Outlook sorting

[rouble]

Hi All,

When Outlook sorts messages, it seems like it sorts them by using the
'Date' header (am I correct?).

Who is responsible for appending the 'Date' header (that local
imap/exchange server or the remote email client)? Can the date header
be wrong ?

Is it possible to sort messages based on arrival ?

Cheers
rouble

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

you can sort by almost any field - just customize the view. R-click on the
row of field names and choose custom to add fields or change the sort order.

 

[rouble]

Hi Diane,

you can sort by almost any field - just customize the view. R-click on the
row of field names and choose custom to add fields or change the sort order.

I understand that. However that is not my question.

My question is that when I use Outlook to sort by the 'Received' field,
what does Outlook use to determine when the email was received ? Does
it use the 'Date' header in the email ?

My followup to that question is, is the 'Date' header reliable ? Or can
it me spoofed by email clients ?

Finally, is it possible to sort emails based on their arrival (like in
pine) ?

Cheers
rouble

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Do you want the arrival time to the mail server or arrival time in Outlook?
The date field used by default is the received time, which is usually the
time the mailbox on the server received it unless the server doesn't
properly add that field. You can try sorting on the last modified time if
you want the time outlook downloaded it - although replying or editing a
message changes the modified time so it's not always accurate.

The received date field is the date your mail server received it unless the
server doesn't stamp it or uses a non-standard format, then it's the date
outlook downloaded it - you should be able to tell which method your account
uses. I believe most accounts use the time it arrived on the server, but I
know a few don't as I had one pop account that used the time I downloaded to
outlook.

the received date is as accurate as your mail server's clock (or outlook)
and no, it can't be spoofed. The send date can be spoofed because the
sending client adds that date although some mail servers replace the sent
time field with the time they actually received it.