Deleted items (IMAP)
Understanding deleted items
IMAP servers do not delete messages when you click on the delete button, instead they are marked as deleted, usually with a score through (see Outlook Express example below).
To delete messages it is necessary to “purge” deleted messages which tells the server to phyically remove the items. Click once on the folder which you wish to purge and then follow the relevant screen shot below depending on your mail program:
Purging deleted items in Outlook XP
Purging deleted items in Outlook Express 6
Switching off display of deleted items
By default most IMAP email programs will show deleted items scored through. Depending on your email program you can hide this behaviour by following the instructions below:
In Outlook Express make sure you have clicked once on your Inbox, then from the View menu uncheck Current View -> Show Deleted Messages.
In Outlook make sure you have clicked once on your Inbox, then from the View menu tickCurrent View -> Hide Messages Marked for Deletion.
Automatic purge in Outlook Express
An alternative to manually purging is possible in Outlook Express which allows you to automatically purge deteled items when you switch between different folders. To set this up select Options from the Tools menu.
Under the Maintenance tab place a tick in the second box called “Purge deleted messages when leaving IMAP folders” as shown below:
