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Message Encoding Options

  • Article

Applies to: Exchange Server 2010

The content conversion options that you can set in an Exchange organization can be described in the following categories:

  • TNEF conversion options   These conversion options specify whether Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF) should be preserved or removed from messages that leave the Exchange organization.
  • Message encoding options   These options specify message encoding options, such as MIME and non-MIME character sets, message encoding, and attachment formats.

This topic describes message encoding options that you can specify at the following levels:

  • Remote domain settings
  • Mail user and mail contact settings
  • Microsoft Outlook settings
    • Message format
    • Internet message format
    • Internet recipient message format
    • Message character set encoding options

Message Encoding Options for Messages Sent to Remote Domains

When you configure message encoding options for a remote domain, the specific settings are applied for all messages sent to that domain. For remote domains in your organization, you have the following configuration options for message encoding:

  • Content type   You can specify the content type for MIME messages sent to the recipients in the remote domain. You can use of the following settings:

    • MimeHtmlText   All messages are converted to MIME messages that use HTML formatting, unless the original message is a text message. If the original message is a text message, the outgoing message will be a MIME message that uses text formatting. This is the default setting.
    • MimeText   All messages are converted to MIME messages that use text formatting.
    • MimeHtml   All messages are converted to MIME messages that use HTML formatting.

    Note

    You can only configure this setting using the Exchange Management Shell.

  • Line wrap size   You can specify the maximum number of characters that can exist on a single line of text in the body of the e-mail message. Older e-mail client applications may prefer 78 characters per line.

  • MIME character set   The character set that you specify will only be used for MIME messages that don't have their own character set specified. Setting this parameter won't overwrite character sets that are already specified in the outgoing mail. For a list of valid character set names, see Supported Character Sets for Remote Domain Configuration.

  • Non-MIME character set   This parameter is used if either of the following conditions are true:

    • Incoming messages from a remote domain are missing the value of the charset= parameter in the MIME Content-Type: header field.
    • Outgoing messages to a remote domain are missing the value of the MIME character set.
      For a list of valid character set names, see Supported Character Sets for Remote Domain Configuration.

In Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, you can set the message encoding options for recipients in remote domains in the Shell or on the Remote Domains tab in the Exchange Management Console (EMC). For more information, see the following topics:

Message Encoding Options for Mail Users and Mail Contacts

When you configure message encoding options for a mail contact or a mail user, that option is applied to all messages sent to that specific recipient. For mail contacts and mail users in your organization, you have the following configuration options for message encoding:

  • UsePreferMessageFormat   This parameter specifies whether the message format settings configured for the mail contact override the global settings configured for the remote domain. If you disable this setting, Exchange ignores other message encoding options for this recipient and the message encoding is determined by the configuration of the remote domain or the settings configured by the message sender.
  • MessageFormat   This parameter specifies the message format. You can either specify Text or Mime as the message format. The value of this setting is dependent on the MessageBodyFormat parameter. If the message body format is Html or TextAndHtml, you must set this parameter to Mime.
  • MessageBodyFormat   This parameter specifies the message body format. You can specify Text, Html, or TextAndHtml. The value of this setting is dependent on the MessageFormat parameter. If the message format is Text, you must also set this parameter to Text.
  • MacAttachmentFormat   This parameter specifies the Apple Macintosh operating system attachment format for messages. You can specify BinHex, UuEncode, AppleSingle, or AppleDouble. The value of this setting is dependent on the MessageFormat parameter. If the message format is set to Text, you must set this parameter to either BinHex or UuEncode. If the message format is set to Mime, you must set this parameter to BinHex, AppleSingle or AppleDouble.

You must use the Shell to set the message encoding options for mail users and mail contacts. For more information, see the following topics:

Message Encoding Options Available in Outlook

As a sender, you can specify message encoding options in Outlook at any of the following stages:

  • By configuring the default message format to be either plain text or HTML.
  • By setting the message format as you're composing it to either plain text or HTML using the Format area in the Options tab.
  • By configuring the message encoding options for messages that are sent to all recipients outside the Exchange organization. These options are called Internet message format options. The options only apply to remote recipients, and not to recipients in the Exchange organization. These options can be configured in Outlook by navigating to the Tools > Options > Mail Format, and clicking Internet Format.
  • By configuring the message encoding options for messages that are sent to specific recipients outside the Exchange organization. These options are called Internet recipient message format options. The options only apply to remote recipients in your Contacts folder, and not to recipients in the Exchange organization. These options can be configured for a contact in Outlook by opening that contact and then double-clicking the E-mail field and selecting Send Options.

By default, Outlook uses automatic character set message encoding by scanning the whole text of the outgoing message to determine the appropriate encoding to use for the message. This setting applies to messages that you send to Internet recipients and recipients in the Exchange organization. However, you can bypass this and specify a preferred encoding for outgoing messages. These options can be configured in Outlook by navigating to Tools > Options > Mail Format, and clicking International Options.

Order of Precedence for Message Encoding Options

Exchange 2010 uses the order of precedence as described in the following list to determine the message encoding options for outgoing messages sent to recipients outside the Exchange organization:

  1. Remote domain settings
  2. Outlook settings
  3. Mail user or mail contact settings

The list specifies the order of precedence from lowest to highest. A setting made at a higher level may override a setting made at a lower level.

The following table describes the order of precedence from lowest priority to highest priority for message character set encoding options.

Order of precedence from lowest priority to highest priority for message character set encoding options

Source Parameter Values

Set-RemoteDomain

CharacterSet

Specified

Set-RemoteDomain

NonMimeCharacterSet

Specified

Outlook setting

Message character set encoding
  • Auto-select
  • Specified

The value of the NonMimeCharacterSet parameter from the Set-RemoteDomain cmdlet is used to assign a character set to the following types of messages:

  • Outgoing messages to a configured remote domain that don't contain a specified character set
  • Incoming messages from a configured remote domain that don't contain a specified character set

The value of the Windows ANSI code page for the Hub Transport server is used to assign a character set to the following types of messages:

  • Internal messages that don't contain a specified character set
  • Internal messages that contain a specified character set, but don't contain a specified server code page

If a message contains a specified but invalid character set, the Hub Transport server tries to replace the invalid character set with a valid character set.

The following table describes the order of precedence from lowest priority to highest priority for plain text message encoding options.

Order of precedence from lowest priority to highest priority for plain text message encoding options

Source Parameter Values

Set-RemoteDomain

LineWrapSize
  • From 0 through 132
  • unlimited

Outlook settings

Message format

Plain text

Outlook settings

Internet message format

Plain text options:

  • Encode attachments in UuEncode format when you send a plain text message
  • Automatically wrap text at nn characters

Outlook settings

Internet recipient message format

Plain text format:

  • Encode attachments in UuEncode attachment format
  • Use BinHex Mac attachment format

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

UsePreferMessageFormat
  • $true
  • $false

If the value is $false or if the recipient isn't defined as a mail user or mail contact in the Exchange organization, the mail user or mail contact settings are ignored.

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

MessageFormat

Text

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

MessageBodyFormat

Text

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

MacAttachmentFormat
  • BinHex
  • UuEncode

The following table describes the order of precedence from lowest priority to highest priority for MIME message encoding options.

Order of precedence from lowest priority to highest priority for MIME message encoding options

Source Parameter Values

Set-RemoteDomain

ContentType
  • MimeHtmlText
  • MimeText
  • MimeHtml

Outlook settings

Message format
  • Plain text
  • HTML

Outlook settings

Internet recipient message format

MIME message format

  • Plain text
  • Include both plain text and HTML
  • HTML

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

UsePreferMessageFormat

$true

$false

If the value is $false or if the recipient isn't defined as a mail user or mail contact in the Exchange organization, the mail user or mail contact settings are ignored.

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

MessageFormat
  • Text
  • Mime

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

MessageBodyFormat
  • Text
  • Html
  • TextAndHtml

Set-MailUser

Set-MailContact

MacAttachmentFormat
  • BinHex
  • AppleSingle
  • AppleDouble