Editing Microsoft Outlook (section)

=== .msg format ===

Outlook (both the web version and recent non-web versions) promotes the usage of a proprietary <code>.msg</code> format<ref name=msgspec>{{cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/exchange_server_protocols/ms-oxmsg/b046868c-9fbf-41ae-9ffb-8de2bd4eec82|title=[MS-OXMSG]: Outlook Item (.msg) File Format|date=February 15, 2022 }}</ref> to save individual emails, instead of the standard [[.eml]] format. Messages use {{Mono|.msg}} by default when saved to disk or forwarded as attachments. Compatibility with past or future Outlook versions is not documented nor guaranteed;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/oemail-osend/archiving-emails-in-msg-format/974b19f1-dc45-4866-aeb4-ac36e46e4636|author=Dane (MS)|title=Archiving emails in msg format|access-date=May 20, 2021|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520065856/https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/oemail-osend/archiving-emails-in-msg-format/974b19f1-dc45-4866-aeb4-ac36e46e4636|url-status=live}}</ref> the format saw over 10 versions released since version 1 in 2008.<ref name=msgspec/>

The standard {{Mono|.eml}} format replicates the format of emails as used for transmission and is therefore compatible with any email client which uses the normal protocols. Standard-compliant email clients, like [[Mozilla Thunderbird]], use additional headers to store software-specific information related e.g. to the local storage of the email, while keeping the file plain-text, so that it can be read in any [[text editor]] and searched or indexed like any document by any other software.