Guide: Get Email Message Headers

Issue/Question

  • How do I get full message headers on an email message?

Environment

  • Oregon State University
  • Exchange/Outlook

Explanation

Full email headers are usually not visible when reading an email message. The full headers include things such as "Received" lines that show which servers touched a message as it transited the Internet. Full headers are useful for troubleshooting mail delivery, formatting and spam filtering issues.

Resolution

Outlook for Windows

  1. In Outlook, open the message in the Junk Mail folder
  2. Select File, Properties
  3. Click anywhere in the box labeled "Internet Headers"
  4. Press Ctrl-A to select all text, and then Ctrl-C to copy to clipboard
  5. Close the Properties window
  6. Open a new message (for example, to your IT team)
  7. In the message body, press Ctrl-V to paste the clipboard contents

Outlook for Mac

  1. Select Message in Outlook for Mac
  2. Right-click the message in the Junk Mail folder
  3. View Source
  4. Select All (Command - a)
  5. Copy (Command -c)
  6. Open a new message (for example, to your IT team)
  7. In the message body, press Command-V to paste the clipboard contents

Outlook on the Web

  1. In Outlook on the web, open the message in the Junk Mail folder
  2. Click on the More Options (looks like three dots) icon next to the reply and forward buttons
  3. Select View, View Message Details
  4. Click anywhere in the Message Details box
  5. Press Ctrl-A to select all text, and then Ctrl-C to copy to clipboard
  6. Close the Message Details window
  7. Open a new message (for example, to your IT team)
  8. In the message body, press Ctrl-V to paste the clipboard contents

Apple Mail

  1. In Apple Mail, select the message in the Junk Mail folder
  2. Select View Menu -> Headers -> All Headers
  3. Select All (Command - a)
  4. Copy (Command - c)
  5. Open a new message (for example, to your IT team)
  6. In the message body, press Command-V to paste the clipboard contents

Thunderbird

  1. In Thunderbird, open the message in the Junk or Spam folder
  2. In the upper-right corner, select More, View Source
  3. Click anywhere in the Source window
  4. Press Ctrl-A to select all text, and then Ctrl-C to copy to clipboard
  5. Close the Source window
  6. Open a new message (for example, to your IT team)
  7. In the message body, press Ctrl-V to paste the clipboard contents

Assistance

For assistance, contact the Service Desk.

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