URL that contains DBCS characters may be corrupted in an e-mail in OWA

When an e-mail message includes a URL that contains Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters (also known as double-byte character set (DBCS) characters), Outlook Web Access (OWA) users may not be able to access the URL when they click it in the body of the message.

This problem may occur when the DBCS characters in the URL are not converted to UTF-8 characters when OWA retrieves the HTML message from the Information Store. In this scenario, the URL is corrupted.

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Exchange Server 2003. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

Because of file dependancies, this hotfix requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1.

Restart requirement

The Microsoft Exchange Information Store service automatically stops and then starts again when you install this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other software updates.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: