Outlook 2003 not behaving as documented

[Fuzzy Logic]

We are using Outlook 2003 with Exchange 2003 and recently discovered that
when you right click on Junk E-Mail and select Empty "Junk E-Mail" Folder
the messages are permanently deleted (shift key is NOT being used). This is
contrary to the documentation in Outlook and on Microsoft's website.

Here is the help info from Outlook:

Empty the Junk E-mail Folder

On the Go menu, click Folder List.

In the Folder List, right-click the Junk E-mail folder, and then click Empty
Junk E-mail Folder on the shortcut menu.

Notes

Emptying the Junk E-mail folder or deleting an item from the Junk E-mail
folder moves the item to the Deleted Items folder. You can permanently
delete an item by selecting the item and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. To
permanently delete all the messages in the folder, press SHIFT and click
Empty Junk E-mail Folder on the shortcut menu.

If you are using a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account and working
online, you must be using Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 or later. If you do
not know what version of Exchange server your e-mail account is using,
contact your Exchange administrator.

Here is Microsoft's web page which essentiall says the same thing:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP010436881033.aspx

What we are experiencing is that the items are permanently deleted as
documented for Office 2007:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP012300331033.aspx

We would like the documented behaviour to work and I am wondering when this
might have changed and how we can get Outlook to behave the way it's
documented?

Note that deleting individual items in the Junk folder does send them to the
Deleted Items folder.

TIA

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

We are using Outlook 2003 with Exchange 2003 and recently discovered that
when you right click on Junk E-Mail and select Empty "Junk E-Mail" Folder
the messages are permanently deleted (shift key is NOT being used). This is
contrary to the documentation in Outlook and on Microsoft's website.

These are true statements.

We would like the documented behaviour to work and I am wondering when this
might have changed and how we can get Outlook to behave the way it's
documented?

Emptying the Junk E-mail folder is identical to emptying the Deleted Items
folder, despire what the docs say at it has been that way since the Junk
E-mail folder was introduced in Outlook 2003. Microsoft is more likely to fix
the documentation to match Outlook's behavior than the other way around.

 

[Fuzzy Logic]

These are true statements.


Emptying the Junk E-mail folder is identical to emptying the Deleted
Items folder, despire what the docs say at it has been that way since
the Junk E-mail folder was introduced in Outlook 2003. Microsoft is
more likely to fix the documentation to match Outlook's behavior than
the other way around.

But emptying the Deleted Items folder doesn't permanently delete the
messages. I am still able to use the Tools>Recover Deleted Items to get them
back (assuming they aren't older than our retention time on the server).
Sadly if I use the Empty Junk E-Mail I have no ability to use the Recover
Deleted Items feature.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

But emptying the Deleted Items folder doesn't permanently delete the
messages.

Well, technically it is a permanent delete from Outlook's point of view.
Recover Deleted Items is an Exchange feature.

I am still able to use the Tools>Recover Deleted Items to get them
back (assuming they aren't older than our retention time on the server).
Sadly if I use the Empty Junk E-Mail I have no ability to use the Recover
Deleted Items feature.

Why would you want to recover junk e-mail? If you think you might want to do
that, then delete the items in the Junk E-mail folder instead of emptying the
folder.

 

[Fuzzy Logic]

Well, technically it is a permanent delete from Outlook's point of view.
Recover Deleted Items is an Exchange feature.


Why would you want to recover junk e-mail? If you think you might want
to do that, then delete the items in the Junk E-mail folder instead of
emptying the folder.

Sadly more than one of our users uses the "Empty Junk E-Mail" option and
then calls us and says they inadvertantly deleted a message they needed. If
I want to get it back I need to restore their mailbox. If Outlook behaved as
documented this would not be an issue.

 

[F.H. Muffman]

But emptying the Deleted Items folder doesn't permanently delete the

Sadly more than one of our users uses the "Empty Junk E-Mail" option
and then calls us and says they inadvertantly deleted a message they
needed. If I want to get it back I need to restore their mailbox. If
Outlook behaved as documented this would not be an issue.

From the help in 2007:
Empty the Junk E-mail Folder

1. In Mail, right-click the Junk E-mail folder in the Navigation Pane .
2. Click Empty "Junk E-mail" Folder on the shortcut menu.

Note Emptying the Junk E-mail folder permanently deletes the messages.
Before you empty it, you may want to check through the Junk E-mail Folder
to ensure no messages you want were junked by mistake. If you find a message
you want to keep, you can mark it as not junk.

If you want to delete individual messages from the Junk E-mail Folder without
emptying it, select the message, and then press SHIFT+DELETE on your keyboard.
This deletes the message permanently.

So, at least in 2007, it's documented that that's what happens. If you search
OL2003's help for 'empty junk' what does it say?

Also, if you go into Junk Email, is Tools - Recover Deleted Items available?

 

[Fuzzy Logic]

From the help in 2007:
Empty the Junk E-mail Folder

1. In Mail, right-click the Junk E-mail folder in the Navigation Pane .
2. Click Empty "Junk E-mail" Folder on the shortcut menu.

Note Emptying the Junk E-mail folder permanently deletes the
messages.
Before you empty it, you may want to check through the Junk E-mail
Folder to ensure no messages you want were junked by mistake. If you
find a message you want to keep, you can mark it as not junk.

If you want to delete individual messages from the Junk E-mail Folder
without emptying it, select the message, and then press SHIFT+DELETE on
your keyboard. This deletes the message permanently.

So, at least in 2007, it's documented that that's what happens. If you
search OL2003's help for 'empty junk' what does it say?

Also, if you go into Junk Email, is Tools - Recover Deleted Items
available?

From the Help in Outlook 2003:

Emptying the Junk E-mail folder or deleting an item from the Junk E-mail
folder moves the item to the Deleted Items folder. You can permanently
delete an item by selecting the item and then pressing SHIFT+DELETE. To
permanently delete all the messages in the folder, press SHIFT and click
Empty Junk E-mail Folder on the shortcut menu.

Also on Microsoft's website:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP010436881033.aspx

As I said in my original post it is not behaving as documented.

 

[F.H. Muffman]

But emptying the Deleted Items folder doesn't permanently delete

From the Help in Outlook 2003:

Emptying the Junk E-mail folder or deleting an item from the Junk
E-mail folder moves the item to the Deleted Items folder. You can
permanently delete an item by selecting the item and then pressing
SHIFT+DELETE. To permanently delete all the messages in the folder,
press SHIFT and click Empty Junk E-mail Folder on the shortcut menu.

Also on Microsoft's website:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP010436881033.aspx

As I said in my original post it is not behaving as documented.

Or it's not documented correctly. I'd personally go for the latter, considering
that in 2007, the functionality remains unchanged while the documentation
has been changed. So, the functionality is the way it should be, the documentation
is what is wrong.

You might think it's nit-picking, but, knowing a few doc writers, they'd
take the blame on this one.