XCON: Messages That Are Sent to Fax Recipients Return an NDR; Fix Requires Exchange Server 5.5 SP4 (310797)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 SP4

This article was previously published under Q310797

SYMPTOMS

After you send a message to a fax recipient, you may receive a non-delivery report (NDR) that indicates that the address was incorrect. The text of the NDR shows that the area code was changed to an ASCII character. This problem occurs with area codes that are contained in parentheses that are in the range from (000) through (299).

CAUSE

This problem can occur because the X.400 specification dictates that only certain types of characters are allowed in the address of a message. Extended characters, such as accented characters, do not fit this description. To allow for extended characters such as these, the X.400 specification specifies the encoding of these characters by using a syntax that is very similar to United States area codes (this is referred to as "escaping" a character). For example, the O circumflex character is escaped as (212), which is also a New York area code.

While the information store is parsing data that it received from the MTA, the information store determines whether the address contains any escaped characters, and then "unescapes" those characters.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem. This fix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The typical support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Component: Information store

File nameVersion
Escprint.dll5.5.2655.62

NOTE: Because of file dependencies, this fix requires Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 Service Pack 4.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5.

MORE INFORMATION

After this fix is applied, if the information store determines that the address contains a sequence that is part of the range that is described in the "Symptoms" section of this article, a further check is made to determine whether the remaining characters are part of a phone number. If the characters are part of a phone number, no unescaping is performed. If the characters are not part of a phone number, unescaping is performed as described in the "Cause" section of this article.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/6/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbbug kbExchange550preSP5fix kbfix kbQFE KB310797