Eudora: Purge Deleted Mail

If you are here because you are at or over your mail quota, you must actually remove (purge, expunge) deleted mail to free space used by that mail. Proceed directly to deleted mail.

If you are here because you want to know in advance how to really remove mail, read at your leisure.

Delete a Message

You can delete a message in several ways whether or not you are viewing the message. Highlight or open the message and: 1) click the Trash can icon at the upper left corner of the Toolbar, 2) press Ctrl + D, 3) press the Delete key, or 4) select Delete from the Message pull-down menu.

Where Deleted Mail Is Now

The default setting for Eudora is to put deleted messages in the Trash. Messages moved to the Trash folder are deleted after being in the Trash for 7 days. You can immediately purge deleted messages by opening the Trash folder, selecting message(s), then selecting Message | Delete, pressing Ctrl + D, or clicking the Delete key. The highlighted message(s) are removed from your Trash and no longer use mail quota.

Setting How to Handle Deleted Mail

To change how deleted mail is handled, go to Tools | Options | Incoming Mail. The default for "When I delete a message:" is Move it to Trash. You can change that to Mark it as deleted. With Mark as deleted set, messages that you select or view and press Delete (or any of the options listed in Delete a Message above) will remain visible but can be purged by selecting Message | Purge Message.

updated: 27 May 2006