Microsoft has discreetly incorporated a highly useful yet often overlooked feature - the ability to view email headers. These headers contain a wealth of information that can be extremely beneficial.

• The actual sender's address (unlike the one displayed in the 'From' field, which can be easily tampered with). Imagine receiving an unexpected email from yourbank.com. Although it resembles the usual emails from your bank, you're skeptical. By checking the message headers, you discover that the sender's server is very.suspiciouswebsite.com instead of mail.yourbank.com.
• The sender's time zone. This helps prevent awkward greetings like 'Good morning' during late hours for the recipient.
• The email client used to send the message.
• The servers the email passes through. Similar to postal letters, if the sender and recipient are not on the same website, the email must navigate various checkpoints. These are handled by special email servers that forward the message until it reaches the intended recipient. Each server stamps the message with its timestamp. It’s quite intriguing to see an email from someone in the same room traverse half the globe to reach your inbox. Occasionally, an email might get stuck in one of these servers due to technical issues or inability to locate the next server. Without this knowledge, you might mistakenly accuse the sender of not replying on time.

Each version of Outlook stores email headers in different locations:

To view message headers in Outlook 2010 and later versions:

1. Open the email containing the headers you wish to see.
2. Select the Files tab in the email window.
3. Click on the Properties button.
4. A "Properties" dialog box will appear, showing all message details in the "Internet Headers" field.
5. Even though it's 2013, Microsoft hasn't made the Properties dialog resizable, so the details appear in a small field. I recommend selecting the Internet headers field and pressing Ctrl A to copy the information to the clipboard. You can then paste it into a Word document or Notepad for easier viewing.

How to always have the Properties dialog accessible

The Properties box is a practical tool and it would be beneficial to access it quickly. It can be used to add a digital signature to an email or activate options like "Do not auto archive this item". Additionally, it allows enabling tracking features such as "Request a delivery receipt for this message" and "Request read receipt for this message" to confirm receipt of the email.

1. Navigate to the File tab and select Options from the left menu.
2. In the Outlook Options dialog, choose Quick Access Toolbar.
3. Select All commands from the Choose commands list.
4. Scroll down and select "Message options" (pressing M can speed up the process). Be careful not to confuse it with "Options".
5. Press the "Add >>" button and click OK.
6. Done! Now you can view message headers without opening the email and set options for outgoing emails with just a few clicks.

See email headers in Outlook 2007

1. Open Outlook.
2. Right-click on the email whose headers you want to view in the email list.
3. Select "Message Options…" from the menu.

Find message headers in Outlook 2003

In older Outlook versions without the ribbon interface:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Open the email containing the headers you wish to see.
3. In the message menu, select View > Message headers.
4. The Options dialog, which has remained largely unchanged over the years, will display the details.

Alternatively, you can use the email menu in the main Outlook window and select "Options…" which appears last in the list.

View Internet headers in Gmail

If you read emails online:

1. Log into your Gmail account.
2. Click on the email to view.
3. Click on the down arrow next to the Reply button at the top of the email pane. Select the Show original option from the list.
4. The full headers will appear in a new window.

Find email headers in Outlook Web Access (OWA)

• Log into your inbox via Outlook Web Access.
• Double-click the email to open it in a new window.
• Click on the "Letter" icon.
• In the new window, the message headers will be visible under "Internet Mail Headers".

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