Recover deleted items from Exchange at IU

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Recover deleted items from the Deleted Items folder

Note:
UITS cannot recover data deleted from an individual's mailbox on the IU Exchange mail system. UITS will restore IU Exchange data only in the event of a system failure.

At Indiana University, when you delete items (that is, messages, folders, tasks, appointments, or contacts) using Outlook or Outlook on the web, they move to the Deleted Items folder. You may retrieve them by opening the Deleted Items folder, locating the items, and then moving them to another folder. When items are deleted or emptied from the Deleted Items folder, they are in retention and recoverable for seven days in Exchange Online before they are permanently deleted.

Note:
You cannot perform the following recovery operation in Microsoft Outlook 2016 for Mac. However, in Outlook for Windows, the recovery feature is available regardless of the client used to delete the items.

In Outlook, to recover deleted items during the retention period (seven days for Exchange Online):

  1. Click the Deleted Items folder, and then, from the Folder tab, select Recover Deleted Items.
  2. You will be presented with the items that are available for recovery. Select the items you want to recover, and click Restore at the top of the list. Select all recoverable items by selecting Recoverable items at the top of the list.
  3. This will place the items in your Deleted Items folder. From there you can move or drag them back to your Inbox, or to any folder you wish.

    Be aware that all items in the recovery window appear with an envelope icon, regardless of object type. If the item recovered is a non-mail item (such as a contact, appointment, or task), Outlook will recover it properly with the appropriate icon when it appears back in your Deleted Items folder.

To recover deleted items in Outlook on the web:

  1. Select the Deleted Items folder, and then select Recover items deleted from this folder.
  2. A separate window will open, containing the items that you have deleted that are available for recovery. Check the box next to the items you want to recover, and click Recover in the bottom right-hand corner.
  3. This will place the items into your Deleted Items folder. From there you can move or drag them back to your Inbox, or to any folder you wish.
Note:
If you delete something from the retention area, or the time limit has expired on an item, it is not recoverable even with administrative intervention.
Warning:
When mail is deleted from macOS Mail, the messages go to the Trash folder as usual. However, messages deleted from this folder do not go to the Exchange retention area, and they are not recoverable. Additionally, mail that is hard-deleted via Option-Delete skips the Trash folder and also does not go into the retention area.

Recover deleted items from other folders

Every folder in IU Exchange has a deleted items retention area. In Outlook, the deleted items recovery function is enabled on all folders by default. Items find their way into the deleted items retention area of specific folders through various ways; following are some of the most common:

  • If you hard-delete an item (delete it with Shift-Del)
  • If you use a PDA with certain synchronization programs (since some will hard-delete items)

To recover items from the deleted items retention area:

  1. In Outlook on the web, select the Deleted Items folder, and select Recover items deleted from this folder.
    Notes:
    • If the whole folder was also deleted, use the Deleted Items folder.
    • Be sure to right-click the folder in the full list of folders, not the one in the Favorites menu.
  2. Right-click the message you wish to recover in the window, and select Recover.

This is document ainh in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2023-05-01 13:23:17.