EML — Encoded-Words in Display Names and a Filename
Encoded-words used everywhere they turn up in practice: both display names, the Subject, and — against the spec but very common — inside the quoted filename parameter, where RFC 2231 is the conformant mechanism. A tolerant parser decodes all four.
From: =?UTF-8?Q?Maya_Ch=C3=A9n?= <maya@brightside.example>
To: =?UTF-8?B?U8OhbSBSaXZlcmE=?= <sam@meridiansupply.example>
Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Empfehlungsschreiben_f=C3=BCr_Ada_=28SAMPLE=29?=
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2026 09:10:00 -0800
Message-ID: <p7-ew-names@brightside.example>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="=_p7_ew_fn_01"
--=_p7_ew_fn_01
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Die Datei im Anhang tr=C3=A4gt einen kodierten Dateinamen (SAMPLE).
--=_p7_ew_fn_01
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; name="=?UTF-8?Q?Empfehlungsschreiben_f=C3=BCr_Ada.txt?="
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="=?UTF-8?Q?Empfehlungsschreiben_f=C3=BCr_Ada.txt?="
QWRhIExvdmVsYWNlIOKAlCBTQU1QTEUgRW1wZmVobHVuZ3NzY2hyZWliZW4uDQpBbmFseXRpY2Fs
IGVuZ2luZSwgMTg0My4NCg==
--=_p7_ew_fn_01--
Specifications
- Wave
- p7
- Seed
- 20260807
- Encoded In
- From display-name, To display-name, Subject, filename
- Filename Style
- RFC 2047 inside a quoted-string (non-conformant but widespread)
- Conformant Filename
- false
- Line Endings
- CRLF (RFC 5322)
Testing contract
Expected to recover- Scenario
- Decode encoded-words in address display names and in a Content-Disposition filename that uses RFC 2047 where RFC 2231 is required.
- Expected result
- Both display names and the Subject decode, and the attachment saves as Empfehlungsschreiben für Ada.txt rather than a literal =?UTF-8?Q?... string.
What is a .eml file?
An EML file is a single email message stored in the RFC 822 / MIME format — plain-text headers (From, To, Subject, Date, Message-ID) followed by the body, which may be plain text, HTML, or a multipart structure with alternative bodies and file attachments encoded in base64.
How to use this file
Use an example EML to test email header parsing, MIME decoding, HTML-part handling, attachment extraction, and EML-to-other-format conversion.
How to use this file for testing
“EML — Encoded-Words in Display Names and a Filename” is a deterministic Novus Examples fixture for Email parsing, Encoding detection, Internationalization. Standards-compliant RFC 822 messages — plain, multipart text+HTML, and with an attachment — plus an MBOX mailbox, for testing header parsing, MIME decoding, attachment extraction, and mailbox splitting.
Documented properties for this file: seed 20260807 · CRLF (RFC 5322). Compare results against paired or grouped companions on this page when present (clean↔damaged, searchable↔scanned, or format twins) so scores stay reproducible across runs.
Download the file once, keep the path stable in CI or local scripts, and treat the spec table as the contract: dimensions, seeds, field lists, and roles are intentional. Corrupt or invalid samples are labelled as such — expect parsers to fail loudly rather than silently accept them.
Email fixtures use fixed dates, message IDs, and MIME boundaries so runs are reproducible, and every address is fictional. Test header parsing, MIME decoding, attachment extraction, and EML/MBOX conversion against the documented structure.
Code examples
from email import policy
from email.parser import BytesParser
msg = BytesParser(policy=policy.default).parse(open("ew-display-name-and-filename.eml", "rb"))
print(msg["subject"], msg["from"])Related files
- emlEML — UTF-8 Encoded SubjectAn email whose Subject uses RFC 2047 UTF-8 encoded-words (café / crème) — for header decoding tests.
- emlEML — RFC 2231 Continuation Filename With size and creation-dateThe conformant answer to non-ASCII filenames: a filename split into three numbered RFC 2231 segments with a charset and a language tag, plus size and creation-date parameters. Parsers commonly handle filename*= but not the numbered continuation form.
- emlEML — UTF-8 Filename AttachmentAn attachment whose filename uses RFC 2231 UTF-8 encoding (résumé) — for MIME filename decoders.
- mboxMBOX — Four Charsets and Both Transfer EncodingsOne mailbox whose four messages each use a different charset and alternate between quoted-printable and base64, with RFC 2047 subjects to match. The file itself is LF-stored while the encoded payloads decode to CRLF text — the split every importer has to handle.
- emlEML — Base64: Accented UTF-8 BodyA base64 text/plain message in utf-8 carrying the identical body to the quoted-printable twin beside it. Base64 is opaque to whitespace and line-start characters, so it is the reference side of the pair when a QP decoder is suspect.
- emlEML — Base64: From-Line and Lone DotA base64 text/plain message in utf-8 carrying the identical body to the quoted-printable twin beside it. Base64 is opaque to whitespace and line-start characters, so it is the reference side of the pair when a QP decoder is suspect.
Generated by generation/email_p7.py. Free for any use, no attribution required — license.