How to stop delete key from deleting the entire email in outlook?

Anonymous
2024-02-18T13:18:35+00:00

When I press delete - like in any other Microsoft tool, i mean delete the immediate text. But for some reason, Outlook started to use this key to delete e-mail. Where can I swich it off?

It´s really frustrating, I really wonder how people at Microsoft think. For example, they added annoying function where I have to first confirm editing a Word file before I start editing it (WHY?). But now I can accidentally delete an entire e-mail by a very predictable action. WHY! Just stop changing things for worse. Everytime I reinstall my windows, I need to go through the ordeal of swiching all these "bright ideas" off.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-09-06T15:44:15+00:00

    Same issue. Desktop version of Outlook. Corded keyboard. While typing in the preview pane, the last selected emails and the ones below it all delete when I try to delete a character. It randomly started in the middle of the day on 9/5/2024 and persists on 9/6/2024.

    What is the fix???

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-09-07T21:04:43+00:00

    Hi, I hadn't realised that an "answer" had been posted.

    However, this answer does not make any sense. The instructions break down right from the start. There is no "file" tab in the left hand corner. Even if I can get to "Reading Pane" the only options I've got are where to position it.

    Are you talking about a different version of Outlook ?

    This problem has caused me huge headaches, and I believe it has also caused others problems as well. I'd appreciate instructions to fix that actually relate to what I see.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-09-11T12:15:32+00:00

    My Outlook just started doing this yesterday - I can't even count how many emails I have deleted and had to start over because I can't always find them in my deleted folder - this is beyond ridiculous!! Really hoping someone comes up with a fix soon! This is unacceptable when trying to do a job that requires email threads be maintained!

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-09-11T12:52:27+00:00

    So, I know this isn't the answer anyone is looking for, but I posted above with the same issue, then suddenly (after a restart, and an update), the deleting thing stopped happening!

    The ole' IT trick (did you try turning it on and off) kind of worked for me. (not immediately, but within a few days... hard to explain, it really did just stop happening).

    That said, if you find yourself accidentally deleting emails from long ago, and its hard to find them in your deleted items, there is a way to sort your deleted folder on 'time deleted'. That way, you can sort the deleted folder by most recently deleted (regardless of the original email time/date), and it makes it easier to find what you accidentally deleted.

    (just google how to sort liek that, as I don't recall how I did it; but i beleive tis a setting in Outlook)

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-09-11T15:47:30+00:00

    Started happening to me yesterday (Sep 10, 2024), the only reason I noticed what it was doing (and how many emails it had been deleting) is that using CTRL+DEL gave me a pop-up saying it was going to "ignore" the entire conversation. I could hit Cancel, then decided to look through my Deleted folder and found a bunch of messages I had lost.

    Tried rebooting but the issue persists. Right now the only "fix" is to double-click the email or select "pop out" to edit the email in a separate window. This is absurd.

    My version is Microsoft® Outlook® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2408 Build 16.0.17928.20114) 64-bit

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