How to view message headers?

Headers contain tracking information for an individual email, detailing the path a message took as it crossed mail servers. The steps to find the detailed message header are different across various webmail provider and email client. Below are the steps for your reference:

Webmail providers

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 pane.
• Select Show Original.The full headers will appear in a new window.

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.

Excite

• 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 for all of your messages will appear in a new window.

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.

Yahoo Mail

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

Email clients

Apple Mail

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

Mozilla

• Open Mozilla.
• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.