A system and method for dynamically and automatically updating the appropriate fields on the message application screen of an electronic message to show which of the appropriate service book, security encoding or security properties are acceptable or allowed for the message being composed. This updating occurs automatically based on the contents of the fields that are modified during composition of the message, such as, for example, modifications to classification of the message, recipients, keywords, or the like. Thus, the properties in place for a given message is reflected in a dynamic options list provided to the user based on the contents of various fields of the electronic message and the system policies resident on the system. The dynamic updating may provide an updated list of options to the user, or may optionally automatically apply minimum level settings based on security policy and contents of the message.