Webmail: 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 two ways. 1) When viewing a message, click Delete on the (Delete | Reply | Reply to All ...) toolbar just above the message to remove that message. 2) When viewing a folder listing, check the box at the left side of the message line of any message to delete, then click Delete just above that column.

Where Deleted Mail Is Now

The default setting for Webmail 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 clicking on Empty Trash in the menu bar. If you are nearing or over your mail quota, empty the Trash so that the deleted messages no longer use mail quota.

webmail deleted mail defaults

If you have changed the default setting, deleted messages show with strikethrough lettering and a trash can icon to the right of the check box. At the top right corner of the folder listing are the options to Hide Deleted | Purge Deleted. You can immediately purge deleted messages by clicking on Purge Deleted. The messages are deleted and no longer use mail quota.

Setting How to Handle Deleted Mail

To change how deleted mail is handled, go to Options (Options for Mail)| Deleting and Moving Messages. (Dialogue box illustrated above.)

If you want to be able to immediately purge deleted messages, the setting should be the default setting. Use the Empty Trash icon in the menu bar to purge deleted messages.

updated: 27 May 2006