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Provenance · Email source

Extract the original of your First Tutors email.

The DSAR email First Tutors sends carries a digital signature (DKIM) that proves it really came from them and that the body hasn't been altered. To verify the signature we need the raw source — the original .eml file as it landed in your inbox. Forwarding the email rewrites headers and breaks the signature, so a forwarded copy doesn't help.

Below is how to save the raw .eml from each major provider. Keep the file safe for when the import system opens — it's the strongest single piece of evidence we can verify against.

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Don't just forward the email.

A regular Forward rewrites headers and changes the body, which breaks the DKIM signature mathematically. We need the raw .eml — the bytes as they arrived in your inbox. The methods below preserve those bytes; a regular Forward doesn't.

Native exports

If you use one of these.

These providers can save the raw source directly. Pick yours and follow the steps.

Gmail (web)

  1. Open the email in gmail.com on a desktop browser. The Gmail iOS and Android apps don't support this — use a computer.
  2. Click the three vertical dots (⋮) at the top right of the message, next to the Reply arrow.
  3. Choose Show original. A new tab opens with the message header and source.
  4. Click Download Original at the top of that tab. A .eml file lands in your Downloads folder.

Use Download Original, not Copy to clipboard — the latter only saves headers, not the full source.

Apple Mail (macOS)

  1. Open the email in Apple Mail on your Mac.
  2. Menu bar: File → Save As…
  3. Set the Format dropdown to Raw Message Source.
  4. Save with a .eml extension.

Quicker: drag the message from your inbox onto your desktop — macOS drops a .eml file directly. The Mail app on iPhone or iPad doesn't support this.

Thunderbird

  1. Right-click the email in the message list.
  2. Choose Save As…
  3. Save with a .eml extension.

Or from the menu bar: File → Save As → File. (Hit ≡ first if the menu bar is hidden.)

Proton Mail (web)

  1. Open the email at mail.proton.me on a desktop browser.
  2. Click the three dots (⋯) at the top of the message.
  3. Choose View headers.
  4. In the headers view, click Download. Proton saves a .eml file with the subject and date as the filename.

The Proton mobile apps don't support raw export — use the web client.

Other providers

If your provider isn't listed.

Outlook on the Web, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail, BT Mail, Sky, classic Outlook Desktop, and most mobile mail apps don't expose a raw .eml download. There's a universal trick that works on any of them.

Forward as attachment to a Gmail account, then download from there.

  1. In your email app, find Forward as Attachment (sometimes labelled "as .eml" or "include original"). This is different from the regular Forward button — look in the more-actions menu.
  2. Send the forwarded message to a Gmail address you control. Don't edit the subject or the (empty) body.
  3. Open Gmail in a desktop browser. Open the message you just sent yourself.
  4. Click the attached .eml file at the bottom of the message — it opens as an embedded sub-message inside Gmail.
  5. On that sub-message, click the three dots (⋮) at its top right → Show original → Download Original.
  6. That downloaded file is the original First Tutors email, signature intact.

Why Forward as Attachment and not regular Forward? Forward-as-Attachment wraps the original message in a new envelope without touching its bytes, so the DKIM signature on the original survives. A regular Forward re-renders the body and rewrites headers, which breaks the signature.

Where to find Forward as Attachment in common clients:

  • Outlook on the Web: open the message → ⋯ More actions → Forward as attachment
  • Outlook Desktop (Windows): Home tab → More → Forward as Attachment (Ctrl+Alt+F)
  • Apple Mail (macOS): Message menu → Forward as Attachment
  • Yahoo Mail: open the message → ⋯ menu → Forward as Attachment
  • iCloud Mail (web): Action menu (gear / arrow icon) → Forward as Attachment
  • Mobile mail apps: generally not supported — open the same mailbox in a desktop client to do this.

Provider not listed, or steps don't match?

Email clients change their menus. If you can't find the right option, drop us a note and we'll walk you through it for your specific provider and version.

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