XFOR: MSMail Read-Receipts Missing Data Across Organizations

- Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0

SYMPTOM

When you send a mail message from a Microsoft Mail 3.x client to a Microsoft Exchange user in a different organization with a read-receipt request, the result is a read-receipt returned that is missing the To and Subject fields.

Also, mail sent from Microsoft Exchange to a Microsoft Mail user across a different organization with a read-receipt request will result in the following returned receipt:

   Your message

      To:   Unknown
      Subject: Unknown
      Sent: Unknown

   was read on 11/8/96 8:36:00 AM.

CAUSE

The Microsoft Mail client generates and responds to Read Receipts using MAPI commands. These commands are encapsulated by Exchange in the MDBEF format when they arrive in Exchange. However, when going to another Exchange organization, they are converted to a native X.400 format, and the MDBEF properties are stripped out.

The Microsoft Mail client cannot compensate for this X.400 limitation, because it does not know how to properly encode the message using standard X.400 flags for the handling of read receipts.

RESOLUTION

The only current workaround for this Microsoft Mail client limitation is to include all of the computers in the same organization running Microsoft Exchange Server so that the MDBEF can be preserved and the read receipt will maintain its proper format.