An EML file is one email saved as text in the Internet Message Format, RFC 5322. Headers name the sender, recipients, subject and date. MIME can divide the body into text, HTML and attachment parts with separate encodings. The e-invoice is the attachment, not the email. Klarbon reads supported forwarded attachments; opening saved EML files is planned, not available yet.
What is in an EML file?
| Part | Holds |
|---|---|
| Headers | From, To, Subject, Date, Message-ID, and the route the message took |
MIME-Version and Content-Type |
how the body is built, often multipart/mixed |
| Text and HTML parts | the message itself |
| Attachment parts | file content, with MIME headers describing its type, disposition, transfer encoding and optional file name |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Message format | RFC 5322, October 2008 |
| Body and attachments | MIME, RFC 2045 and following |
| Encoding | text, with Base64 or quoted-printable parts |
| Sender headers | not proof of who sent the message |
The IETF publishes the message format and MIME (RFC 5322, RFC 2045).
EML or MSG?
| EML | MSG | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | IETF RFC 5322 and MIME | Microsoft MS-OXMSG |
| File | text | binary compound file |
| Opening requirements | mail software with EML support | software with MSG support |
What does Klarbon do with emails?
With email-in, you forward an email to your private Klarbon address, and Klarbon checks supported e-invoice attachments and replies with the selected check results, with a readable PDF when rendering succeeds; see read e-invoices by email. Opening a saved EML file directly is planned, not available yet. Klarbon does not archive the forwarded message; email delivery and mailboxes can retain the reply and attachments. See file handling.
Related
Frequently asked questions
What is an EML file?
One email message saved as a text file, in the Internet Message Format of RFC 5322. Use a mail program that supports exporting and opening EML files. Attachments are inside the file, encoded as MIME parts.
How are attachments stored in an EML file?
As MIME parts with content types such as application/pdf or application/xml and transfer encodings such as Base64. File names may also be supplied. A program decodes the parts to recover the files.
Can I trust the sender shown in an EML file?
Not on its own. The From header is text that anyone can write. Whether the message really came from that domain depends on checks made when it was received, which are not proven by the saved file.
Is an invoice email an e-invoice?
The email is only the envelope. For Klarbon, the supported e-invoice is an XML attachment or a hybrid PDF carrying invoice XML. An ordinary PDF attachment does not meet structured e-invoicing requirements.
Sources
- IETF, RFC 5322, Internet Message Format rfc-editor.org
- IETF, RFC 2045, MIME Part One, format of Internet message bodies rfc-editor.org