Deleting Messages
When you delete e-mail messages in Webmail, they remain on the mail server and do not reduce your mailbox size. You must purge them manually if you do not want the messages to count against your mailbox quota.
You can permanently delete e-mail messages from the mail server in two different ways. If you keep the default Mail Options setting, messages you mark as deleted are not removed from the mail server until you click the Purge Deleted link. Alternatively, you can configure Webmail to move deleted messages to the Trash, then empty the Trash to remove them from the server. Check your option setting, and then proceed with the Method 1 or Method 2 instructions below.
NOTE: If you receive an error when trying to delete a message, refer to the Troubleshooting page.
Setting Deletion Options
- From the top of any Mail page, click the Options icon to display the Options for Mail page.
- Click Deleting and Moving Messages in the Message Options column to display the Deleting and Moving Messages Options page.
- Specify whether to delete a message to a folder, or simply mark messages for deletion.
- Method 1—Delete messages to the Trash or another folder. Check the When deleting messages, move them to your Trash folder instead of marking them as deleted checkbox. From the Trash folder pull-down menu, select Create a new Trash folder to automatically create a folder for deleted messages, or select an existing folder.
- Method 2—Mark messages for deletion. Make sure that the When deleting messages, move them to your Trash folder instead of marking them as deleted checkbox is unchecked.
- Click the Save Options button to return to the Mail Options page.
Method 1: Deleting Messages to the Trash
If you selected the option to move deleted messages directly to the Trash or another folder, any message you delete moves directly into that folder. You can recover a deleted message by moving it from the Trash folder to another folder.
To permanently delete the messages from the server, empty the Trash folder. After you empty messages from the Trash, those messages cannot be retrieved. It's a good idea to empty the Trash folder at least once per session if you have limited storage on your mail server.
NOTE: You cannot undo the action of emptying the Trash, and you won't be prompted for confirmation, so be certain you want to empty your trash before you do so.
Method 2: Marking Messages for Deletion
If you do not select the option to move deleted messages to the Trash, any message you delete is marked for deletion, and remains in your Inbox or other folder where it is stored. Messages marked for deletion appear in strikethrough text. You can recover a message marked for deletion by clicking Undelete. If you don't want to view messages marked for deletion, click the Hide Deleted link.
To permanently delete any messages marked for deletion from the server, you must click the Purge Deleted link on the right side of the Inbox. After you do this, the deleted messages cannot be retrieved.
