Trying to find the origin of an email? Told to submit “all header lines” to email support? Find out here how to access and view full email headers in Outlook for Mac.
First, an Embarrassing Waste of Time
When you venture wholly into the unknown, some excursions take you to exciting vistas and discoveries, too; some bring one or two pleasant surprises; and some trips are bound to be an embarrassing waste of time.
You cannot, without a guide and map, expect to have the former without also having the latter.
While I remind myself of this metaphorical truth, let’s Venture forth into what Outlook for Mac will not itself let you discover:
How to View Full Email Headers in Outlook for Mac
Time needed: 2 minutes
To access and view all email header lines for a message in Outlook for Mac:
- In the Outlook for Mac message list, click on the message whose header lines you would like to examine with the right mouse button.
- Select View Source from the menu that has appeared.
One way: This is the only way to access headers from within Outlook for Mac. (As an alternative, you can export the email to an EML file and open that in a text editor, of course.)
New and legacy: The command is the same in both the “new” and the “legacy” versions of Outlook for Mac.
- Find the full email header lines starting at the top of the document that opens in TextEdit.
Stops here: The header area ends after the first fully empty line starting from the top.
On Windows? How to View Full Email Headers in Outlook for Windows
How to View the Full Email Header in Outlook for Mac: FAQ
Is there a way to see additional headers in Outlook for Mac itself?
No.
Outlook for Mac always displays (only) the limited amount of header information you get in its message view. It relies wholly on TextEdit to display the full message source—including the header area.
(How to view full email headers tested with Outlook for Mac Version 15.74–16.91; first published July 2023, last updated November 2024)