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Thread ID: 92786 2008-08-23 01:45:00 Can you check if email has been read? Grimy (3041) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
699496 2008-08-23 01:45:00 In OE, other than using request a read receipt (which can of course be ignored by the receiver).
Not trying to do anything dodgy, I just wondered if there is some way I can trace or check that a recipient has received an email (in case they say they never received it).
Cheers.
Grimy (3041)
699497 2008-08-23 02:01:00 Short answer - No Safari (3993)
699498 2008-08-23 02:03:00 Nothing reliable, no. You could embed an iframe or remote image in the email and watch your server logs, but any decent email client these days will block such things anyway, so you can't count on them.

If you want to be sure they got it, send it by good old fashioned registered snail-mail, or as a sig-required courier package.
Erayd (23)
699499 2008-08-23 02:05:00 You can - I use a program called Message Tag (www.msgtag.com) - it embeds a auto reply in your email, and as soon as the mail is opened it will send back a reply that someone has opened the mail.

Doesn't say who opened it, only it was opened.

Example: I have removed the customers mail details for security reasons and replaced with xxxx
A mail message that you have sent has been opened by its recipient.

Message to: <xxxxx@paradise.net.nz>
Subject: Work Details
Sent: 2008-08-07 00:24:42 UTC
Received: 2008-08-10 20:59:52 UTC
Elapsed time: 3 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes, 10 seconds


The program works most of the time, but not always, depends if the persons work for example has certain filters in place to stop it or sometimes if on dial up it wont send back.
There is no button to push/cancel, it does it automatically.

The free version has "The sender has been notified that you have read this message" embedded in the bottom of the sent mail. The paid version you can remove that message or put in your own message.

By the way - this has actually stood up in court - I had a customer who claimed they never received any of my mails when they refused to pay a invoice, emails were sent over a 6 month period.

I produced the receipts I got back saying they had received them along with the emails sent - and the adjudicator at the small claims court simply said "here's your proof" and they then admitted that they had gotten the mails but chose to ignore them.

I won the court case :clap
wainuitech (129)
699500 2008-08-23 02:20:00 You can - I use a program called Message Tag (www.msgtag.com) - it embeds a auto reply in your email, and as soon as the mail is opened it will send back a reply that someone has opened the mail.

WT, this is just a fancy implementation of a remote image - most email clients will block it by default these days (mainly because this technique is commonly used to validate spam mailing lists); it's very rare to come across one that won't.

It doesn't actually embed an autoreply (there's no such thing), in reality the Message Tag servers are sending the 'read' notification email when they notice the image being loaded.
Erayd (23)
699501 2008-08-23 02:35:00 Who cares how it works - I can honestly say 9 out of 10 emails I send out will get the reply back.

With the receipts as I mentioned above, the person who wouldn't pay their invoice was forced to admit they had been bull sh*ting the court. I got my $1500, which if I didn't have the receipts it would have my word against theirs.
wainuitech (129)
699502 2008-08-23 02:40:00 Yup - brilliant :thumbs: Erayd (23)
699503 2008-08-23 04:41:00 Thanks Wainuitech, that sounds exactly what I'm after. Cheers. Grimy (3041)
699504 2008-08-23 06:36:00 :banana Certainly seems to be working okay so far. Grimy (3041)
699505 2008-08-23 06:37:00 Yes been trialling it too I'm impressed so far gary67 (56)
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