The body of an e-mail message is garbled when the message is viewed in Outlook in an Exchange Server 2003 organization (916299)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

When you try to view an e-mail message in Microsoft Outlook in a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 organization, the body of the e-mail message is garbled. This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:
  • The header field and the body field of the e-mail message are set to different character sets.
  • The different character sets do not belong to the same language group.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because Exchange Server 2003 sets the PR_INTERNET_CPID property to the UTF-8 character set. The PR_INTERNET_CPID property is a superset for any header field character set and body field character set. When a message uses two different language groups, Outlook tries to display the body of the message in UTF-8. Therefore, the body of the message is garbled.

RESOLUTION

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Exchange Server 2003 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

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 usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Hotfix installation information

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.After you apply the hotfix, you must configure the following two registry entries:
  • PreserveISO-8859CPIDBody
  • PreserveBodyCPID
This procedure modifies how Exchange Server 2003 behaves when a message is received that has different character sets in the header and in the body.

After you configure the PreserveISO-8859CPIDBody registry entry, you can configure the PreserveBodyCPID registry entry depending on the behavior you want.

When the PreserveBodyCPID registry entry is set to a value of non-zero, the PreserveISO-8859CPIDBody registry entry is ignored. If the PreserveBodyCPID registry entry is set to a value of zero, or if the entry is not present, the behavior of Exchange Server 2003 is controlled by the PreserveISO-8859CPIDBody registry entry.

You can combine the configuration of the two registry entries to achieve a desired result.

To set the body of the message to ISO8859-x

The PreserveISO-8859CPIDBody registry entry sets the PR_INTERNET_CPID property to the ISO8859-x character set when a message contains the UTF-8 character set in the header and the ISO8859-x character set in the body. This registry entry is configured under the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\PARAMETERSSYSTEM\InternetContent

Name: PreserveISO-8859CPIDBody
Value type: DWORD
Value data: 1

To set the body of the message to the codepage

The PreserveBodyCPID registry entry sets the PR_INTERNET_CPID property to the codepage of the body of the message. This registry entry is configured under the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\MSEXCHANGEIS\PARAMETERSSYSTEM\InternetContent

Name: PreserveBodyCPID
Value Type: DWORD
Value data: 1

Prerequisites

You must install Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) before you apply the hotfix.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

836993 How to obtain the latest service packs for Exchange Server 2003

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply the hotfix. However, the Microsoft Exchange Information Store Service and all dependent services will be restarted.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The global version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.
File nameFile versionFile sizeDateTimePlatform
Exosal.dll6.5.7651.1770,14419-Apr-200607:48x86
Mdbmsg.dll6.5.7651.173,357,18419-Apr-200601:31x86
Store.exe6.5.7651.175,255,16819-Apr-200607:50x86

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following procedures:
  • Remove extended characters from the display name of users in the global address list, if applicable.
  • Open the message in Outlook. Then, change the encoding of the message. To do this, click Encoding on the View menu, and then select the encoding option that you want.
  • Move the message to a .pst folder. Then move the message back to the Inbox.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem occurs when you receive an e-mail message in which the display names in the To and From fields contain extended characters. Messages that contain extended characters in the To and From fields and different character sets in the header and body are typically seen when you receive messages from users who are using Cyrillic, Korean, and Hungarian character sets.
For more information about terminology used in Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

For more information about the naming schema for Exchange software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

817903 New naming schema for Exchange Server software update packages

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/26/2006
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbfix kbBug kbpubtypekc KB916299 kbAudITPRO
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