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Q175841: XFOR: SMTP Header Discarded with No Message Content

Article: Q175841
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): winnt:5.0,5.5
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): exc5 exc55
Last Modified: 18-DEC-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 5.5, 5.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

When the Microsoft Exchange Server Internet Mail Service receives an inbound
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) message, the message is formatted according
to the header information defined in the Data section of the message (that is,
Subject:, To:, From:).

If the last header line is not followed by a null line, plus a carriage
return/line feed (CR/LF), the last header field will not be displayed to the
recipient of the message.

Some SMTP hosts may send out mail in this format when there is no message
content, and therefore, the above behavior is expected.

The following excerpt from RFC 822 explains the proper header formatting, so that
the message content is separated from the header content consistently.

  3.1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION
  A message consists of header fields and, optionally, a body. The body is
  simply a sequence of lines containing ASCII characters. It is separated from
  the headers by a null line (i.e., a line with nothing preceding the CRLF).


Additional query words:

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Keywords          : exc5 exc55 
Technology        : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange500 kbExchange550 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : winnt:5.0,5.5
Issue type        : kbinfo

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