Entourage Read Receipt
Ever sent an email and wondered if it arrived? In this age of dodgy spam filters and abandoned email addresses, the disappearance of emails is a growing problem. Wouldn’t it be good if there were some way of finding out?
Fortunately, some clever people have already thought of a solution: the “Disposition-Notification-To” (DNT) email header. What does this do? If you add this, invisibly, to your email message, any compliant email program will send you back an email to tell you the message has been received or read.
Note the word ‘compliant’ there. Unfortunately, Entourage X and 2004 – unlike their Windows-based cousin, Outlook – don’t have a facility for easily adding the DNT header to email messages, although you can configure any of your email accounts to add the header to every message you send out; they also ignore requests for ‘read receipts’ in any incoming emails.
This is where this package of scripts comes in. Included is a script for detecting the DNT header in incoming messages and sending back a standards-compliant read receipt that includes both human and machine-readable notifications that you’ve received the message. There are also two scripts for adding the DNT header to your own outgoing messages: one that simply toggles the header on and off for each of your email accounts (if the account already has the DNT header it’s removed, without affecting any other headers you might have; if the account doesn’t yet have the DNT header, it’s added); and one that lets you pick which accounts you want the headers added to.
For more information about read receipts and Entourage – and some caveats about their use – please visit http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq_topic/return_receipt.html.System requirements
- Entourage X/2004
Download the latest version (1.0)
Support
Email me at
| Version history | |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | No bugs reported, so it must be all right! |
| 1.0b1 | Initial release. No testing done with Entourage X. Let me know if you have any problems with any of it! |
Last updated: May 1, 2008
Comments
I made all as descrived but it wprk only with entourage owner; if i send a receive request to outlook owner, he doesn't see it...
Thank you,
Stefano
stefano sasso | August 9, 2007 2:51 PM | Reply
It works just fine with Outlook recipients: I get responses from them all the time. It's probably that the people you're sending messages to haven't got Outlook configured to send back read receipts or they're being filtered by an email server at some point. Please read the caveats hyperlink above.
Have just tested this with Entourage 2008 and working okay here with both Entourage and Outlook recipients.
Anonymous | June 3, 2008 11:50 AM | Reply
I've followed the instructions closely, but no Attachment is appearing in the message. When I select "Return Receipt Script" under the "Read Receipt" script menu, I am getting the following error:
Microsoft Entourage got an error: Can't get headers.
Any help?
JBerg | December 23, 2008 9:36 PM | Reply
No attachment should appear in the message. You also shouldn't try to run Return Receipt Script directly from the Script Menu - it should be run as a message rule otherwise you'll get the error described. The other two scripts are for adding headers to your own messages.
HI ppl,
I really hope someone can help me. I have done all the neccessary steps that are posted to make the Enotourage read receipt work but am still not able to receive a report back.
DNT header using toggle return receipt script show all accounts are on.
i even tried to do it manually by going into each account i have set up and go to options and make sure all necessary steps are taken.
im very computer literate and know i have gone over and over again but still to no avail.
has anyone else occurred the same issues as me.
kind regards
alex
Alexander | January 7, 2009 3:35 PM | Reply
Just because you've set it request a read receipt doesn't mean you're going to get a receipt back. If you're sending to someone using Entourage, for example, they'll need to have their computer up using this script, too. Please see the link above
just sent a message to a friend who has outlook and it does work. but what i dont understand is i have 5 accounts set up in entourage and when i send a message from one account to another through my entourage i dont get the request.
thanks for your help
Alexander | January 7, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply
Have you set up the answering script as per the instructions?
can you possible forward on what you actually mean by the answering script?
i believe i have done everything the instructions say but just incase
alexander | January 7, 2009 3:50 PM | Reply
The "Return Receipt Script". Entourage ignores requests for read receipt because it doesn't look for them so the Return Receipt Script has to process each message, look for the header and then send an email back containing the receipt. You need to set up a mail rule as per the instructions to do this. It's usually safest to run it as the first mail rule as well.
ive done this but still to no avail
alexander | January 7, 2009 4:09 PM | Reply
rob tell a lie, it does work sorry,
do i have to do this for every account and once i click yes it goes straight to outbox.
is there anyway of entourage deleting the read receipts automatically like outlook 2008
alexander | January 7, 2009 4:15 PM | Reply
You shouldn't have to do it for every account, just every type of account (ie POP, IMAP, Hotmail, Exchange).
You should be able to set an outgoing mail rule to delete any message that has an attachment and whose subject starts with "Read: "
thanks rob your a star, do you know how i can empty the deleted item box when i close down entourage, again same with outlook 2008. i tried to look under rules but no option for this.
thanks again
alexander | January 7, 2009 4:44 PM | Reply
You can set up a schedule (Tools>Run Schedule>Edit Schedule) that runs "On quit" set to "Delete Mail" from "Delete Items" older than "0 days". There may be a schedule like that already so all you have to do is enable it.
Rob
You sorted all my issues.
Thank you so much.
Kind Regards
Alex
alexander | January 7, 2009 4:55 PM | Reply
Entourage is try to send 2 messages, yet my outbox is empty. My ISP is blocking it saying it has been classified as spam. I believe they are return receipts. How do I delete them. Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Robert Glassman | March 26, 2009 11:05 PM | Reply
If your outbox is empty then there's probably corruption in Entourage, since the return receipts would show up in the outbox - you'd also have had to have told Entourage to send the receipts.
You're probably best off trying to rebuild Entourage's database by holding down the alt/option key at start up