Sent and deleted e-mails missing in Outlook with IMAP: setting the right folders

E-mail·· 13 views· 3 min read

The short answer: with IMAP, Outlook has to know which server folder is Sent and which is Deleted. When it does not, it keeps sent mail in a computer-only folder (which the phone and webmail cannot see), or deleted mail stays crossed out instead of disappearing. The fix is telling Outlook where the folders are.

Symptoms and causes

Symptom Most likely cause
I send from Outlook and the Sent folder in webmail is empty Outlook is saving sent mail in a local folder, or in a “Sent Items” folder different from the server’s “Sent”.
There are two similar folders: “Sent” and “Sent Items” One belongs to the server and Outlook created the other. Only one should be used.
What I delete stays crossed out and does not disappear Outlook is marking for deletion instead of moving to Trash. It only goes when you purge the folder.
All folders appear inside the Inbox The server keeps folders under the Inbox; Outlook needs the root folder path to show them alongside.

Putting the folders in place

1 Check in webmail what the server folders are called (for example Sent, Trash, Drafts).
2 Root folder path: in File > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced, type INBOX in “Root folder path”, save and restart Outlook. The folders then appear in order.
3 Sent folder: in the versions that have it, same place, Sent Items tab, choose “Save sent items in the following folder on the server” and select the server’s Sent folder. Newer versions pick the folder the server indicates by themselves; if they get it wrong, use webmail as the reference and drag older sent mail into the right folder.
4 Deleted items: on the Deleted Items tab (when it exists) choose “Move deleted items to the following folder on the server” and select Trash. What you delete then goes to Trash on every device.
5 Duplicate folders: once everything is right, move the contents of the extra folder into the server folder and delete the one left over.
Before deleting a duplicate folder, check in webmail that its contents are already in the other one. A folder that exists only on the computer is gone for good once deleted.
Sent mail counts towards the mailbox space too. A Sent folder with years of attachments is often why the mailbox is full: your mailbox is full.

Folders still mixed up? Tell us the address and your Outlook version.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

Outlook is not syncing: missing e-mails and folders that do not update

Duplicate e-mails in Outlook: where they come from and how to stop them

POP or IMAP: which to choose, and what you lose by picking wrong

Your mailbox is full: what to delete and how to stop it happening

How to access your webmail

How to set up your e-mail in Outlook 2016 and 2019

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