Permanently Delete E-mails in Outlook

Do you use Outlook or Outlook Express? If so, here's a cool trick to permanently delete e-mail and bypass the deleted items folder (which most people forget to empty!).

Next time you go to delete an item, hold down the Shift key. You can use either the keyboard combination of Shift + Delete or, hold down Shift while you click the Delete button on the toolbar.

Either way, Outlook / Outlook Express will bypass your Deleted Items folder and remove the item permanently.  Incidentally, this method of permanently deletion also works in Windows Explorer where you want to delete files on your computer.

If you have more than one e-mail to delete,  just hold down your CTRL key as you click the items you want to delete which will allow you to highlight/select multiple e-mails (files). Then follow the procedure above.

Remember, this PERMANENTLY deletes the items, bypassing the deleted items/recycle bin completely, so be careful with it!

You can also set Outlook / Outlook Express to empty your deleted items folder on exit: 

1. Click the Tools menu, Options.

2. Click the Maintenance tab and check the "Empty items from the Deleted Items folder on exit" checkbox. Hit OK.

That's it. Outlook and Outlook Express will permanently delete all of your emails for you each time you exit.