How do I delete all emails in Outlook? This is a common question among Outlook users, especially when they want to clear out their inbox or organize their email accounts. Deleting all emails can be a straightforward process, but it’s important to do it correctly to avoid any unintended consequences. In this article, we will guide you through the steps to delete all emails in Outlook, whether you’re using the desktop application or the web version.
Firstly, let’s consider the desktop version of Outlook. To delete all emails in your Outlook inbox, follow these steps:
1. Open Outlook and navigate to the folder containing the emails you want to delete.
2. Click on the “Edit” menu, and then select “Select All” to choose all the emails in the folder.
3. Right-click on the selected emails and choose “Delete.”
4. A confirmation dialog will appear. Click “Yes” to confirm the deletion.
It’s important to note that this method will delete all emails in the selected folder, not just the emails in your inbox. If you want to delete all emails from your entire Outlook account, you will need to navigate to each folder and repeat the process.
For Outlook Web App users, the process is slightly different:
1. Log in to your Outlook Web App account.
2. Click on the folder containing the emails you want to delete.
3. Select all the emails by clicking on the “Select” checkbox in the top-left corner of the email list.
4. Click on the “Delete” button in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
5. A confirmation dialog will appear. Click “Yes” to confirm the deletion.
As with the desktop version, this method will delete all emails in the selected folder. To delete all emails from your entire Outlook account, you will need to navigate to each folder and repeat the process.
Before you proceed with deleting all emails, it’s a good idea to create a backup of your Outlook data. This ensures that you can recover any important emails that you might delete by mistake. To create a backup, follow these steps:
1. Open Outlook and go to “File” > “Info” > “Account Settings.”
2. Click on “Data Files” and then “Open File Location.”
3. Copy the entire Outlook data file (usually named “Outlook Data File.pst”) to a safe location on your computer or an external drive.
4. Close Outlook and make sure to save the backup file.
By following these steps, you can safely delete all emails in Outlook without the risk of losing important information. However, always remember to double-check your selections before confirming the deletion, as this action cannot be undone.
