thing. Looks like you're good to go. Good luck.

Many thanks for your help - I'll see how it goes for a bit.