Where is the view message source option for Outlook gone?

Question

Up until a very recent "patch", there was a "view message source" option on the right click menu - without having to open the email. This is now gone.

This functionality is essential for detecting phishing emails. Who was the genious that thought it was a great idea to remove it?

And How the hell can I view a message source withotu actually opening the email (and triggering any embeded links that allow tracking/trojans)?

Answer 1

You have to be kidding me! First, they changed the Edge mobile browser so the full URL is just truncated, so you barely know what website you're on and now they're removing "view source" so you can't even inspect the email without first downloading it??

They're going full Apple and treating us like children and taking away our ability to know what's going on because they think they know what's best for us.

PUT IT BACK. Stop crippling things to pander to simpletons.

Answer 2

have two Outlook accounts, one work and one personal. Both accounts are displayed in both the app and on the web. My job involves very high security, typically at the top secret level, so IT has added security to my work account.

If I right-click on an email in my personal account, I get "View message source". I use this all the time to report spam to Spamcop.

If I right-click on an email in my work account in the same program, I get "View message details" because the security on my account doesn't allow me to view the source.

If you can't see the full source, you should find out what kind of security has been added to your account. It may affect what you can see in your emails.

Answer 3

On the thread, "Where has the 'view message source' ability gone from Outlook?" --
Thanks, Jorick23 [https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/profile/c5a76bda-af46-43c9-a535-4b559275af7f/] for the information you posted on July 16th, 2025 about this. I appreciate your help and examples. Your info suggests you are working in an IT world above my pay grade - but I gathered some comparisons from the odd variety of software I'm running to see if anything turns on a light bulb:
The system that frustrates me now is "Classic Outlook" from a newly-purchased MS Office 2021 suite. It's running on a 10-month-old Dell XPS 8960. I had Office installed by the local Micro Center. It took some doing to stop New Outlook from taking over all the time, but I got there. This Outlook is "Microsoft® Outlook® 2021 MSO (Version 2503 Build 16.0.18623.20116) 64-bit"
There is no "view source" command in the Classic Outlook e-mail ribbon menus, nor the three-dot secret codelets which are a new low in human communications, or any drop-down that I can find. On August 17, 2023 in the MS Support Community Logan Price1 stated that if one right-clicks in an open space in the received mail a "View Source" choice drops down. In Classic Outlook, the e-mail often suggests you view it in your Web Browser. If you do that, and if in the browser display you right-click and pick "View Page Source" the source code for the HTML body of the e-mail is displayed, but none of the IP message origin and transmission information. And by then, you have opened the file. This may be different in "New" Outlook; I do not know.
Jorick23, your situation is puzzling. Are you running "New" Outlook? For security I use ESET Smart Security Premium. I've been using ESET for 15 years and been pleased with it - and it has never blocked my ability to "view message source" before.
This user problem has been raised many times. One thread was Created on May 21, 2024 by RNonay. RNonay got several replies, but no solution to his problem, from Microsoft Community Moderator Eben Ezer Tres. As Mr. Tres pointed out, in classic Outlook one can open the message and navigate "File" \ Properties..." and see the Internet Headers. One can NOT see the entire source code for the message by this method. I agree with RNonay's response on 22May24, that seeing only the Internet Headers is not adequate. Mr. Tres - wordy but not helpful - suggested installing an entirely different Microsoft program - which ONLY LOOKS at HEADERS. Totally missing the point.
Jorick23, feel free to laugh at these examples, but: Using Outlook Express 6 on a Windows XP SP3 system, I can scroll down the list of messages in Inbox, select one, and right-click. A drop-down list appears. "Properties" is at the bottom." Click that; in the window that appears, pick the "Details" tab. Click the "Message Source" button, and a pane opens with the ENTIRE source code, from the spam-filter-evading lines in the header to the dot-ru sender domain. Full Outlook 2003 provides the same ability. Microsoft Mail in Vista - the same. Please, Microsoft, restore this simple service to Outlook - Classic, "New," and the "Post-Modern" Outlook I am sure you are preparing to issue so you can declare end-of-support for what we already paid for. Please. Phil_H.

Answer 4

Please look at my post from March 18, 2025: This is how you get the full content:

I was also looking for the WHOLE source code of the email, including MIME-types of attachments etc.

It worked for me using the office.com-Outlook in the browser using https://outlook.office.com/.

Open the email there (double click) -> use the 3 dots in right corner (the lower ones in the same height as the sender address) -> Download -> Download as EML.

This one is readable in any editor (much better than the msg-format) and it seems to have it all, including attachments.