Outlook Tip: Quickly Delete Outlook Emails Permanently
By Nerino Petro at 27 July, 2010, 1:40 pm
Most people delete Outlook email messages by clicking on the Delete command or using the Delete key on their keyboard. However, this doesn't permanently delete the message; rather, it sends it to the Outlook Deleted items folder. And there it sits in most cases, waiting to be permanently deleted when the user finally gets round to using the Empty Deleted Items command (from the right click context menu). In the interim, hundreds or possibly thousands of emails to be deleted accumulate and take up precious space. If you have a limited size Outlook PST file, this can become an issue as space used for these emails means less space for new or other emails that you want to save. Users can configure Outlook options to automatically empty the Deleted Items folder on exit , but how many people know this or have actually take the time to do so? Then there are folks (like me) who want to maintain deleted emails for a period of time after deletion so clearing the Deleted Items folder on exit isn't an option. If you want to permanently delete Outlook email messages quickly and easily, Microsoft has provided a very simple way of doing so on a message by message or folder by folder basis:
Hold down the Shift key and press the Delete key.
That's it; nothing fancy or complex. When you delete a message this way, it bypasses the Deleted Items folder and is gone for good. If you do this with an Outlook Folder, it permanently deletes the entire folder.
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Your overview/tip fails to notify the reader that it's not really a permanent deletion. They still have 14 days when the "deleted" message is sitting in a hidden repository that can easily be recovered through simple Outlook steps.
Keith,
When you use this trick or remove them from the Deleted Items folder, the only way to recover them is 1) if you are using Exchange and have it configured to save Deleted messages 2) Recover Deleted Items function in Outlook which may include having to make changes to the Registry or 3) use a third party recovery product. So while technically correct that they remain where they can be recovered, the average user won’t know or make use of these capabilities. This trick simply allows them hard delete emails in a one step process rather than two using just the Delete Key or button and then emptying the Deleted Items folder.
What if e-mail message is opened? I.e., new e-mail comes in, notification is displayed, user clicks on notification and opens message in new window. It's possible to "delete" (move to trash box) message by hitting Ctrl+D from this view. Delete key does not work, neither do Shift+Delete and Shift+Ctrl+D.
Thank you so much for the SHIFT-DELETE tip. I was having trouble deleting Outlook email that were received from iphone senders. They would not delete and would not be moved to Deleted items folder. SHIFT-DELETE made them go away. Happy, happy.
I have en email with attachement and I can not delete it It is stuck in microsoft outlook it will not delete normalt nor will it delete by holding ctrl and right clicking delete HELP
Outlook 2007 will not allow me to delete item using the shift delete method. The message says you can provice greater capacity for storing items and folders but I cannot understand how to do that and my emails are are not coming into inbox.
Good Tip, a realtime saver