"Cannot delete this folder": Unable to delete Exchange Online public folders from Outlook client

Question

Hello,

I have an end user that has Owner permissions on all of the public folder on Exchange Online.

The user is able to move items, move the folders, create new folders from their Outlook client.

But when trying to delete Items, the following error pops up:

"Cannot delete this folder. Right-click the folder, and then click Properties to check your permission for the folder. See the folder owner or your administrator to change your permissions. Some items cannot be deleted. They were either moved or already deleted, or access was denied. "

We have tried the following:

• doing the operation using Outlook cached mode and online mode, no difference.
• We checked the permissions on Outlook client, OWA and Exchange online and the users has Owner rights on all the available public folders.
• We are able to delete the folders from Exchange Online admin center.
• Checking the Recoverable Items folder and purging the content, tried deleting a public folder, same error pops up.

I would appreciate any input or suggestions,

Thank you!

Regards,

Answer 1

Hi @Said A ,

Based on your description, the error occurs when deleting a public folder from outlook client. This possible cause is that the public folder is mail-enabled.

If you want to delete public folders, public folders must be mail-disabled before you can delete them. Mail-disable the public folder by using the following steps.

1.Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell.

2.Remove the public folder by using the following command:

Remove-PublicFolder <identity of PF>  

3.Then you receive an error message that indicates that the public folder should be mail-disabled before you can continue. You can use the following command:

Disable-MailPublicFolder <identity of PF>  

4.Enter Y to confirm this action

5.After you complete these steps, try to remove the public folder from the outlook client.

Details: cannot-delete-public-folder

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Answer 2

You must ask your Exchange administrator to set permissions on that specific folder.

AccessRights Owner For more information about this command, see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/exchange/mailboxes/set-mailboxfolderpermission?view=exchange-ps

After that, you will be able to delete the folders. You could also ask your Exchange administrator to delete the folders for you.
You can try to give yourself permissions on those folders by right-clicking the folder and click properties.