The following articles were included in our Exchange Messaging Outlook (EMO) newsletter published on September 2, 2021.
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Today's Highlights:
Disable Recover Deleted Items?
An Outlook.com user had a question:
In Outlook’s Deleted Items folder, can you remove the "Recover deleted items in this folder" link?
In Outlook.com consumer accounts, you cannot disable or change the deleted items recovery settings. You can customize the ribbon to remove the Recover Deleted Items button(s) from the Folder ribbon, or disable the buttons using Group Policy, but cannot remove or disable the link at the top of the Deleted Items folder.
Exchange admins can change the retention period on the recovery folder, which basically eliminates the recovery capability (but does not remove the link.)
To change the retention period for an individual user, use this PowerShell:
Set-Mailbox username -RetainDeleteditemsfor 00:00:00:00
For all Mailboxes in your organization, use these cmdlets:
$mailbox = Get-Mailbox -Resultsize Unlimited
$Mailbox | Set-Mailbox -Retaindeleteditemsfor 00:00:00:00The values are days:hours:minutes:seconds format and can be used to increase the retention period.
For more information on the Set-Mailbox cmdlet, see Set-Mailbox (ExchangePowerShell) | Microsoft Docs
Although it’s somewhat pointless to disable the buttons when you can’t remove the link in the Deleted Items folder, anyone can disable the Recover Deleted Items button on the Folder ribbon in Outlook.
See Use Group Policy to disable commands for the steps to disable the Recover deleted button on the ribbon. The values are 26725, for the Recover Deleted Items from Server button, and 5654, for Recover Deleted Items button.
View Two Weeks on the Calendar
A user wanted to change the time scale used in the Schedule View in the Calendar or the Scheduling Assistant in a meeting request so they could see more dates in the view.
While the longest period in the time scale is 60 minutes, you can view several days on screen (no scrolling) in the Scheduling Assistant if you show only your working hours (Options button > Show Only My Working Hours) and maximize the meeting request. The wider your computer screen, the more dates you’ll see on screen, without scrolling.
In the Schedule View, you can select up to 14 dates in the navigation calendars, and they do not need to be consecutive – hold Ctrl to pick and choose the dates you want. You will need to scroll to see all the dates unless you have a really wide monitor.
Other options:
Use the month view and select two weeks in the navigation calendar. The calendar grid will be larger and show more appointments. For more information, see View a Two Week Calendar
You can display up to 14 days calendar in the Day view, although it will be crowded if you overlay too many calendars. Drag the mouse over consecutive dates in the navigation calendar or hold Ctrl as you click on dates.
Tip: The Schedule View in the calendar can also display only working hours. If you are not seeing working hours in schedule view, switch to the Day view, open a meeting request and select Show Only My Working Hours. If Show Only My Working Hours has a checkmark, toggle it off then on. Go back to the calendar and switch to the Schedule View; it should show only the working hours.
Automatically Reply to Messages
A user asked if they could use a rule to reply to all messages they receive. They didn’t want to use the Out of Office automatic reply because they won’t be out of the office. They just wanted to send an automatic reply with additional contact information.
Yes, you can create a rule in the Outlook desktop software to reply using a specific message. The reply will be sent by the server; Outlook doesn't need to be open for it to work.
Outlook desktop also has a rule for reply with a template, but this rule will only run when Outlook is open.
To create the rule, open the Rules Wizard. Choose Apply this rule after the message arrives at the bottom of the dialog and click Next. If you want to send it in response to all messages, click Next again. Choose have server reply using a specific message, then click on ‘a specific message’ link to open a message form. Enter your response then close the form and Save.
New & Updated Exchange KB Articles
Cumulative Update 10 for Exchange Server 2019 (KB5003612)
Cumulative Update 21 for Exchange Server 2016 (KB5003611)
New & Updated Outlook KB Articles
You experience issues in Outlook when you try to configure free/busy information or when you try to delegate information
Describes the issues that you may experience in Outlook because a mailbox property does not correctly reference a hidden message in the mailbox. Provides a resolution.
"The Delegates settings were not saved correctly" error when you try to add a delegate in Outlook
How to use the Out of Office or Automatic Reply in Outlook for Mac
Other Resources
Filter mail when you are not the only recipient
A user wanted "a rule that will perform an action if I am the only one in the To box, even when there are others in the CC box". He also asked for a rule "that will perform an action if I am included in the To box but am not the only one in the To box".
Process Mail that was Auto Forwarded by a Rule
How to identify or "do something" with a message that was auto forwarded. While the info bar in the message identified it as auto forwarded, it' only visible when the message is selected.
Run a Script: Send Autoreply with Date
These code samples show you how to use a run a script rule to send an auto response, including the received date and when the recipient should expect a follow up response. The first sample uses a template for the reply, the second macro replies to the incoming message.
Use VBScript to Export or Import Categories
The VBScripts on this page will export or import a list of your categories for backup and importing into your Outlook desktop mailbox.