How message recall works
Have you ever clicked send on a message and then remembered that you forgot to attach that important file, or realized you put the wrong time down for a meeting? Outlook allows you the option of recalling a sent message. Here’s how:
For Outlook 2003:
1. Go to the Sent Items folder.
2. Find the message you want recalled and double-click it.
3. Go to the Actions menu and select Recall This Message.
4. To recall the message:
Select Delete unread copies of this message.
(Note: the recipient needs to have Outlook opened for the message to be deleted)
To replace the message:
Select Delete unread copies and replace with a new message, click OK, and type your new message.
To be notified about the success of the recall or replacement:
Check the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient check box.
5. Click OK.
UPDATE: How To Recall a Sent Message in Outlook 2007:
1. Click on Sent Items.
2. Find the message you want recalled and double-click it to open.
3. Go to the Ribbon.
4. In the Actions section, click Other Actions and select Recall This Message.
5. Select Delete unread copies of this message.
6. To be notified about the success of the recall, check the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient checkbox.
7. Click OK.
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Applies to |
Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 |
This feature requires you to use a Microsoft Exchange account. Most home and personal accounts do not use Exchange. The recipient of the mail you want to recall must also be using an Exchange server e-mail account. For example, you cannot recall a message sent to someone's personal Internet service provider (ISP)
Everyone makes misteakes, er, mistakes. E-mail is a fast way to communicate with your co-workers, schedule meetings, and share documents. However, sometimes in the rush you might forget to attach a file, or send out information only to realize after clickingSend that you need to change something.
Scenarios
You send an e-mail message, asking your co-workers to review the sales figures for this year. After you send the message, the flood begins — "What attachment?" "I didn't get the attachment!" "Can you resend the attachment?"
How can you undo your error? You want to recall the original message, then resend it with the missing attachment. For all of your co-workers who haven't opened the message yet, you can play an e-mail sleight of hand and replace the original message with one containing the attachment.
Do the following:
- In Mail, in the Navigation Pane, clickSent Items.
- Open the message you want to recall or replace.
- On the Actions menu, click Recall This Message.
I don't see Recall This Message on the Actions menu
- Click Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.
Note If you are sending the message to a large number of people, you may want to consider clearing theTell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient check box.
- Click OK, and then type a new message and include the attachment.
- Click Send.
In another scenario, you accidentally send a message announcing a party for your staff that afternoon. A thoughtful gesture on your part; however, the surprise party isn't until next week. Oops. You want to recall the message, and not replace the message at this time.
Do the following:
- In Mail, in the Navigation Pane, clickSent Items.
- Open the message you want to recall or replace.
- On the Actions menu, click Recall This Message.
I don't see Recall This Message on the Actions menu
- Click Delete unread copies of this message.
Note If you are sending the message to a large number of people, you may want to consider clearing theTell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient check box.
Select whether only to delete the message or to delete and replace the message.
Select the check box to receive a confirmation that the recall was successful.
Will my recall be successful?
The success or failure of a recall depends on the settings the recipient has in Outlook. If you requested an e-mail to tell you if the recall suceeds or fails, there is no way to know how long it might take for this e-mail message to arrive as there are many variables in this process. Following are four scenarios that explain what happens in various situations, and an additional scenario that covers the recall of a message sent to a Microsoft Exchange Server public folder.
Action | Result |
You send an e-mail message to someone. You recall the original message and replace it with a new one. On the recipient's computer, in Tracking Options, Process requests and responses on arrival is selected. | Both the original message and the recall message are received in the recipient'sInbox. Assuming the original message has not been read, the original message is deleted and the recipient is informed that you, the sender, deleted the message from his or her mailbox. Note If the original message is marked as read (viewing in the Reading Pane doesn't constitute reading in this scenario) when the recall message is processed, the recipient is informed that you, the sender, want to delete the message, but the message remains in the recipient's Outlook folder. |
You send an e-mail message to someone. You recall the original message and replace it with a new one. On the recipient's computer, in Tracking Options, Process requests and responses on arrival is not selected. | Both the original message and the recall message are received in the recipient'sInbox. On the recipient's computer, one of the following occurs:
Note If the original message is marked as read (viewing in the Reading Pane doesn't constitute reading in this scenario) when the recall message is processed, the recipient is informed that you, the sender, want to delete the message, but the message remains in the recipient's Outlook folder. |
You send an e-mail message to someone. You recall the original message and replace it with a new one. On the recipient's computer, either by rule or by the recipient, the original message is moved to another folder and the recall message remains in theInbox (or it is moved to another folder). | As long as the recall message and the original message exist in separate folders, the recipient receives a message indicating that a recall attempt failed. This occurs regardless of the Outlook configurations and the read status of the message. The original message and the new message are both available to the recipient. Note If the recipient read the original message and then marked it as unread, Outlook treats it as if it had never been read and recalls it successfully. |
You send an e-mail message to someone. You recall the original message and replace it with a new one. On the recipient's computer, either by rule or by the recipient, both messages are moved to the same folder. This results in behavior similar to that which occurs when Outlook is not configured to automatically process messages. | On the recipient's computer, one of the following occurs:
Note If the recipient read the original message and then marked it as unread, Outlook treats it as if it had never been read and recalls it successfully. |
You send an e-mail message to a public folder. You recall the original message and replace it with a new one. | One of the following occurs:
If a user with any other public folder rights opens the recall message, the recall fails, and the user receives a message indicating that the recall failed. Both the old and new messages remain in the public folder. Notes
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