Automatic Email Processor - process emails automatically
The complete solution to save and print emails and attachments automatically from IMAP, POP3 and Microsoft 365 accounts

Automatic Email Processor - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This page answers frequently asked questions about Automatic Email Processor. For detailed step-by-step instructions on the program features, please see the online help.

Encrypted emails cannot be decrypted - what to do if the certificate with the private key is missing?

Affected messages in the error log:

  • "The encrypted message cannot be decrypted. The matching certificate with the private key was not found."
  • "No matching private key was found in the personal Windows certificate store of the signed-in user."

Cause: To decrypt S/MIME-encrypted emails, Automatic Email Processor requires your personal certificate including its private key. It must be located in the Windows certificate store "Personal" of the user account under which processing runs. The most common cause of the message: the certificate was transferred without its private key (e.g. exported as a .cer file), or it was imported under a different Windows user account.

How to set up the certificate correctly:

  1. Export the certificate on the computer where it already works (e.g. where you can read encrypted emails in your email program): press Windows key + R, enter certmgr.msc, right-click the certificate under "Personal > Certificates", then select "All Tasks > Export...".
  2. In the export wizard, choose the option "Yes, export the private key" and save the file in PFX format, protected with a password. If the option is grayed out, the certificate was originally installed without an exportable private key; in that case, request the PFX file from the certificate issuer or your IT department.
  3. Import the PFX file on the computer running Automatic Email Processor by double-clicking it: store location "Current User", enter the password, certificate store "Personal" (or let Windows select it automatically).
  4. If processing runs as a Windows service: perform the import under the Windows user account the service runs as - the certificate store is per user account.
  5. Afterwards, process the affected emails again, e.g. via "Catch-up processing...".

Note: A .cer file only contains the public part of the certificate and is not sufficient for decryption - it must be a PFX file including the private key.