Deleting Messages

With Eudora

The specifics of how to delete messages and how to recover them once deleted varies depending on whether you are using Windows or a Macintosh, and by whether you are using POP or IMAP to handle your e-mail.

The bad news is, there is a lot of information on this page. The good news is, only a small fraction applies to your setup. Courage.

Windows POP

Delete a message - Three methods

First, if the message you want to delete isn't already open, click once on the desired message summary to select it. Then do one of the following:

A		Press the Delete key.
	or
B		Click on the Trash icon in Eudora's main Toolbar.
	or
C		Choose Trash from the Transfer menu.

What happens when you delete a message

The message(s) you marked are moved into the Trash mailbox on your computer.

Un-delete a message
Note: If you have emptied the Trash either manually or automatically, you cannot un-delete a message.

1. From Eudora's Mailbox menu choose Trash. The Trash mailbox opens.
2. Select the message summary for the message you want to save.
3. From Eudora's Transfer menu choose the mailbox where it should go.
   OR
   Drag the message to another mailbox.

Emptying the Trash

As delivered, Eudora will empty the Trash when you exit Eudora. This is generally a good thing (see the box on Mailboxes & Memory). You can turn this automatic feature off by navigating Eudora's menus through Tools / Options / Miscellaneous (on the left), then clear the check-box next to Empty Trash when exiting.

You can also empty the trash by highlighting one or more messages in the Trash and pressing the Delete key, or by selecting Empty Trash from Eudora's Special menu

Windows IMAP

Delete a message - Three methods

First, if the message you want to delete isn't already open, click once on the desired message summary to select it. Then do one of the following:

A		Press the Delete key.
B		Click on the Trash icon in Eudora's main Toolbar.
C		Choose Trash from the Transfer menu (or the trash folder you've specified in Options -- see What happens... just below).

What happens when you delete a message

There are two possibilities, depending on how your Options are set: from Eudora's Tools menu choose Options, then select Incoming Mail on the left.

1. If you choose Mark it as deleted, messages you delete from any postserver mailbox will still appear in that mailbox, but the Server Status column icon will show a red X, indicating that this message has been marked for deletion. Messages you delete from local mailboxes will be moved to your local trash mailbox.

2. If you choose Move it to <<name of trash folder>>, messages you delete from any postoffice server mailbox will be removed from that folder and placed in the trash folder you indicated in Options. This folder must be on the server. Messages you delete from local mailboxes will be moved to your local trash mailbox.

Un-delete a message
Note: If you have emptied the Trash (or Purged Messages), either manually or automatically, you cannot un-delete a message.

There are two methods for un-deleting messages on the server, depending on how your Options are set. (see What happens when you delete a message above):

A. If you chose Mark it as deleted, highlight the message summary, then select UnDelete from the Message menu.

B. If you chose Move it to, open the folder on the server where your trash is stored, then use Eudora's Transfer menu to choose the mailbox where it should go.

To un-delete messages in the local trash mailbox:

1. From Eudora's Mailbox menu choose Trash. The Trash mailbox opens.
2. Select the message summary for the message you want to save.
3. From Eudora's Transfer menu choose the mailbox where it should go.
   OR
   Drag the message to another mailbox.

Emptying the Trash

When you use Eudora for Windows with IMAP, you MUST perform an additional manual step in order to truly delete a message stored on the server. While this is a bit cumbersome, it also allows you to recover files that you have accidently marked for deletion.

A. If you chose Mark it as deleted, select Purge Messages from the Message menu. Once purged, messages cannot be recovered.

B. If you chose Move it to, open your server trash folder, highlight one or more messages, then press the Delete key. Messages deleted from your server trash cannot be recovered.

Somewhat confusing is the Tools / Options / Miscellaneous setting labeled Empty Trash when exiting. This applies ONLY to your local Trash mailbox. You can also manually empty the local trash by selecting Empty Trash from Eudora's Special menu.

 

Macintosh POP

Delete a message - Three Methods

First, if the message you want to delete isn't already open, click once on the desired message summary to select it. Then do one of the following:

A		Press the Delete key.
	or
B		Click on the Trash icon in Eudora's main Toolbar.
	or
C		Choose Trash from the Transfer menu (or the trash folder you've specified in Options -- see What happens... just below).

What happens when you delete a message

The message(s) you marked are moved into the Trash mailbox on your computer.

Un-delete a message
Note: If you have emptied the Trash either manually or automatically, you cannot un-delete a message.

1. From Eudora's Mailbox menu choose Trash. The Trash mailbox opens.
2. Select the message summary for the message you want to save.
3. From Eudora's Transfer menu choose the mailbox where it should go.
   OR
   Drag the message to another mailbox.

Emptying the Trash

As delivered, Eudora will empty the Trash when you exit Eudora. This is generally a good thing (see the box on Mailboxes & Memory). You can turn this automatic feature off by navigating Eudora's menus through Special / Settings / Miscellaneous (on the left), then clear the check-box next to Empty Trash on Quit.

You can also empty the trash by highlighting one or more messages in the Trash and pressing the Delete key, or by selecting Empty Trash from Eudora's Special menu

Macintosh IMAP

Delete a message - Three Methods

First, if the message you want to delete isn't already open, click once on the desired message summary to select it. Then do one of the following:

A		Press the Delete key.
	or
B		Click on the Trash icon in Eudora's main Toolbar.
	or
C		Choose Trash from the Transfer menu (or the trash folder you've specified in Options -- see What happens... just below).

What happens when you delete a message

There are two possibilities, depending on how your Settings are set: from Eudora's Special menu choose Settings, then select Personality Extras on the left. Note that if you have set up more than one personality, this setting can be adjust separately for each personality.)

A. If you have a checkmark next to Use a trash mailbox on the IMAP server, the first time you try to delete a message you will be asked which mailbox to use for the trash (you use the Mailbox menu to select it). Messages you delete from any mailbox on the postoffice server will be moved to this folder. Messages you delete from local mailboxes will be moved to your local trash mailbox

B. If you do not have a checkmark next to Use a trash mailbox on the IMAP server, messages you delete from any mailbox on the postoffice server will stay where they are, but will be marked for deletion - the "circle and slash" symbol will appear in the Server Status column. (You will also see this symbol when you transfer a message from one mailbox to another.) Messages you delete from local mailboxes will be moved to the local trash.

Un-delete a message
Note: If you have emptied the Trash, you cannot un-delete a message.

A. If you have a checkmark next to Use a trash mailbox on the IMAP server:

1. From Eudora's Mailbox menu choose Trash (or the mailbox on the server you chose to be the trash mailbox). That mailbox will open.
2. Select the message summary for the message you want to un-delete.
3. From Eudora's Transfer menu choose the mailbox where it should go.
   OR
   Drag the message to another mailbox.

B. If you do not have a checkmark next to Use a trash mailbox on the IMAP server:

1. Highlight the message summary for the message you want to un-delete.
2. With the mouse pointer over the Server Status column, hold down the mouse button.
3. Select Mark as Deleted from the popup menu.(This will remove the marked for deletion icon.)

Emptying the Trash

When you use Eudora for Macintosh with IMAP, you MUST perform an additional manual step in order to truly delete a message stored on the server. While this is a bit cumbersome, it also allows you to recover files that you have accidently marked for deletion.

As delivered, Eudora will empty the local Trash when you exit Eudora. This is generally a good thing (see the box on Mailboxes & Memory). You can turn this automatic feature off by navigating Eudora's menus through Special / Settings / Miscellaneous (on the left), then clear the check-box next to Empty Trash on Quit.

A. If you have a checkmark next to Use a trash mailbox on the IMAP server, selecting Special / Empty Trash will empty both the local and postoffice trash mailboxes.

B. If you do not have a checkmark next to Use a trash mailbox on the IMAP server

To empty the local trash mailbox, select Special / Empty Trash.

To delete messages on the server that have the Marked for Deletion symbol:

1. Open a server mailbox with messages marked for deletion.
2. Hold down the Option key on your keyboard.
3. From the Special menu select Remove Deleted Messages (this command only appears when you hold down the Option key).
4. Repeat as necessary with other server mailboxes.

Somewhat confusing is the Special / Settings / Miscellaneous setting labeled Empty Trash on Quit. This applies ONLY to your local Trash mailbox. You can also manually empty the local trash by selecting Empty Trash from Eudora's Special menu.