XADM: Delivery Receipt Has Unknown For TO, SUBJECT and SENT

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you send a message from a Microsoft Exchange site over the X.400 Connector, the delivery receipts are incomplete. It contains the following:

   Your message
   To:              Unknown
   Subject:         Unknown
   Sent:            Unknown

   was delivered to the following recipient(s):

   /o=MICROSOFT/ou=EXCHNGSITE/cn=Recipients/cn=Admin on 1/18/96 3:59:54 PM

CAUSE

This problem occurs if any of the following conditions are met:

• The X.400 Connector is set to operate in 1984 conformance mode.
• The client has a local store as the default delivery location.
• Clear the "Save a copy of the item in the 'Sent Items' folder" check box and send a message.

RESOLUTION

To overcome this limitation of the X.400 specification, Microsoft Exchange uses the Content Corelator attribute. When a message is sent over the Microsoft Exchange X.400 connector, an attribute called the Content Corelator is filled in the envelope of a message. When the X.400 system at the other end of the X.400 Connector generates a report (delivery or read), based on the 1988 X.400 specification, the Content Corelator attribute is returned to the originating system.

MORE INFORMATION

The Microsoft Exchange Information Store uses the Content Corelator to scan for a copy of the message in the Sent Items folder. If a copy is found, the Information Store extracts the TO, SUBJECT and SENT information and is added to the Delivery Report. If a copy is not found, "Unknown" is entered for the TO, SUBJECT and SENT fields.

The Information Store only searches the Sent Items folder in the Server- based Information Store. Local Stores are not searched. Therefore, if the user has the local store set as the default delivery location, "Unknown" is entered for the TO, SUBJECT and SENT field in the delivery receipts from the X.400 Connector.

The 1988 X.400 specification guarantees that the Content Corelator attribute in the envelope is returned to the sender. However, the 1984 X.400 specification does not guarantee this. Therefore, some 1984 compliant X.400 MTAs may not return the Content Corelator attribute in delivery reports. As a result, the Information Store on the sending side enters "Unknown" for the TO, SUBJECT and SENT fields.