The Entourage User's WebLog

This has been raised on the newsgroups a couple of times this week, and is a recurring theme - a FAQ in fact!

Before I tell you how to request one and to automate responses to them, let me say that they can be worse than useless! When you request a Return Receipt (or, in the more up to date version, a Disposition Notification Request) you are reliant on the request being honoured by the receiving party. Outside of the corporate world such support is almost non-existent. Even within corporations support is patchy at best. In setting up responses, things are a little better in that you are now in control. The combination of rule and script I describe later will generate a response to a DNR request, but will not automatically send it. A reply will be drafted and the reply window left open for you to send or discard as you see fit - you lose no control or privacy through following the methods laid out here.

Sending a DNR

In order to request a DNR, a special header must be inserted into the message headers. Entourage does allow the insertion of additional headers, but only on an account wide basis.

Open the account for editing (ToolsAccounts; then select the account & click on Edit). Under the 'Options' tab, second item down is 'Additional Headers'. In the 'Header' column enter "Disposition-Notification-To" (without the quotes); and in the 'value' column enter your email address. DNRs will now be sent out with every message from this account.

If you have only an occasional need to do this on a message by message basis, duplicate your account and add the header to the new account only. Make sure that this account is NOT included in any mail checking schedules, but that mail from this account IS sent with every send. Now, to include the return-receipt, simply change the account of a message to this ‘DNR’ account with the pop-up menu that appears next to the 'from' header in a draft message window when you have more than one account defined.

Responding to mail received with a DNR Request

Responding to a request needs a combination of a rule and a script. The rule to detect the DNR header in incoming mail, the script to generate the reply.
First step: download the script. Save it in the 'Entourage Script Menu Items' folder inside the Microsoft User Data Folder that is in your Documents folder (the script could go anywhere at all, but it is easiest to put it in there).
Next, create a rule: From the Tools menu, select 'Rules'. Select the correct pane for your account type - rules for POP, IMAP, Hotmail, Exchange, News and outgoing mail are all segregated. You could create this rule in any of the first 4 types - DNRs for News and outgoing mail do not make any sense. Create a new rule and configure it in the following manner:

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Note that the text in the "Specific Header" box says 'Disposition-Notification-To', the checkbox to prevent additional rules running is UNCHECKED (or non of your other rules would work). This rule needs to be placed at the top of your list of rules, so it runs before any other rule. Under the 'Action' setting, click on the 'Script...' button and navigate to the 'Generate Return Receipt v1.1' script you just downloaded and installed.

That's it - the system isn't perfect, because it relies on other people having their systems configured in a way that will work with you, and that's an unreliable situation at best. Still, it does at least restore some of the functionality that corporate users (especially users of Outlook/Exchange) have become used to having around.

Please feel free to leave a comment using the links below - comments on this article or requests for future articles are always welcome and will be responded to where appropriate.