Delivery receipts and read receipts in Outlook

This article discusses the Delivery Receipt and Read Receipt functions of Microsoft Outlook.

Earlier versions of Outlook let you request delivery receipts and read receipts for e-mail messages you send to other people. Microsoft Outlook 2000 and later versions of Outlook also let you specify how you want to respond to requests for read receipts that accompany e-mail messages that are sent to you.

Requesting delivery receipts

To request delivery receipts for messages you send to others, you must be using Microsoft Exchange Server as your mail service.

Note For Outlook 2000, you must have installed Outlook in the Corporate/Workgroup (CW) mode.

You can request delivery receipts on either a per message basis or for all messages you send.

To request a delivery receipt for a specific message, follow these steps:

1. On the View menu of the message, click Options.
2. Under Voting and Tracking options, click to select the Request a delivery receipt for this message check box, and then click Close.

Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003

To request delivery receipts on all messages you send in Microsoft Outlook 2002 and in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options, and then click Tracking Options.
3. Under For all messages I send, request, click to select the Delivery receipt check box, and then click OK.

Outlook 2000

To request delivery receipts on all messages you send in Outlook 2000, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options and then click Tracking Options.
3. Click to select the Request a delivery receipt for all messages I send check box, and then click OK.

Requesting read receipts

To request a read receipt for messages you send to others, you can use either Microsoft Exchange Server or Internet Mail as your mail service. For Outlook 2000, you can install Outlook in the Internet Mail Only (IMO) mode. Alternatively, you can install Outlook in the CW mode. You can request read receipts on either a per message basis or for all messages you send.

To request a read receipt for a specific message:

1. On the View menu of the message, click Options.
2. Under Voting and Tracking options, click to select the Request a read receipt for this message check box, and then click Close.

Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003

To request read receipts on all messages you send in Outlook 2002 and in Outlook 2003, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options, and then click Tracking Options.
3. Under For all messages I send, request, click to select the Read receipt check box, and then click OK.

Outlook 2000

To request read receipts on all messages you send in Outlook 2000, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options and then click Tracking Options.
3. Click to select the Request a read receipt for all messages I send check box, and then click OK.

Responding to read receipt requests

Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003

If you are using Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server as your mail service, Exchange Server will always respond to requests for a read receipt.

If you are using Outlook with Internet Mail as your mail service, you will have a choice to respond or not respond to all requests for a read receipt.

To select an Internet Mail option for responding to read receipt requests:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options, and then click Tracking Options.
3. Under Use this option to decide how to respond to requests for read receipts. Only applies to Internet Mail accounts, click to select either Always send a response, Never send a response, or Ask me before sending a response, and then click OK.

Outlook 2000

If you are using the CW installation of Outlook with Microsoft Exchange Server as your mail service, Exchange will always respond to requests for a read receipt.

If you are using the CW installation of Outlook with Internet Mail as your mail service, you will have a choice to respond or not respond to all requests for a read receipt.

If you are using the IMO install of Outlook you will have a third option, to be asked on a per message basis if you wish to respond to a request for a read receipt.

To select the CW/Internet Mail options for responding to read receipt requests:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options and then click Tracking Options.
3. Under Use this option to decide how to respond to requests for read receipts, click to select either Always send a response or Never send a response, and then click OK.

To select the IMO options for responding to read receipt requests:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options and then click Tracking Options.
3. Under Use this option to decide how to respond to requests for read receipts, click to select either Always send a response, Never send a response, or Ask me before sending a response, and then click OK.