How to recover deleted drafts in Outlook
Outlook is a widely used email client that helps users manage their emails, calendars, and contacts efficiently. However, it is not uncommon to accidentally delete important drafts while working on emails. If you find yourself in such a situation, worry not! This article will guide you through the steps to recover deleted drafts in Outlook.
1. Check the Deleted Items folder
The first place you should check for deleted drafts is the Deleted Items folder. This folder stores all the deleted emails, including drafts, for a certain period, depending on your Outlook settings.
Follow these steps to recover a deleted draft from the Deleted Items folder:
- Open Outlook and navigate to the Deleted Items folder.
- Locate the deleted draft you want to recover.
- Right-click on the draft and select “Restore” from the context menu.
- Choose the folder where you want to restore the draft to, and click “OK” to complete the process.
2. Use the “Recover Deleted Items” feature
Outlook provides a built-in feature called “Recover Deleted Items” that allows you to restore deleted drafts from the Deleted Items folder or from a .pst file.
Follow these steps to use the “Recover Deleted Items” feature:
- Open Outlook and go to the Deleted Items folder.
- Click on the “File” tab in the ribbon.
- Select “Info” from the menu.
- Click on “Recover Deleted Items” in the sidebar.
- Select the folder from which you want to recover the deleted draft.
- Check the boxes next to the drafts you want to recover.
- Click “OK” to restore the selected drafts.
3. Restore from a backup
If you have enabled the “AutoArchive” feature in Outlook, you can restore deleted drafts from an archived .pst file.
Follow these steps to restore from a backup:
- Open Outlook and go to the Deleted Items folder.
- Click on the “File” tab in the ribbon.
- Select “Open & Export” from the menu.
- Click on “Import/Export” and then select “Import from another program or file” from the list.
- Choose “Outlook Data File (.pst)” and click “Next.”
- Browse to the location of the .pst file containing the deleted draft.
- Select the .pst file and click “Next.”
- Select the folders you want to import and click “Next.”
- Choose the destination folder for the imported items and click “Finish.”
4. Use a third-party recovery tool
If the above methods do not work, you can try using a third-party recovery tool designed to recover deleted drafts in Outlook. These tools are often more powerful and can recover deleted drafts even if they are no longer in the Deleted Items folder.
When using a third-party recovery tool, follow these steps:
- Download and install a reliable Outlook recovery tool.
- Launch the tool and select the Outlook data file (.pst) you want to scan for deleted drafts.
- Start the scanning process and wait for the tool to analyze the file.
- Preview the recovered drafts and select the ones you want to restore.
- Choose the destination folder for the recovered drafts and click “Restore.”
In conclusion, recovering deleted drafts in Outlook is not an impossible task. By following the steps outlined in this article, you should be able to restore your deleted drafts and continue working on your emails without any issues.
