Introduction

This article shows you how to see the email header. Headers contain tracking information for an individual email, detailing the path a message took as it crossed mail servers. Select your webmail provider or email client below for instructions on finding headers for a message.

Webmail providers :

  1. Gmail
    • Log in to Gmail
    • Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click the down arrow next to Reply, at the top of the message panel.
    • Select Show Original.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  2. AOL
    • Log in to your AOL account.
    • Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • In the "Action" menu, select View Message Source.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  3. Excite Webmail
    • Log in to your Excite account.
    • Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click the View Full Headers icon located on the right of the "From:" line.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  4. Hotmail
    • Log in to your Hotmail account.
    • Select Inbox from the left-side menu.
    • Right-click the message you'd like to view headers for and select View Message Source.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  5. Yahoo! Mail
    • Log in to your Yahoo! Mail account.
    • Select the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click the Actions drop-down and select View Full Header.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

Other webmail application :

  1. Squirrelmail
    • Log into SquirrelMail.
    • Double click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Under Options, click on View Full Header.
  2. Atmail - Simple (Any Browser)
    • Log into Atmail - Simple (Any Browser).
    • Double click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click on View Headers inside the left menu.
  3. Atmail - Simple (Ajax)
    • Log into Atmail - Simple (Ajax).
    • Double click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click on View Headers inside the left menu.
  4. Atmail - Advanced (Mozilla)
    • Log into Atmail - Advanced (Mozilla).
    • Double click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click on the View Headers icon in the top menu. The icon is an envelope in front of a piece of paper.
  5. Atmail - Advanced (IE6+)
    • Log into Atmail - Advanced (IE6+).
    • Double click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click on the View Headers icon in the top menu. The icon is an envelope in front of a piece of paper.
  6. Horde
    • Log into Horde Webmail.
    • Click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click the Message Source link in the text menu at the top of the message.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  7. Roundcube
    • Log into Roundcube Webmail.
    • Click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click on the Show Source icon. The icon is a piece of paper with a S on the front.

Email clients :

  1. Apple Mail
    • Open Apple Mail.
    • Click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Go to the View menu.
    • Select Message, then Long Headers.
    The full headers will appear in the window below your inbox.

  2. Thunderbird
    • Open Thunderbird.
    • Click on the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click the View menu, and select Message Source.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  3. Opera
    • Open Opera.
    • Click the message you'd like to view headers for so it displays in the window below your inbox.
    • Click Display all headers, across from the To field.
    The full headers will appear in the window below.

  4. Outlook
    • Open Outlook.
    • Open the message by double-clicking on it.
    • Click on the File tab.
    • Click on Properties.
    • In the Properties dialog box, the headers appear in the Internet headers box.
  5. For older versions of Outlook
    • Open Outlook.
    • Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Click the View menu, and select Options.
    The full headers will appear in a new window.

  6. Outlook Express
    • Open Outlook Express.
    • From your inbox, locate the message you'd like to view headers for.
    • Right-click the message, and select Properties.
    • Open the Details tab in the dialogue box.
    The full headers will appear in the dialogue box.

  7. Microsoft Entourage
    • Open Entourage.
    • Double click the message you'd like to view headers for so it displays in the window below your inbox.
    • Select View from the menu and click on Internet Headers.
    • You may need to use your mouse to pull down on the line below the header so that the entire header is visible.