Gmail Help

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

Gmail

For Gmail:

1. Log in to Gmail.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click the down arrow next to Reply, at the top-right of the message pane.
4. Select Show original.

The full headers will appear in a new window.

AOL

For AOL:

1. Log in to your AOL account.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click Details under the To field.

The full headers will appear above the message text.

Excite Webmail

For Excite:

1. Log in to your Excite account.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click Mail Preferences in the top right corner, under your email address.
4. On the the Mail Preferences page, click Account Preferences in the Personal section.
5. Check the box next to Display headers, and then click Save.

The full headers for all of your messages will now be available. Return to your inbox, and open the message you'd like to view headers for.

Hotmail

For Hotmail:

1. Log in to your Hotmail account.
2. Click Options next to the tabs.
3. Select Mail from the left-side menu.
4. Click Mail Display Settings.
5. Under Message Headers, select Advanced.
6. Click OK.

The full headers for all of your messages will now be available. Return to your inbox, and open the message you'd like to view headers for.

Microsoft Internet Mail

For Microsoft Internet Mail:

1. Log in to your Microsoft Internet Mail account.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click the File menu, and select Properties.
4. Select the Details tab to display the full headers.

The full headers will appear above the message text.

Netscape Webmail

For Netscape Webmail:

1. Log in to your Netscape Webmail account.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click the yellow triangle in the gray header section (on the right side, under Next >).

The full headers will appear above the message text.

Yahoo! Mail

For Yahoo! Mail:

1. Log in to your Yahoo! Mail account.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click Full Headers at the top of your message.

The full headers will appear above the message text.

Email clients

Eudora

IncrediMail

For IncrediMail:

1. Open IncrediMail.
2. From your inbox, locate the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Right-click the message, and select Properties.
4. Open the Details tab in the dialogue box.

The full headers will appear in the dialogue box.

Mozilla

For Mozilla:

1. Open Mozilla.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click the View menu, and select Message Source.

The full headers will appear in a new window.

Netscape 3 or 4

For Netscape 3:

1. Open Netscape 3.
2. Click the Options menu, and select Show Headers.
3. Select All.

For Netscape 4:

1. Open Netscape 4.
2. Click the View menu, and select Headers.
3. Select All.

The full headers will appear in the window below your inbox.

Opera

For Opera:

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

The full headers will appear in the window below.

Outlook

For Outlook 2007:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Open a message.
3. On the Message tab, in the Options group, click the Dialog Box Launcher icon image.
4. In the Message Options dialog box, the headers appear in the Internet headers box.

For older versions of Outlook:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Open the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Click the View menu, and select Options....

The full headers will appear in a new window.

Outlook Express

For Outlook Express:

1. Open Outlook Express.
2. From your inbox, locate the message you'd like to view headers for.
3. Right-click the message, and select Properties.
4. Open the Details tab in the dialogue box.

The full headers will appear in the dialogue box.