Lotus Domino Administrator 8.5 Help - Specifying inbound and outbound MIME conversion options

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Specifying inbound and outbound MIME conversion options
If a server sends or receives messages in MIME format, you can set options to control how IBM® Lotus® Domino®:

Converts outbound IBM® Lotus® Notes® rich-text messages into MIME for sending over SMTP
Converts inbound messages received in MIME format into Notes rich-text messages

Configuring how Domino converts outbound Notes rich-text messages to MIME format

Outbound conversion options apply to messages exported from the server. This includes Notes rich-text messages sent outbound over SMTP to another Domino server or other mail host and messages retrieved by the IMAP or POP3 service for sending to a client.

Settings in this section do not apply to messages delivered to mail files on the server or messages transferred over Notes routing. Nor do they apply to messages sent in MIME format from the client -- either messages sent by POP3 or IMAP clients or messages from a Notes client where the Location document specifies the use of MIME format for messages sent to Internet addresses.

Note If the Internet mail format specified in the client's current Location document is set to Notes rich-text (Mail tab - Format for messages addressed to Internet addresses), the client sends all messages in Notes rich-text, even if the Internet mail format in the User Preferences dialog box (File - Preferences - User Preferences - Mail - Internet - Internet Mail Format) is set to send HTML.

Providing the richest content when converting messages on internal servers

By default, when converting messages in Notes rich-text format to MIME format, Domino generates MIME messages in plain text format only, resulting in a loss of formatting. This default setting, which is required to ensure that recipients can read messages that are received by SMTP servers that do not correctly process multipart MIME messages, is not necessary for internal servers. To enable conversion on internal servers to generate the richest possible MIME from messages in Notes format, change the default Message Content setting to "Convert from Notes to Plain Text and HTML."

Improving the rendering of MIME messages within IMAP client

If you are experiencing problems with the rendering of MIME messages within an IMAP client when Notes is interacting with an Exchange server, locate the Message Content field on the MIME - Conversion Options - Outbound tab of the Server Configuration document. To improve the rendering of MIME messages within an IMAP client, if the Message Content field is set to "From Notes to Plain Text," reset the Message Content field to either "From Notes to Plain Text and HTML" or "From Notes to HTML."

To specify outbound MIME conversion options

1. Make sure you already have a Configuration Settings document for the server(s) to be configured.

2. From the Domino Administrator, click the Configuration tab and expand the Messaging section.

3. Click Configurations.

4. Select the Configuration Settings document for the mail server or servers you want to administer, and click Edit Configuration.

5. Click the MIME - Conversion Options - Outbound tab.

6. Complete the following fields and then click Save & Close:

Field Description

Attachment encoding method When a Notes client sends a rich-text message with a file attachment that contains 8-bit data -- for example, program, image, sound, video, and application files -- Domino encodes the attachment data as ASCII text for SMTP transport. Choose the encoding method best suited to the file types sent and supported by the majority of likely message recipients.
Choose one of the following:

Base64 - (default) This is the preferred method for encoding non-text data attachments when sending messages to recipients who use MIME-compliant mail programs. Domino adds a MIME tag to describe what type of file was sent. Sending files with MIME encoding ensures that the recipient receives binary data (non-text) intact. Base64 encoding converts binary data in attachments into a subset of the US-ASCII character set and is slightly more efficient than UUencode, resulting in a transmitted file approximately 37% larger than the original.
Quoted Printable - This method is best suited to sending text-based files to recipients that use MIME-compliant mail programs. Quoted-Printable (QP) encoding replaces each special character in the attachment with an equal sign "=" followed by two hexadecimal digits, which represent the 8-bit character code. Printable ASCII characters are left unencoded. QP provides efficient encoding of text-based files, creating an encoded file that's only a fraction larger than the original. However, for non-text files, QP encoding can result in encoded files that are two to three times the size of the original.
UUencode - Use UNIX-to-UNIX encoding on servers that send message attachments primarily to recipients who use UNIX® or older PC mail programs. UUencode increases the size of the encoded file by about 42%.
BinHex - Use primarily when sending binary data to recipients who use Macintosh mail programs
Note This field does not control encoding for messages sent from the Macintosh version of the Notes client. To configure attachment encoding for messages sent from Macintosh clients, use the field "Macintosh attachment conversion" on the MIME - Advanced - Advanced Outbound Message Options tab.

Message Content Specifies how Domino structures the MIME content of messages when converting Notes rich-text messages before sending them over SMTP. Choose one:

Convert from Notes to plain text - (default) Domino converts the text in a Notes rich-text document to plain text. If the message contains file attachments or images, Domino creates a multipart/mixed MIME message with the images and attachments following the text/plain part. Use this option in organizations that send most of their outbound SMTP mail to mail systems that are unable to handle MIME messages containing multiple text parts (for example, messages with a multipart/alternative structure that includes text/plain and text/html parts).
Convert from Notes to HTML - Domino converts the text in a Notes rich-text document to HTML. If the message contains file attachments, Domino creates a multipart/mixed MIME message and includes the attachment in that part. If the message contains images, Domino includes the images in the message body by creating a multipart/related part. If you are experiencing problems when MIME messages are rendered within an IMAP client, use this setting or use "from Notes to Plain Text and HTML."
Convert from Notes to Plain Text and HTML - Select this option on internal server for Domino to best preserve rich-text content when converting messages from Notes format to MIME. Domino converts the text in a Notes rich-text document to both plain text and HTML by creating a multipart/alternative body part that contains both the text/plain and text/html parts. If the message contains file attachments, Domino creates a multipart/mixed MIME message and includes the attachment in that part. If the message contains images, Domino creates a multipart/related part and includes the image in that part along with the text parts. If you are experiencing problems when MIME messages are rendered within an IMAP client, use this setting or use "from Notes to HTML."
Create multi-part alternative including conversion and encapsulation - Domino converts Notes rich-text messages and creates an additional file attachment that contains a Notes database with the original message in it. This option results in a message nearly twice the size of the original. Use this option only in organizations that send most of their outbound SMTP mail to recipients using Notes 4.x clients.

Convert tabs to spaces Choose one:

Yes - Enables the Router to change tabs to spaces when converting outbound messages to MIME format. Use this option only in organizations that send most of their outbound SMTP mail to recipients using mail clients that do not recognize tabs.
No - (default) The Router does not change tabs to spaces when converting outbound messages to MIME format.

Outbound line length (Default = 75) The maximum line length from left to right for the body of outbound messages; useful when a message contains long lines of text without spaces -- for example, URLs.
If there is a table or forwarded mail headers, then the line length default is doubled so no line break occurs until 150.

Lookup Internet address for all Notes addresses when Internet address is not defined in document All addresses on messages sent to Internet recipients must be in Internet format (RFC 821/822 format). A Notes user may send a message to both Notes addresses and Internet addresses. To specify how Domino converts the addresses of Notes recipients on messages sent to the Internet, choose one:

Enabled - On outbound Internet messages, if the address of any recipient is in Notes format, Domino reads the user's Internet address from the Person document and adds it to the message before sending.
Disabled - (default) Domino forms Internet addresses by converting spaces into underscores and encoding Domino domains with percent signs. For example: John_Smith%Notes@acme.com

7. The change takes effect after the next Router configuration update. To put the new setting into effect immediately, reload the routing configuration.

Creating a Configuration Settings document

Recalculating the server's routing table

Setting inbound and outbound MIME and character set options

Setting advanced inbound MIME options

Setting advanced outbound MIME options

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Glossary

Field	Description
Attachment encoding method	When a Notes client sends a rich-text message with a file attachment that contains 8-bit data -- for example, program, image, sound, video, and application files -- Domino encodes the attachment data as ASCII text for SMTP transport. Choose the encoding method best suited to the file types sent and supported by the majority of likely message recipients. Choose one of the following: Base64 - (default) This is the preferred method for encoding non-text data attachments when sending messages to recipients who use MIME-compliant mail programs. Domino adds a MIME tag to describe what type of file was sent. Sending files with MIME encoding ensures that the recipient receives binary data (non-text) intact. Base64 encoding converts binary data in attachments into a subset of the US-ASCII character set and is slightly more efficient than UUencode, resulting in a transmitted file approximately 37% larger than the original. Quoted Printable - This method is best suited to sending text-based files to recipients that use MIME-compliant mail programs. Quoted-Printable (QP) encoding replaces each special character in the attachment with an equal sign "=" followed by two hexadecimal digits, which represent the 8-bit character code. Printable ASCII characters are left unencoded. QP provides efficient encoding of text-based files, creating an encoded file that's only a fraction larger than the original. However, for non-text files, QP encoding can result in encoded files that are two to three times the size of the original. UUencode - Use UNIX-to-UNIX encoding on servers that send message attachments primarily to recipients who use UNIX® or older PC mail programs. UUencode increases the size of the encoded file by about 42%. BinHex - Use primarily when sending binary data to recipients who use Macintosh mail programs Note This field does not control encoding for messages sent from the Macintosh version of the Notes client. To configure attachment encoding for messages sent from Macintosh clients, use the field "Macintosh attachment conversion" on the MIME - Advanced - Advanced Outbound Message Options tab.
Message Content	Specifies how Domino structures the MIME content of messages when converting Notes rich-text messages before sending them over SMTP. Choose one: Convert from Notes to plain text - (default) Domino converts the text in a Notes rich-text document to plain text. If the message contains file attachments or images, Domino creates a multipart/mixed MIME message with the images and attachments following the text/plain part. Use this option in organizations that send most of their outbound SMTP mail to mail systems that are unable to handle MIME messages containing multiple text parts (for example, messages with a multipart/alternative structure that includes text/plain and text/html parts). Convert from Notes to HTML - Domino converts the text in a Notes rich-text document to HTML. If the message contains file attachments, Domino creates a multipart/mixed MIME message and includes the attachment in that part. If the message contains images, Domino includes the images in the message body by creating a multipart/related part. If you are experiencing problems when MIME messages are rendered within an IMAP client, use this setting or use "from Notes to Plain Text and HTML." Convert from Notes to Plain Text and HTML - Select this option on internal server for Domino to best preserve rich-text content when converting messages from Notes format to MIME. Domino converts the text in a Notes rich-text document to both plain text and HTML by creating a multipart/alternative body part that contains both the text/plain and text/html parts. If the message contains file attachments, Domino creates a multipart/mixed MIME message and includes the attachment in that part. If the message contains images, Domino creates a multipart/related part and includes the image in that part along with the text parts. If you are experiencing problems when MIME messages are rendered within an IMAP client, use this setting or use "from Notes to HTML." Create multi-part alternative including conversion and encapsulation - Domino converts Notes rich-text messages and creates an additional file attachment that contains a Notes database with the original message in it. This option results in a message nearly twice the size of the original. Use this option only in organizations that send most of their outbound SMTP mail to recipients using Notes 4.x clients.
Convert tabs to spaces	Choose one: Yes - Enables the Router to change tabs to spaces when converting outbound messages to MIME format. Use this option only in organizations that send most of their outbound SMTP mail to recipients using mail clients that do not recognize tabs. No - (default) The Router does not change tabs to spaces when converting outbound messages to MIME format.
Outbound line length	(Default = 75) The maximum line length from left to right for the body of outbound messages; useful when a message contains long lines of text without spaces -- for example, URLs. If there is a table or forwarded mail headers, then the line length default is doubled so no line break occurs until 150.
Lookup Internet address for all Notes addresses when Internet address is not defined in document	All addresses on messages sent to Internet recipients must be in Internet format (RFC 821/822 format). A Notes user may send a message to both Notes addresses and Internet addresses. To specify how Domino converts the addresses of Notes recipients on messages sent to the Internet, choose one: Enabled - On outbound Internet messages, if the address of any recipient is in Notes format, Domino reads the user's Internet address from the Person document and adds it to the message before sending. Disabled - (default) Domino forms Internet addresses by converting spaces into underscores and encoding Domino domains with percent signs. For example: John_Smith%Notes@acme.com