Recover "permanently" deleted items in Outlook

I had a bit of a blonde moment earlier on today and decided that in order to get into a GTD frame of mind I should clear out my inbox… and deleted items. Great, then I realised I’d deleted two important emails with attachments I needed but hadn’t saved – muppet!

So, “Restore deleted items or folders” to the rescue!

1. Click on the deleted items folder in the navigation pane
2. Go to Tools > Recover Deleted Items
3. Select the item(s) you want to restore to the deleted items folder
4. Click the restore button –  – and the selected items will be back in the deleted items folder

Genius!

I’ve only tested the above with Outlook 2003 but I’m assuming it’s the same for other versions.

Microsoft’s notes:

• This feature requires you to use a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account. In addition, your administrator must have enabled this feature on Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 or later.
• Some items or folders may not be recoverable because the length of time that deleted items are stored on the server is set by your administrator. For public folders, expiration dates take precedence over the length of time set by your administrator.

Looking at my items they do go back a couple of weeks which is nice as I don’t have to panic about deleting something or look stupid for asking for an item to be resent.

I wouldn’t like to rely on it though!

About The Author

Katy is always trying to be more productive one day at a time! Whether it's analogue, digital, motivational or psychological who'll try any system that will help her get things done and get organised. As well as running FlippingHeck.com, she also loves making music and reviewing things.

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