Deleting Outlook Emails
How to Properly Delete Outlook Email Messages
When it is necessary to delete multiple messages in the inbox folder or any
sub folders, click on the first message to be deleted. In the case where the
messages to be deleted are directly below one another hold down the shift key
and then click on the last message in the list to be deleted. After verifying
that all messages to be deleted are highlighted, ensure that the shift key IS
NOT depressed and delete the messages. See figure 1.0
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Figure 1.0 deleting multiple messages using shift key |
Warning! If you leave the shift key depressed when you
delete the messages, the messages will be deleted for good. These messages will
not show up in the deleted items folder and cannot be recovered.
When it is necessary to delete multiple messages in the inbox folder or any
sub folders, click on the first message to be deleted. In the case where the
messages to be deleted are NOT directly below one another hold down the
ctrl key and then click on each message that needs to be deleted. After
verifying that all messages to be deleted are highlighted, ensure that the ctrl
key IS NOT depressed and delete the messages. See figure 2.0
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Figure 2.0 deleting multiple messages using ctrl key |
It is vital that the procedures listed above are followed to delete messages.
If these procedures are not followed then the email messages that are deleted
can not be recovered.
Using “Recover Deleted Items” Tool in Outlook
By default the Outlook Client is setup to prompt the user to permanently
delete items in the “Deleted Items” folder upon closing the Outlook Client. See
figure 3.0
|
Figure 3.0 prompt to delete items in “Deleted Items” folder |
If you choose yes, all messages in the “Deleted Items” folder will be deleted
but can be recovered afterwards using the “Recover Deleted Items” tool in the
Outlook client. After deleting items from the “Deleted items” folder you have up
to 14 days from the date the items were deleted to recover the messages
you need.
Please note that you can only recover deleted items using this tool if the
messages were deleted properly.
This tool is only available in online mode.
To use the “Recover Deleted Items” tool in Outlook:
1. Verify that there are no messages in the “Deleted Items” folder. If there
are messages delete them.
2. Highlight the “Deleted Items” folder
3. Click on the “Tools” option in the Outlook Tool Bar and select “Recover
Deleted Items”. See figure 4.0
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Figure 4.0 Selecting “Recover Deleted Items” |
4. The “Recover Deleted Items” window will appear with a list of items that
have been deleted in the last 14 days.
5. To recover deleted items, highlight each message in the list that you want to
recover. You can use the shift key or ctrl key to highlight multiple messages.
Click on the “Recover Selected Items” icon in the toolbar. See figure 5.0
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Figure 5.0 recover selected items |
6. The recovered items will appear in the “Deleted Items” folder. See
figure 6.0
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Figure 6.0 recovered items in the “Deleted Items” folder |
7. If necessary move the recovered deleted message from the “Deleted Items”
folder to another folder in Outlook.
Best Practices
If you need to delete the messages in the “Deleted Items” folder prior to
closing Outlook you should highlight the “Deleted Items” folder, right-mouse
click and select “Empty Deleted Items Folder”.
See figure 7.0
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Figure 7.0 emptying “Deleted Items” folder |
Remember that the messages in the “Deleted Items” folder are counted towards
the total mailbox size. It is a good practice to empty the “Deleted Items”
folder daily. Please also note that sent items are also counted towards total
mailbox size. End users tend to forget about messages in the “Sent Items”
folder. It is also a good practice to delete sent items as frequent as possible.
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