Configure Outlook to show the original sender in the quarantine mailbox

  • Article

Applies to: Exchange Server 2013

Spam quarantine is a feature of the Content Filter agent that reduces the risk of losing legitimate messages. Spam quarantine provides a temporary storage location for messages that are identified as spam and that shouldn't be delivered to a user mailbox inside the organization.

When a message meets the spam quarantine threshold, it's wrapped in a non-delivery report (NDR) and delivered to the spam quarantine mailbox. Because the quarantined messages are stored as NDRs in the quarantine mailbox, the postmaster address of your organization will be listed as the From: address for all messages. However, having the original sender address, the original recipient address, and the original spam confidence level (SCL) in the field list would make it easier to locate the message you want to recover.

By default, you can't select these fields in Microsoft Outlook. Before you can add these fields in the message view, you must first create an Outlook form that adds the original sender, original recipient, and original SCL as optional fields you can select. After you create this custom form, you can configure Outlook to display these fields in the message view.

What do you need to know before you begin?

  • Estimated time to complete this procedure: 15 minutes.

  • You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure or procedures. To see what permissions you need, see the "Mailbox access" entry in the Mail flow permissions topic.

  • This procedure requires that you've configured the anti-spam quarantine mailbox. For more information, see Configure a spam quarantine mailbox.

  • To access the quarantine mailbox, you need to configure an Outlook profile for that mailbox and then open the mailbox using Outlook. For more information about configuring and using multiple Outlook profiles, see Overview of Outlook e-mail profiles.

  • For information about keyboard shortcuts that may apply to the procedures in this topic, see Keyboard shortcuts in the Exchange admin center.

Tip

Having problems? Ask for help in the Exchange forums. Visit the forums at Exchange Server.

Step 1: Use Notepad to create a custom Outlook form

  1. Open Notepad, and copy the following code into the document.

    [Description]
MessageClass=IPM.Note
CLSID={00020D31-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
DisplayName=Quarantine Extension Form
Category=Standard
Subcategory=Form
Comment=This form allows the Original Sender (ReceivedRepresentingEmailAddress), Original Recipient (To), and Original SCL (OriginalScl) values to be viewed as columns.
LargeIcon=IPML.ico
SmallIcon=IPMS.ico
Version=3.0
Locale=enu
Hidden=1
Owner=Microsoft Corporation
Contact=Your Name

[Platforms]
Platform1=Win16
Platform2=NTx86
Platform9=Win95

[Platform.Win16]
CPU=ix86
OSVersion=Win3.1

[Platform.NTx86]
CPU=ix86
OSVersion=WinNT3.5

[Platform.Win95]
CPU=ix86
OSVersion=Win95

[Properties]
Property01=ReceivedRepresentingEmailAddress
Property02=DisplayTo
Property03=OriginalScl

[Property.ReceivedRepresentingEmailAddress]
Type=31
NmidInteger=0x0078
DisplayName=ReceivedRepresentingEmailAddress

[Property.DisplayTo]
Type=31
NmidInteger=0x0E04
DisplayName=DisplayTo

[Property.OriginalScl]
Type=3
NmidPropset={41F28F13-83F4-4114-A584-EEDB5A6B0BFF}
NmidString=OriginalScl
DisplayName=OriginalScl

[Verbs]
Verb1=1

[Verb.1]
DisplayName=&Open
Code=0
Flags=0
Attribs=2

[Extensions]
Extensions1=1

[Extension.1]
Type=31
NmidPropset={00020D0C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
NmidInteger=1
Value=1000000000000000

  2. Save the file in your Office Forms folder using the following values:

    • Path: <Office Install Path>\<OfficeVersion>\Forms\<LCID>

      • <Office Install Path>: For 32-bit versions of Office on 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows, or 64-bit versions of Office on 64-bit versions of Windows, the default path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office. For 32-bit versions of Office on 64-bit versions of Windows, the default path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office.

      • <OfficeVersion>: For Outlook 2007, the value is Office12. For Outlook 2010, the value is Office14. For Outlook 2013, the value is Office15.

      • <LCID>: This is your locale ID (LCID) value. For example, the LCID for US English is 1033. For more information, see Language identifiers and OptionState Id values in Office.

    • Name: For the rest of this procedure, assume the file is named QTNE.cfg. The name of the file isn't important, but be sure to enclose the value in quotation marks so the file is saved as QTNE.cfg and not QTNE.cfg.txt.

    For example, for a 32-bit US English version of Outlook 2013 installed on a 64-bit version of Windows, save the file as:

    "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\Forms\1033\QTNE.cfg"

Note

If Windows User Access Control (UAC) prevents you from saving the file in the correct location, save it first to a temporary location, and then copy it.

Step 2: Configure Outlook to use the custom Outlook form

Use one of the following procedures based on the version of Outlook that's installed on your computer.

Configure Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013

  1. In Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013, click File > Options > Advanced.

  2. In the Developers section, click Custom Forms.

  3. In the Options dialog box, click Manage Forms.

  4. In the Forms Manager dialog box, click Install. Browse to the location of the QTNE.cfg file, select it, and click Open. In the Form Properties dialog box, review the information, and then click OK to install the Quarantine Extension Form in your Personal Forms library.

  5. In the Forms Manager dialog box, click Close. Click OK twice to close the remaining dialog boxes and return to the main Outlook interface.

  6. On the Home tab in the Mail view of the Inbox, right-click the column heading row (you may need to expand the width of the message list to see the columns), and then select View Settings.

  7. In the Advanced View Settings dialog box, click Columns.

  8. In the Show Columns dialog box, in the Select available columns from drop-down list, scroll to the end of the list and select Forms.

  9. In the Select Enterprise forms for this folder dialog box, in the Selected Forms field, select Message and click Remove. In the Personal Forms field, select Quarantine Extension Form, and then click Add. When you are finished, click Close.

  10. In the Show Columns dialog box, in the Available Columns section, select one or more of the following fields and click Add after each field you select.

    • ReceivedRepresentingEmailAddress: Original sender

    • DisplayTo: Original recipient (note that this appears as To after you add it)

    • OriginalScl: Original SCL

    Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to position the columns in the view. For best results, position the three new fields after the Attachment field, and before the From field. When you are finished, click OK twice to return to the main Outlook interface.

Configure Outlook 2007

  1. In Outlook 2007, click Tools > Options.

  2. In the Options dialog box, click the Other tab, and then under General, click Advanced Options.

  3. In the Advanced Options dialog box, click Custom Forms, and then in the Custom Forms dialog box, click Manage Forms.

  4. In the Forms Manager dialog box, click Install. Browse to the location of the QTNE.cfg file, select it, and click Open. In the Form Properties dialog box, review the information, and then click OK to install the Quarantine Extension Form in your Personal Forms library.

  5. Close the Forms Manager dialog box, and then click OK three times to close the remaining dialog boxes and return to the main Outlook 2007 interface.

  6. In the Mail view of the Inbox, right-click the column heading row (you may need to expand the width of the message list to see the columns), and then select Customize Current View.

  7. In the Customize View: Messages dialog box, click Show Fields.

  8. In the Show Fields dialog box, in the Select available fields from drop-down list, scroll to the end of the list and select Forms.

  9. In the Select Enterprise forms for this folder dialog box, in the Selected Forms field, select Message and click Remove. In the Personal Forms field, select Quarantine Extension Form, and then click Add. When you are finished, click Close.

  10. In the Show Fields dialog box, in the Available Fields section, select one or more of the following fields and click Add after each field you select.

    • ReceivedRepresentingEmailAddress: Original sender

    • DisplayTo: Original recipient (note that this appears as To after you add it)

    • OriginalScl: Original SCL

    Use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to position the columns in the view. For best results, position the three new fields after the Attachment field, and before the From field. When you are finished, click OK twice to return to the main Outlook 2007 interface.

How do you know this worked?

You know this procedure worked if you can see the original sender, original recipient, or original SCL values for quarantined messages in the spam quarantine mailbox using Outlook.