Guide

Export a test email from Apple Mail as raw message source

Apple Mail on a Mac saves the complete delivered message — the raw source with every rewritten link — through one Save As dialog. The only trap is a format choice; here is the path and the check that catches it.

Last verified: 2026-08-24 Applies to: Apple Mail on macOS

Prerequisites

  • A Mac with the mailbox set up in Apple Mail — iPhone and iPad Mail cannot do this (see troubleshooting).
  • The delivered test email: a real test sent from your sending platform to your own address, received in this mailbox.
  • No settings change required.

Steps

  1. Select the test message

    In Mail, click the delivered test once in the message list to select it.

  2. Choose File → Save As

    From the menu bar at the top of the screen.

  3. Set the format to "Raw Message Source"

    In the save dialog, choose Raw Message Source — not Rich Text. This choice decides whether the file is usable.

  4. Save and check

    Mail saves a .eml file. Confirm the name ends in .eml and the file is under 2 MB — the upload accepts only the .eml extension and messages up to 2 MB.

If your menu looks different: menu layouts shift between macOS versions. The constant to look for is the words "Raw Message Source" — that option, wherever your version places it, is what produces the file the upload can read.

What you should end up with

One .eml filethe delivered message in raw source form
Raw Message Sourcethe format that makes the file readable — not Rich Text
Under 2 MBlarger messages are rejected with an explicit error

Mailbox lives elsewhere? The same file comes out of Gmail and Outlook on the web. Upload steps live on the help page.

Troubleshooting

You saved as "Rich Text" instead

A Rich Text export is a different format — the upload needs the raw message source, and a Rich Text file is not it. Delete the export and save the message again with the format set to Raw Message Source.

You're on iPhone or iPad

Mail on iOS and iPadOS has no raw-source export. Use a Mac, or open the mailbox's webmail on a computer — the Gmail and Outlook guides cover those paths.

The saved file doesn't end in .eml

Raw Message Source normally saves as .eml. If the extension came out differently or was stripped along the way, rename the file so it ends in .eml — the upload accepts no other extension.

Privacy: this guide is about a test email you sent to yourself — no recipient data is involved. After upload, the message is parsed transiently and SendProofs does not retain the raw message body after parsing; what a report keeps is listed under data handling.

Raw source saved — now inspect it

Upload the file and review the evidence report before anyone approves the send.

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