Send mail to MS Outlook with a flag

[Paul Ammirata]

I'm using mailx to send messages to users using MS Outlook. Is it possible to attach an MS Outlook flag (e.g. follow up flag) to the message?

[Sridhar Bhaskarla · Accepted solution]

Paul,

It is. Add the header X-Message-Flag: Follow up
in your message and send it through command line.

Ex.,

...
Subject: something
X-Message-Flag: Follow up

..message...


cat above_file |sendmail to_address

Outlook should receive the message with the follow-up flag.

-Sri

[Jeff Schussele]

Hi Paul,

Don't think you can from a single command-line mailx session - see the following from man pg:

At start-up time, mailx reads commands from a system-wide file (/usr/share/lib/mailx.rc) to initialize certain parameters, then from a private start-up file ($HOME/.mailrc) for personalized variables. Most regular commands are legal inside start-up files, the most common use being to set up initial display options and alias lists. The following commands are not legal in the start-up file: !, Copy, edit, followup, Followup, hold, mail, preserve, reply, Reply, shell, and visual. Any errors in the start-up file cause the remaining lines in the file to be ignored.

But I think it may be possible from a mailx session - see also:

followup [message]
Respond to a message and record the response in a file whose name is derived from the author of the message. Overrides the record variable, if set. See also the Followup, Save, and Copy commands and outfolder (see ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES).

Followup [msglist]
Respond to the first message in the msglist, sending the message to the author of each message in the msglist. The subject line is extracted from the first message and the response is recorded in a file whose name is derived from the author of the first message. See also the followup, Save, and Copy commands and outfolder (see ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES).

But I suspect this is not the same way that Outlook implements the followup flag.
I think Outlook actually embeds this "flag" in the header somewhere & for Outlook to recognize it - you'd have to manipulate the outgoing header in the same fashion.
So it's probably possible, but more than likely difficult.
I'd look at the incoming headers in detail & the "flag" should stand-out. Then you'll need to find the way to get it in there outgoing & the 1st place to start is get encoding to "base64" from the default of 8-bit, as Exchange uses base64 by default.

Good Luck,
Jeff

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

And (again),

if you are using mailers like elm, there will be an option to add user defined headers. Following is a walk-through for elm.

Run elm.

Press m - for new message
Type in the to address, subject, copies to etc fields.

Type in the message in the editor that pops up.

type in h (edit headers) just after you are done saving your message.

type in u (user defined header)

Enter X-Message-Flag: Follow up

send the message.

Sridhar

[Jeff Schussele]

Well...I learned something new today.
Sri is indeed correct - this WILL work.
But only with the sendmail command...it does not work with mailx.
Note...you can specify Urgent in that line - the Urgent appears on the "info" line but the follow-up flag still appears. I cannot seem to find a way to turn on the "High importance", "!", flag however...you can get the info line to display whatever you desire.
But any text causes the follow-up flag to appear in the in-box & that text to appear on the info line in the msg.

Jeff