File Content Extraction 26.1
Filter SDK Python Programming Guide

# Mail Metadata

An e-mail message body and any attachments are considered by File Content Extraction as subfiles of the mail container (such as an MSG or EML file).

The metadata for the message (the header fields such as "From", "Sent", "To", "CC", "Subject", and so on) are typically stored in the container and can be accessed as subfile metadata. Subfile metadata is metadata that describes a subfile but is stored in the container. For information about how to access subfile metadata, see What is Metadata?

By default, when you extract the message body, File Content Extraction includes the header fields (even though they are typically stored in the container and not in the body). This is for convenience as many users might expect to see the header fields and message body together. However, if you do not want to include the header fields when extracting the message body, you can exclude them. You might want to do this if you have already accessed the metadata and do not want to process it again.

To exclude header fields when extracting an e-mail message body

- In the Python API, call the method `mail_header` on your session configuration.

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      session.config.mail_header(False)

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Version 26.1 | Last updated January 2026

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Product: File Content Extraction 26.1

Topic Title: Mail Metadata