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Delete a Message

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Applies to: Office 365 for professionals and small businesses, Office 365 for enterprises, Microsoft Exchange, Live@edu

When you delete a message, the message is moved to the Deleted Items folder.

Note

This topic applies to the standard version of Outlook Web App. To read about this feature for the Outlook Web App Light, see Mail > Delete a Message.

How do I delete a message?

To delete one or more messages from a folder, select the messages, and then do one of the following:

  • Click Delete Delete on the toolbar.
  • Right-click the message and then click Delete Delete on the menu.
  • Press the DELETE key.

To delete an opened message, click Delete Delete on the toolbar.

How do I ignore a conversation?

You can use Ignore Conversation Ignore the selected conversation to delete any messages you've received in a conversation, and delete any future messages sent to that conversation. Ignoring a conversation won't remove messages from your Sent Items folder.

To ignore a conversation, select the conversation in the List View by clicking it, and then do one of the following:

  • Click the down arrow next to Delete Delete and click Ignore Conversation Ignore the selected conversation.
  • Right-click the conversation in the List View and click Ignore Conversation Ignore the selected conversation.

What else do I need to know?

  • If you're using Conversation view, when you click Delete Delete, what is deleted depends on what you've selected.
    • If you've selected the conversation in the List View, every message in the conversation that's in the current folder will be deleted. For example, if you're viewing your Inbox and have selected a conversation that includes messages in your Sent Items folder or other folders, the messages that aren't in your Inbox won't be deleted.
    • If you've selected one message in the conversation, only that message will be deleted.
  • When you delete a message by clicking Delete Delete, or Ignore Conversation Ignore the selected conversation, or by pressing the DELETE key, the message is moved to your Deleted Items folder.
  • You can also cancel Ignore Conversation and return the conversation to your Inbox. To cancel Ignore Conversation:
    1. In the folder list, click the Deleted Items folder.
    2. Find the conversation that you ignored in the Deleted Items folder and click to select it. Delete will change to Ignore the selected conversation.
    3. Click the down arrow next to Ignore the selected conversation and select Cancel Ignore Conversation Ignore the selected conversation.
  • You can select multiple adjacent messages to delete by holding down the SHIFT key and clicking the first message you want to delete, and then clicking the last message you want to delete. Doing this selects all messages in between. You can select multiple non-adjacent messages by holding down the CTRL key and clicking each message that you want to delete to select it. After you make your selections, press DELETE on your keyboard to delete them.
  • There may be a policy on your Deleted Items folder that causes items in it to be permanently deleted after they've been in the folder for a certain period of time. To determine whether your Deleted Items folder has such a policy, right-click the Deleted Items folder and move the pointer over Retention Policy.

What if I want to know more?