Internet e-mail message format

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|formattype=electronic
 
|formattype=electronic
 
|subcat=E-Mail, newsgroups, and forums
 
|subcat=E-Mail, newsgroups, and forums
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|extensions={{ext|eml}}
 
|mimetypes={{mimetype|message/rfc822}}
 
|mimetypes={{mimetype|message/rfc822}}
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|pronom={{PRONOM|fmt/278}}
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|locfdd={{LoCFDD|fdd000393}}, {{LoCFDD|fdd000388}}
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|wikidata={{wikidata|Q11198294}}
 
|released=1977
 
|released=1977
 
}}
 
}}
 
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'''Electronic mail''' (e-mail or email) has been in use on the Internet (and its predecessor, the Arpanet) since the 1970s.  A series of RFC documents has specified its standard transmission format.  The best-known (and the one which lent its name to the official MIME type for a single message of this format) is RFC 822, but this superseded the earlier RFC 733 and was in turn later superseded by RFC 2822 and RFC 5322.
Electronic mail (e-mail or email) has been in use on the Internet (and its predecessor, the Arpanet) since the 1970s.  A series of RFC documents has specified its standard transmission format.  The best-known (and the one which lent its name to the official MIME type for a single message of this format) is RFC 822, but this superceded the earlier RFC 733 and was in turn later superceded by RFC 2822 and RFC 5322.
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Collections of multiple messages of this type, such as mailboxes stored for the use of mail programs or list digests and archives, are stored in a number of formats including [[mbox]].
 
Collections of multiple messages of this type, such as mailboxes stored for the use of mail programs or list digests and archives, are stored in a number of formats including [[mbox]].
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== Identifiers ==
 
== Identifiers ==
 
* MIME type (Internet media type): '''message/rfc822'''
 
* MIME type (Internet media type): '''message/rfc822'''
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* The extension '''.eml''' is sometimes used for files containing individual messages in this format, but this is not universal; other extensions, or no extension at all, can also be used.
  
 
== Sample files ==
 
== Sample files ==
* [http://www.dan.info/sampledata/CHAIN.TXT Copy of e-mail "chain letter" as saved directly off a university mainframe in 1984]: shows some examples of archaic formatting and addressing of that era
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* [https://www.dan.info/sampledata/CHAIN.TXT Copy of e-mail "chain letter" as saved directly off a university mainframe in 1984 and transferred to an IBM PC (Ctrl-Z at end was probably added by PC-DOS)]: shows some examples of archaic formatting and addressing of that era
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* {{DexvertSamples|text/imf}}
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
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* RFC 2822
 
* RFC 2822
 
* RFC 5322
 
* RFC 5322
* [http://mailformat.dan.info/ Dan's Mail Format Site]
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* [https://mailformat.dan.info/ Dan's Mail Format Site]
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== Links ==
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190911115721/http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/EML ForensicsWiki entry] (some detail still to migrate over, including a list of programs)

Latest revision as of 14:59, 28 December 2023

File Format
Name Internet e-mail message format
Ontology
Extension(s) .eml
MIME Type(s) message/rfc822
LoCFDD fdd000393, fdd000388
PRONOM fmt/278
Wikidata ID Q11198294
Released 1977

Electronic mail (e-mail or email) has been in use on the Internet (and its predecessor, the Arpanet) since the 1970s. A series of RFC documents has specified its standard transmission format. The best-known (and the one which lent its name to the official MIME type for a single message of this format) is RFC 822, but this superseded the earlier RFC 733 and was in turn later superseded by RFC 2822 and RFC 5322.

Collections of multiple messages of this type, such as mailboxes stored for the use of mail programs or list digests and archives, are stored in a number of formats including mbox.

Contents

[edit] Identifiers

  • MIME type (Internet media type): message/rfc822
  • The extension .eml is sometimes used for files containing individual messages in this format, but this is not universal; other extensions, or no extension at all, can also be used.

[edit] Sample files

[edit] References

[edit] Links

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