Summary: Deleting an email draft can be a frustrating experience. This can be either due to accidental deletion or some corruption, we need to recover the deleted draft. Here we discuss why the deletion happens, then we look at what to do to recover deleted draft emails from Outlook.
Content Table:
- Reasons for draft email deletions in Outlook
- How can I recover deleted draft email Outlook?
- Method 1: Check the draft folder
- Method 2: Undo the last action performed
- Method 3: Recover from deleted items folder
- Method 4: Repair Outlook data file
Reasons for Draft Email Deletions in Outlook
If you are facing drafted email deletion, then you need to know why this happen. There are many reasons for deleted drafted email situation, some of them below,
- You may accidentally delete a drafted email.
- Decide to delete old drafts to organize the mailbox.
- Closing the Outlook application before saving the draft.
- Outlook crashed while drafting the email.
- Outlook data file corruptions.
How Can I Recover Deleted Draft Email Outlook?
Once you have gone through above mentioned reasons and understand Outlook draft deletion, then it’s time to learn some methods to recover deleted draft emails in Outlook. There are many solutions to recover Outlook draft, we have given some of them below.
Method 1: Check the Draft Folder
The draft folder is where you can find the drafted emails usually. So, it is easy checking 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
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. Most of the time when Outlook crashed, it may move the emails to the deleted items folder, the same goes for the drafts as well. Follow the below steps to recover deleted draft emails from Outlook,
Step 1: Open the Outlook application and click on the Deleted Items category.
Step 2: From the list of deleted emails, find the emails you need to recover.
Step 3: Right-click on an email, click on Move, and select Other Folder.
Step 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
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 decided 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.
- Launch the software and from the screen select Open PST File option.
- In the next screen provide the corrupt Outlook data file and click Next.
- Choose one of the scanning methods from below–
- Normal Scan – For a low level of corruption.
- Smart Scan – When the Normal Scan is not enough.
- Give a location to save the repaired Outlook data file.
- Click on the Repair button and start the repair Outlook data file.
Note: Once the repair process is completed, you may preview the results to ensure that all data can be successfully restored.
- Save repaired files to your desired location.
Conclusion
Drafts in Outlook is a method to keep the mail that is not sent right after typing it, this helps you improve later before sending it. Hence deletion of the draft email is a tough situation to encounter. With this article we have discussed why a drafted email is deleted or lost, then we check out some solutions to recover deleted draft email from Outlook. We have finally seen PST repair tools if your Outlook data files get corrupted. Please try out these methods and let us know how it goes and any other methods to add in the future.