How Can I Recover Deleted Draft Email Outlook?
Recovering deleted draft emails in Outlook primarily depends on how you deleted them. One might have lost the drafted email due to Outlook crashes or due to closing the application before saving the draft. In such cases, you need to check the Draft folder. If the drafted email was deleted accidentally, you can perform the Undo Action and get it back. If you have deleted old drafts to organize your mailbox, then you can recover them from the “Deleted Items Folder,”
But, if your Outlook data files have gotten corrupted, then you need to use specialized Outlook repair tools to help you repair and recover your Outlook data including the drafted emails.
- Method 1: Check the Draft Folder
- Method 2: Undo the Last Action Performed
- Method 3: Recover from Deleted Items Folder
- Method 4: Repair Corrupt Outlook Data File
Without further adieu, let’s start recovering your Outlook draft emails.
Method 1: Check the Draft Folder
The draft folder is where you can find the drafted emails usually. So, it is easy to check the draft folder before we go on to other methods. This is because Outlook automatically stores the email in the draft folder when you shut the Outlook window. You can do this by simply clicking on the Draft category after opening the Outlook application.
Method 2: Undo the Last Action Performed to Recover Deleted Draft Emails in Outlook
If you cannot find the email in the draft folder, you may have accidentally deleted it. If you have deleted it recently then you can try to undo the action. Undo is an option given by Outlook to take back the last performed action. You can perform undo by simply clicking the Undo button in the menu or pressing CTRL + Z keys on the keyboard.
Method 3: Recover from Deleted Items Folder
Deleted items folder is where the data is stored when they get deleted, including an email draft or deleted calendar in Outlook. Most of the time when Outlook crashes, it moves the emails in Outlook to the deleted items folder, the same goes for the drafts as well. Follow the below steps to recover deleted draft emails from Outlook.
1: Open the Outlook application and click on the Deleted Items category.
2: From the list of deleted emails, find the emails you need to recover.
3: Right-click on an email, click on Move, and select Other Folder.
4: In the Move Items window, select the category you want to move to and click on Ok.
Note: If you cannot find your emails,
- Click on Recover items recently removed from this folder.
- Find and select the emails in the Recover Deleted Items
- select Restore Selected Items and click on Ok.
- Now follow the above steps.
Method 4: Repair Outlook Data File to Recover Deleted Draft Email in Outlook
If none of the above methods help Outlook recover deleted draft emails, it’s time we consider corruptions in the Outlook data files, such as PST or OST. You have two options to repair Outlook data files, a built-in inbox repair tool or a professional repair tool.
Steps to use ScanPST
If you decide to go with the built-in inbox repair tool option, you can use scanpst.exe. ScanPST is a built-in tool by Microsoft to repair Outlook data files. Below are the steps you need to follow,
- Find and double-click on the exe file.
- Enter the details of the Outlook data file that you want to repair in the Enter the name of the file you want to scan
Note: Click on the Browse button and locate the necessary Outlook data file.
- Click on the Start button and start the scanning process.
- If any errors are found, then click on the Repair button shown.
When the repair process is completed, open Outlook again and verify the issue has been resolved.
Note: It’s important to note that the repair process may take some time, and you may need to repeat it several times to fully resolve the issue.
Steps to use the SFWare PST Repair tool
Now that we saw the built-in option, we are going to see a professional repair tool you can use. Here we use the SFWare PST Repair Tool, a user-friendly tool designed to manage various issues with Outlook data files. So, download and install the SFWare PST Repair Tool on your computer to start repairing corrupted Outlook data files at any time.
1: Launch the software and from the screen select Open PST File option.
2: In the next screen provide the corrupt Outlook data file and click Next.
3: Choose one of the scanning methods from below–
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- Normal Scan – For a low level of corruption.
- Smart Scan – When the Normal Scan is not enough.
4: Give a location to save the repaired Outlook data file.
5: Click on the Repair button and start the repair Outlook data file.
Note: After you complete the repair process, you can preview the results to verify that all data has been successfully restored.
6: Save repaired files to your desired location.
Conclusion
In Outlook, you can save emails as drafts if you don’t send them right away, allowing yourself to make improvements before sending them. Losing or deleting a draft email can be a challenging situation. In this article, we explain why you might delete or lose a draft email and explore solutions to recover deleted draft emails from Outlook. We also cover the use of PST repair tools in case your Outlook data files become corrupted. Please try out these methods and let us know how it goes and any other methods to add in the future to help other Outlook users recover deleted draft emails Outlook.
