Most of the time all you need is the basic message information – From, To and Subject but occasionally you need to dig a bit deeper into the ‘raw’ email message header. Here’s how to do it in Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003 and before.
Most of the time all you need is the basic message information – From, To and Subject but occasionally you need to dig a bit deeper into the ‘raw’ email message header.
One use for the header information is to see exactly which email address the message was sent to. When a message is sent via email aliases or forwarders it might not be clear what the original address was. Exchange Server users may find the original To address is obscured behind the name of their mailbox account.
A common problem is having different email addresses for various online accounts or sites. If you forget which email address you used for a particular account and the message has been redirected, you can peek into the header and see the exact address the sender used.
You can scroll down to see all the transmission and relay information about that email message. Most of it is complex and we mere humans don’t need to be bothered with it.
In Outlook 2003, 2002 (XP) etc you could go to View | Options and the full message header is there labeled as ‘Internet headers’:
Or right-click on a message in the message list and select ‘Message Options’.
There are various addresses in the header (such as the ‘Delivered-To’ line in the above example). The real address is on the ‘To:’ line further down in the header:
The To: line is usually near the From and Subject lines.
The ‘Date:’ entry should show the date/time the message was sent with the time zone offset.
Message header on Outlook 2007
You can view an email message header in Outlook 2007 but it’s not obvious.
The same ‘Message Options’ menu item is available by right-clicking on the message list – but where is it on the ribbon?
While Outlook 2007 generally doesn’t have the ribbon interface, it is present when you open a message so the familiar ‘pull-down’ menus aren’t there.
While the ribbon looks different, it’s worth remembering that behind the new look are the same dialog boxes that you were accustomed to in earlier versions of Office.
For Outlook 2007 it’s only one click to see the same ‘Message Options’ dialog box that was in Outlook 2003, XP and before. Look on the ribbon to a section labeled ‘Options’ – it will look different depending on the width of the message window but the label will be there.
On the bottom right of the section is a small arrow icon – click on that to go to the Message Options dialog box with Internet header just like Outlook 2003.
