Message Tracking - Managing Message Details

This article contains information on using the Message Center's Message Details panel to analyze metadata, troubleshoot delivery issues, compare sender/recipient views, manage held messages, and review spam scores for effective email management.

The Message Center allows administrators to access the metadata and transmission information of recently sent and received messages via the Message Details panel. This is useful for analyzing message information in depth to troubleshoot delivery issues. Additionally, the Message Details panel allows administrators to:

• • • Compare sender and recipient message views side by side.
    • Permit or block message delivery for the recipient.
    • Report messages as spam, malware, or phishing.
    • Release held messages upon investigation.

Viewing Message Details

1. Log in to the Mimecast Administration Console.
2. Click on the Message Center | Message Tracking menu item.
3. Search for a message using either Search by Data or Search by ID.
4. Click on any message to display the Message Details pop-out panel. This panel allows you to:

• • • Switch between the message details for either the sender or receiver. Select Received View (Sender) or Delivered View (Recipient) from the drop-down list to change the view.
    • Add the message's sender to the recipient's permitted senders list by clicking on the Permit for Recipient button. This is only available in the Delivered View.
    • Add the message's sender to the recipient's blocked senders list by clicking on the Block for Recipient button. This is only available in the Delivered View.
    • Switch to the next or previous message in your search results by clicking on the left or right arrows in the top right corner of the panel.
    • Report the message as Spam, Malware, or Phishing, by clicking on the Report drop-down button. You'll be presented with a pop-up dialog to send your comments to Mimecast for analysis.

Message Tabs

Message details are split into separate tabs, as outlined below:

Message Tab

Description

Details

This tab displays if the message hasn't been delivered and archived (i.e., it's held or bounced) and includes details of the message properties and the remote server information. Depending on the message status, an additional information box is displayed at the top. Click on either:

• Learn More to be redirected to the relevant Knowledge Base page.
• Dismiss the link to remove the information box from view.

Message

Displays the different components of the message separated into the sections below.

Section	Description
Summary	Displays the message's summary, including the envelope and header information and the time the message was sent / received.
Attachments	Displays any attachments. Click on Show More link to display the full attachment list. Optionally click on the three-dot icon to download an attachment.
Message Body	Displays the message's body in HTML by default. Click on the View down arrow to switch between Plain Text and HTML as required. Images are by default excluded for security reasons. If you need to view them, click on Display Images in the warning box.
Retention and Audit Information	Displays the message's archive retention period, whether a litigation hold applies, and any assigned Smart Tags.

Header

Displays the message's header information in plain text. Optionally click on the Copy to Clipboard button to copy the text.

Transmission Data

Displays the message's transmission information and components. Optionally toggle the Compare Views button to show the Received View (Sender) and Delivery View (Recipient) details side by side.

Policies

Displays the active policies that were considered at the time of the message's transmission.

This is only available if Delivery View is selected at the top of the panel.

Using the Spam Score and Spam Detection Level

The spam score and spam detection level feature allows you to drill into why a message has accumulated a high spam score and been held. With the ability to review a message's held reason and spam score, the feature provides a high-level overview of why:

• • • An email was held by a Spam Scanning Policy.
    • A policy enacted the way it did, and how to be proactive in your approach to the message.

For more information, visit the Message Insights and Spam Score page.

For further assistance, visit the Configuring Spam Scanning Definitions and Policies page.

Actioning Held Messages

You can action held messages from the Message Details panel if you consider the message to be safe or harmful. To release a message either:

• • • Click on the Release button. The message is released to the intended recipient.
    • Click on the drop-down next to the Release button and select the Release to Sandbox menu item. The message is released to the sandbox for additional scanning.
    • Click on the drop-down next to the Release button and select the Permit for Recipient menu item. The message is released, and the sender is added to the recipient's permitted senders list.

To reject a message either:

• • • Click on the Reject button. The message is rejected for delivery and removed from the hold queue.
    • Click on the drop-down next to the Reject button and select the Reject (Notify Sender) menu item. The message is rejected for delivery, removed from the held queue, and the sender is notified by email.
    • Click on the drop-down next to the Release button and select the Block for Recipient menu item. The message is rejected, and the sender is added to the recipient's blocked senders list.

When an action is taken on a held message, the information is added to the archived message so that you're able to retrospectively track the history. You can view the Held Release Event Information in the Transmission Data panel of the Delivery View. See the Message Features section above for further details.

See Also...

• Message Center: Message Tracking
• Message Center: Accepted Messages
• Message Center: Exporting Messages
• Message Center: Customizing Message Views