How to recall an email – and why you shouldn't practise it!

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At some bespeak in time, I'm sure yous've sent an email that you badly want to accept back. The moment y'all hit the "Ship" push button you lot panic! Oh no! The email is out on the Internet and you lot'd do anything to get it dorsum. You open up the electronic mail you accidentally sent and to your dandy relief you see an option in Outlook to "Recall" the message. But what happens when you click "Recollect" in Outlook? Is your message really removed from the recipient'south mailbox? In most cases – No! In this article, I will share with you how the "Recall" email part works in Outlook and why you're probably improve off not using information technology.

How "Remember" message works

The "Recall" functionality is available from Microsoft Outlook version 2003 to the current version.

In the beneath case I've sent an electronic mail to my colleague Peter, simply I've accidentally fastened the interview feedback from the interview I had with Peter – non the new job candidate! Needless to say, I desperately desire to recollect this message and replace it with an email with the right attachment.

To remember a message yous have sent, become to your "Sent Items", open up up the email bulletin and nether "Deportment" click "Recall This Message".

Here yous tin cull to "Delete unread copies of this bulletin" or to "Delete unread copies and supplant with a new message".

Recall This Message dialogue box | © Business Productivity

In this scenario, I will delete the email and supervene upon information technology with an e-mail with the correct attachment. If you check the option to "Tell me if retrieve succeeds or fails for each recipient" you will get an email telling y'all if Outlook was able to retrieve the message or not.

If you are in luck and recalling the message actually works (run into more details what is required for information technology to work below), the e-mail will exist deleted and replaced with the new, right 1. At that place will be no trace of the original e-mail that you recalled, the receiver will never know that you recalled the e-mail.

Recalled email | © Business Productivity

You will receive an email notifying you that the email was recalled successfully.

Email notification successful message recall | © Business Productivity

Recall message simply works if the following criteria are met

The above example is not bad if message remember works you tin relax and you don't have to carry the desperation of your mistake. However, it is very seldom that message recall is successful like in the instance above – especially today when people read their email on a number of different devices. For message recall to be successful, all of the following have to exist true:

  • Yous take sent the email to someone (i or multiple people) inside your own organization
  • Your arrangement is using Microsoft Substitution as your email server
  • The recipient is using Microsoft Outlook (and Outlook is running) and logged on to the server
  • The recipient hasn't already read the bulletin
  • The message hasn't been moved from the inbox

What happens when the criteria are not met?

If one or more of the criteria in a higher place are non met, your message will not be deleted from the receiver'south inbox. Instead, the receiver will see an additional e-mail informing him or her that you lot would similar to recall the electronic mail.

In the below example I've tried to recall an e-mail sent to Ariel. Since she is outside our organization and since she is not using Commutation or Outlook the message call back does not succeed.  An email titled "Recall:" is sent, simply the original, incorrect e-mail is non deleted from the recipient'south inbox.

Email titled Recall received | © Business Productivity

If yous are lucky, the receiver will run into that y'all want to remember the email and simply delete it or ignore information technology. Unfortunately, the "recall" message oftentimes sparks the receiver's curiosity. At present he or she will definitely open up and read the initial e-mail and endeavour to figure out why y'all wanted to recollect the message.

Other recommendations to prevent unwanted email to be sent

Since it is and then seldom that message remember works, I recommend that you don't use information technology at all! It just adds more focus to the incorrect e-mail. If you oft transport an incorrect email I would suggest other workarounds. For example, you lot tin can add together a rule to Outlook that keeps your email in the Outbox for a few minutes earlier they are sent. That fashion y'all have time to "grab" the message before it is sent (to learn how to do that read this article).

Check out our How-to Outlook website for free Outlook 2013 video tutorials hither. You lot can also have a wait at out our other How-to sites for gratuitous Office 2013 tutorials here (more How-to sites coming soon!).