I have an Exchange Server and often get messages with a blank TO: field
delivered into the inboxes. Does anyone know Exchange is able to route these
messages if there are no recipients?

The reason for my question is that I am developing an app using the Outlook
object model (VB) and would like to extract the 'hidden' recipient(s) from
such messages.

Thanks

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 18:23:02 -0800, Gil wrote:

> I have an Exchange Server and often get messages with a blank TO: field
> delivered into the inboxes. Does anyone know Exchange is able to route these
> messages if there are no recipients?

The recipients were probably Bcc: recipients, which you won't have access
to because they're not stored anywhere. Think of the message as arriving
in an envelope that tells to whom it is to be delivered - the mail server
extracts the message (which doesn't have the Bcc recipients in it) from the
envelope and then throws the envelope away.

--
Jeff Stephenson
Outlook Development
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

Thanks so much for the reply. The info was very helpful.

Does this hold true for a message the sending party addresses to a
distribution list (ie. AA Mail List), and the Exchange Server knows to
deliver to specific mailboxes? The only recipient I see in the message is the
distribution list name (AA Mail List). Is there no way to extract the
specific reciptioens from such a message?


"Jeff Stephenson [MSFT]" wrote:

> On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 18:23:02 -0800, Gil wrote:
>
> > I have an Exchange Server and often get messages with a blank TO: field
> > delivered into the inboxes. Does anyone know Exchange is able to route these
> > messages if there are no recipients?
>
> The recipients were probably Bcc: recipients, which you won't have access
> to because they're not stored anywhere. Think of the message as arriving
> in an envelope that tells to whom it is to be delivered - the mail server
> extracts the message (which doesn't have the Bcc recipients in it) from the
> envelope and then throws the envelope away.
>
> --
> Jeff Stephenson
> Outlook Development
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights
>

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 08:25:02 -0800, Gil wrote:

> Does this hold true for a message the sending party addresses to a
> distribution list (ie. AA Mail List), and the Exchange Server knows to
> deliver to specific mailboxes? The only recipient I see in the message is the
> distribution list name (AA Mail List). Is there no way to extract the
> specific reciptioens from such a message?

That information will not be in the message, either. However, if you have
access to the address book in which that distribution list (DL) is defined,
you can open the address book entry and read the recipients in the DL.

--
Jeff Stephenson
Outlook Development
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights