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Viewing the full headers of an email

The full headers of an email (also known as 'raw headers' or just 'headers') are not shown by default in most email clients. However, once in awhile we'll need these to troubleshoot email deliverability issues, fight spam & the information within them becomes vital.

Periodically Fused may ask you for the headers of an email. Depending on which mail client you use, the instructions will differ heavily.

For those amongst us who use screen readers, headers start with the words "Return-Path".

If you use IMAP for connectivity, often we can retrieve the headers of messages on your behalf if you haven't deleted them already, simply provide us the subject line.

View the full headers of an email for Windows Email clients

Outlook

Outlook (Latest Version)

  1. Double click the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Select file.
  3. Select the Info tab
  4. Click the Properties button
  5. The Full Headers will appear in the Internet headers field

Outlook (Older versions)

  1. Double click the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Select the Info tab
  3. Click the Properties button
  4. The Full Headers will appear in the Internet headers field

Thunderbird

  1. Double click the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Click the Other Actions button
  3. Select View Source
  4. The Full Headers will appear in a new window

View the full headers of an email for Mac Email clients

Apple mail

  1. Select the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Go to the View menu
  3. Select Message, then Raw Source
  4. The Full Headers will appear in a new window

Airmail

  1. Select the message you would like to view the full headers for
  2. Go to the View Menu
  3. The full headers will appear in a new window.

Outlook for Mac

  1. Select the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. [control] + click (or right click) the message
  3. Select View Source
  4. The Full Headers will appear in a new window

Postbox

  1. Select the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Go to the View menu
  3. Select Message Source
  4. The Full Headers will appear in a new window

Thunderbird

  1. Select the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Go to the View menu
  3. Select Message Source
  4. The Full Headers will appear in a new window

View the full headers of an email in Webmail

RoundCube

  1. Double click the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Click the small "Toggle raw message headers" triangle
  3. The Full Headers will appear in a panel

Gmail

  1. Log into Gmail account and open the email for which you want to see the full headers.
  2. Click on the Three Dots: In the upper right corner of the email, you'll see three vertical dots (More). Click on this icon to open a dropdown menu.
  3. Select "Show Original": In the dropdown menu, you will find an option that says "Show original". Click on this option. This will open a new tab or window in your browser, showing the full headers and the raw content of the email.

Hotmail (now outlook.com)

  1. Open the Email: First, log into your Hotmail or Outlook.com account. Navigate to your inbox and open the email for which you want to see the full headers.
  2. Click on the Three Dots: Look for the three dots (More actions) in the top-right corner of the email pane. Click on these dots to reveal a dropdown menu.
  3. Select "View Message Source": In the dropdown menu, there should be an option labeled "View message source" or something similar. Click on this option.

Horde

  1. Double click the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Click the View Source link
  3. The Full Headers will appear in a new window

SquirrelMail

  1. Click the subject link in the message you would like to view Full Headers for
  2. Click the View Full Header link in the message Options
  3. The Full Headers will appear in a new window