Why are some folders (Delete?) cleared daily wthout my control
When I use the Delete folder I find that items which I want to retain in the Delete folder until I wish to delete them permanently or until they reach a certain expiry date appear to be deleted the next day without any control being available to do otherwise. I then created a folder for items Pending Final Deletion in the Inbox section and specified in the Account Settings>Server Settings that deleted items should be moved to the Pending Deletion File. This appeared to work for a couple of days but then a second Pending Deletion File appeared in the General Folder area and neither file had any items in it. So how do I create/use a file which provides the normal facilities for handling Deleted items, gives me the control I am looking for and does not permanently delete items without giving me control?
Chosen solution
Thanks for the information.The account does use imap but I have not yet been able to check what my service provider does. I will do that and report back. There does seem to have been several changes which I can't explain -The appearance of a Deleted box in the Inbox area and another in the General Folders area both of which appear to have a small green symbol on which I have not seen before and both of which cannot easily be removed. - Using the Delete button removes the item from the summary list and puts it in one of the Delete folders but it remains for (probably) less than a day and then disappears. That did not happen until recently. - A Trash folder has appeared in the General folders area and I now drag and Drop any items I have finished with (the ones I would normally use the Delete button for) to that folder and I will then delete them (hopefully) at some time in the future as they are not automatically deleted. Incidentally I think that there is a facility to place Deleted items in a folder of your choice as specified in the 'Server settings' for the account so I would expect to be able to put them in my Pending Deletion folder without a problem.
Overall it appears that changes have occurred somehow (and I have not to my knowledge changed anything relevant to the problems) caused problems with the Delete button/Delete file mechanisms as outlined above. So while it was a helpful answer I don't think that I am nearer to a solution.Read this answer in context 👍 0
All Replies (4)
If this email account uses the IMAP protocol, the unexpected deletions may be happening because your service provider has a policy of clearing deleted mails from the account. In any case I suspect that it's a risky procedure to try to use 'delete' to mean 'erase but not just yet'. If you simply move the items to your 'pending deletion' folder they should stay there until you are ready to delete them.
Chosen Solution
Thanks for the information.The account does use imap but I have not yet been able to check what my service provider does. I will do that and report back. There does seem to have been several changes which I can't explain -The appearance of a Deleted box in the Inbox area and another in the General Folders area both of which appear to have a small green symbol on which I have not seen before and both of which cannot easily be removed. - Using the Delete button removes the item from the summary list and puts it in one of the Delete folders but it remains for (probably) less than a day and then disappears. That did not happen until recently. - A Trash folder has appeared in the General folders area and I now drag and Drop any items I have finished with (the ones I would normally use the Delete button for) to that folder and I will then delete them (hopefully) at some time in the future as they are not automatically deleted. Incidentally I think that there is a facility to place Deleted items in a folder of your choice as specified in the 'Server settings' for the account so I would expect to be able to put them in my Pending Deletion folder without a problem.
Overall it appears that changes have occurred somehow (and I have not to my knowledge changed anything relevant to the problems) caused problems with the Delete button/Delete file mechanisms as outlined above. So while it was a helpful answer I don't think that I am nearer to a solution.
Modified by Pazzer
Don't ask what happened because I have not to my knowledge changed anything but now the 'Delete' action is working and the deleted items are not removed from the 'Delete' file. So I have removed the temporary files and I am back to square one. Thanks for you help.
Well, now it is happening again. Items are again being deleted from the Delete file daily without (apparently) any control being changed. I have tried altering the retention period both on the file properties and in the overall control area to delete 'after 60 days' but that has not changed anything. I don't think it is the IMAP problem and my service provider since it has changed back to normal and then happened again since I last asked the question. Also all the messages are downloaded to my PC and I assume that the service provider will not be accessing my PC to alter records on my PC - will he/she? Anybody any ideas about what might be the problem and why changing the retention period has no effect?
Modified by Pazzer