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Deleted Emails

Barry Burrows 0 Reputation points
2026-05-31T02:16:05.4+00:00

Deleted emails remain in the Inbox with a strikethrough on them. How Do I change this and remove them

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home
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  1. Barry Burrows 0 Reputation points
    2026-06-01T22:56:02.1666667+00:00

    Yes. After I changed those settings "Purge has appeared. I used it and it removed those emails.

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  2. Barry Burrows 0 Reputation points
    2026-05-31T22:50:37.6266667+00:00

    Thank you for your comment nut when I open up "Folder" there is no "Purge" option. How can I get this ?

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  3. Hornblower409 9,670 Reputation points
    2026-05-31T03:33:15.2266667+00:00

    File -> Account Settings -> Account Settings
    Select your IMAP Account and [Change]

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    Uncheck "Mark items for deletion but ..."

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  4. AI answer

    2026-05-31T02:16:14.9733333+00:00

    In an IMAP account in Outlook, messages with a strikethrough are not actually removed; they are only marked for deletion. To change this behavior and remove them instead of just marking them:

    1. Configure the IMAP account so that deleted messages are moved to a Deleted Items folder rather than just marked for deletion (this is chosen the first time deleted items handling is configured for the IMAP account). Once set to move deleted messages to a folder, they will no longer remain in the Inbox with a strikethrough.
    2. For messages that are already marked for deletion (showing with strikethrough):
      1. Select the message(s) in the Inbox.
      2. On the Home tab, in the Delete group, select Undelete if the intention is to restore them.
      3. To permanently remove all messages that are only marked for deletion, use the purge function provided by the IMAP account (purging removes them from Outlook and from the IMAP server and they cannot be restored).
    3. To hide messages that are only marked for deletion (so they no longer appear in the Inbox view):
      1. On the View tab, in the Current View group, select Change View.
      2. Select Hide messages marked for deletion.

    This will prevent strikethrough messages from appearing in the Inbox view and ensure deleted items are handled via the Deleted Items folder instead of remaining marked in place.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  5. Barry Burrows 0 Reputation points
    2026-05-31T22:59:05.2+00:00

    Thank you. I'll try this and see if it works. To get reid of the emails already affected, I had to undelete them and then delete all over again.

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