Delete Email From Server last modified 2022-04-05

Email accounts have a fixed limit of 5GB storage on the server. A warning notice about Mail Quota comes by email before email storage is full. Emails must be deleted and trash emptied to get below 100% capacity else email will bounce back to the sender.

If the account was set up in IMAP, you can delete email and empty trash using the desktop email program. Webmail is still helpful because a graph at the bottom of the page shows storage percentage and progress can be observed during deletion. If the account is set up in POP, deletions must be done in Webmail. See why POP and IMAP matter at POP or IMAP?

Now, log in to Webmail with your olympus.net email address and password.

If the Inbox doesn’t have thousands of emails or lots of attachments containing space consuming photos and PDF files, check the other folders, including the Sent Items and Drafts. Each folder will show the number of unread emails. Photos sent by a tablet or phone often are stored in the Sent Items folder and are a frequent source of filling up the storage.

Tips follow for different ways to quickly decide where to start, and more quickly select emails to be deleted to regain storage space.

Note that it’s easiest to use Webmail using a full-sized monitor. Tablets and phones condense the view to only three of the normal four-column view, and require selecting icons to open up views that are readily visible on a full-sized monitor. That’s explained below.

Check Folder Size

1. To find which folder is holding the most space-consuming emails, in Webmail select Settings in the black ribbon on the left edge.
2. Select Folders under the Settings column.
3. All the folders appear in the column to the right. Select one of the folders. A new view to the right opens up showing how many messages are contained in the folder. Select the link that reads Click to get folder size. The size will be given in megabytes.
   
4. Simpler, for just a quick look at how many emails each folder contains, select the folder itself (without going to the settings). At the bottom of every column of emails the total number of emails in the folder is listed. In the screenshot below, the folder has a total of 91 emails. Note that emails with photos or other attachments will take up more usage than ordinary email. The arrows on either side of the Messages reader moves one forward or back in page loads. The double arrow pointing right » loads the oldest page of emails in the folder.
   

Sort By Size to Delete Email

Re-sort the email by Size to delete the most space-consuming big files with attachments.

1. Select Options above the list of emails. (Using small screens on phones or tablets, select the three vertical dots icon, then Options).
2. Sorting column: select Size.
3. Sorting order: select descending to have the biggest attachments at the top of the Inbox.
4. Select Save.
5. Select Mail in the black ribbon to get back to the Inbox.
6. Review the first page of emails to make sure there are none that must be saved. If ready, select Select. For small screens, select three vertical dots, then Select, then Current Page. DO NOT select All when deleting, because it will delete EVERY page of emails in the Inbox, namely your entire Inbox.
7. Empty Trash (ONLY if you are sure you did not accidentally select All).
8. Next restore your email sort order per the next section.
9. Once you are finished with deleting email, reset your email back to sort by Arrival date with the latest email at the top by selecting Options, then change the Sorting column entry from Size to Arrival date, Sorting order to descending. For small screens, select the icon with three vertical dots, then Options.
10. Select Save.
11. To return to the Inbox, select Mail in the black ribbon in the leftmost column.

Search by Sender To Delete Email

1. The Search field is just above the list of emails. In the screenshot, zappos.com was typed into Search followed by the return or enter key.
2. With the search results shown, select Select, then All, then select the Delete icon in the rightmost column. Note: Using Select, then All, is safe only in this instance where a search precedes it, as only the searched email will be selected. See the following CAUTION.

CAUTION: Selecting Select, then selecting All, if not immediately preceded by a search, will select ALL of the emails in the folder including all the pages that are not currently visible. Accidentally deleted email may be restored from Trash, but may be unrecoverable if Trash is emptied.

Thousands of Emails in Inbox

If you’re using POP and have thousands of emails in the inbox, call to discuss. The desktop email application should be set to store on the server only for a limited time, say, a week or month. POP downloads and stores the email in the email program on the desktop computer without limit until it is manually deleted.