Forward Message Headers

Owned by Sean Stockburger (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 24, 2020

Forwarding message headers to the Help Desk provides us with information that helps trace the origin of a suspicious message. 


Outlook in a web browser (OWA)

From your Outlook inbox

  1. Select the message to view it (or double-click to open it in a new window)
  2. Click the ELLIPSIS (...) to the right of the the REPLY and FORWARD buttons and select VIEW > View message details
  3. Select and copy the text displayed in the message details window (to select all text, press Ctrl-A in Windows or Command-A on a Mac)
  4. Paste the text into a new message to helpdesk@wwu.edu, or to the technician who requested the headers. 

Outlook 2016 for Windows

  1. Double-click the message to open it in a new windows
  2. Click FILE > PROPERTIES
  3. Copy all text in the Internet Headers section

 Outlook 2016 for macOS

  1. Right-click (or Control-Click) the message and select VIEW SOURCE
  2. Copy all source text


Most other email apps provide some way to view headers as well, so you may need to check the help documentation for the email client you are using if it is not one of the Outlook clients. Mobile clients do not always provide a way to view headers, so it is easiest to do this from a laptop or desktop computer.