All this is why you have to investigate the functions of each email system
very carefully. For example, with Lotus Notes, if you open a message and
export it as TXT, you get only what you see on screen: To, From, Subject,
Time, Date and text of message. If you select a message from a folder list
(so you have one line per message) and export it, you get all the above,
plus all the comms info - times and dates, server ID's etc of every
machine the message has passed through.

So the first option does not comply with RM requirements, the second one
does. Except that in either case, you lose any attachments, although there
is a reference in the text to the attachment file name. And that's just
our implementation of Notes email, all these systems are becoming more
customisable behind the scenes, so your Notes implementation, or at least
the email message template, may be different. Or maybe your version of
Notes is different (we have R5.07a).

My advice, regardless of the output format: test, test and test again.
Read the output carefully. And again. Then work out how you want to meet
your RM requirements. They try to teach everyone how.

If you are worried about a court insisting on the format in everyday use,
then document your export procedures and the training program, make that
part of everyday practice, make sure you can guarantee integrity of
process and data, check it all out for due diligence, and run a kilometre
from any PST file.  They are inherently evil, and even worse, lack
elegance. Just don't get me started on Lotus Notes.

Cheers

Glenn

Glenn Sanders MRMA
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Australia

These views are mine alone. They may or may not be those of any
previous or present employers or clients. I don't know. If I'd asked
and they'd agreed, I would have signed it "Bloggs and Co and
Glenn". Or whatever. But I haven't, so I didn't.

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