Cannot delete emails

Question

How to delete multiple emails from folders. Note that the usual method of clicking on an email, press shift key & scroll down to the email for the batch to be deleted does not work. Highlighting an email shows a tick, but using shift and ticking another email does not tick any other emails, other than the first one ticked.

Any ideas please?

Answer 1

Hello Robert Coeshall,

Thanks for reaching out. For me to understand the situation completely and help you best, could you share a bit more details?

• Which Outlook are you using — the New Outlook for Windows, Classic Outlook (the older desktop app), or Outlook.com in a browser? (The tick/checkbox showing up on a single click suggests New Outlook or the web version.)
• Does Shift work normally in other apps — for example, can you Shift+click to select a range of files in File Explorer, or hold Shift to type capital letters?
• Anything recent that might be relevant — Windows update, Outlook update, a new keyboard, or any accessibility settings turned on lately?

It's possible that Sticky Keys or Filter Keys under Windows accessibility settings can sometimes break the Shift modifier across apps, and a stuck/failing Shift key would look the same. If Shift+click works fine in File Explorer, then we know it's specifically an Outlook-side issue and we can dig from there.

Answer 2

Thank you for your response. I had in fact tried all the four methods that you describe, to no avail.

Thank you.

Answer 3

Thank you for your response. However, none of the items in the four paragraphs worked, all of which I have tried.

Thank you.

Answer 4

In Outlook on Windows, multiple messages can be deleted even if Shift+click selection is not working as expected by using other built‑in selection methods and then emptying Deleted Items to remove them permanently.

To delete multiple messages from a single folder:

1. Open the folder that contains the emails.
2. To select consecutive emails, click the first email, then press and hold Shift and click the last email in the range, then press Delete.
3. To select non‑consecutive emails, click the first email, then press and hold Ctrl and click each additional email to select, then press Delete.
4. All deleted messages move to Deleted Items.

If Shift+click still does not select a range, use Ctrl+A to select everything in the folder, then press Delete:

1. Go to the folder.
2. Press Ctrl+A to select all messages.
3. Press Delete to move them all to Deleted Items.

To permanently delete and free space, empty Deleted Items:

1. In the Folder pane, right‑click Deleted Items.
2. Select Empty Folder.
3. Confirm when prompted to permanently delete all items.

Alternatively, to permanently delete specific messages directly (bypassing Deleted Items):

1. Select or highlight the messages.
2. Press Shift+Delete.
3. Confirm the permanent deletion when prompted. These items cannot be recovered afterward.

If using Outlook.com in a browser, messages deleted from Inbox or other folders first go to Deleted Items and still count toward storage until that folder is emptied or items are auto‑deleted after 30 days.

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References:

• Delete all email messages in Outlook
• Delete a message
• Storage limits in Outlook.com