Outlook 2013 – How to recall sent messages

We’ve all been there – having sent an email without an attachment, with a typo or to the wrong person then panic sets in and you can’t find the recall option.

Well here it is – but the trick is to be quick, for it to be successful you must recall before the message is read.

  1. With Outlook 2013 open, open the ‘Sent Items’ folder.
  2. Outlook2013-Recall1
  3. Double-click on the email to recall to open it in a new window
  4. From the toolbar, click on ‘Actions’ and then click on ‘Recall This Message’
  5. Outlook2013-Recall2
  6. Here you will be presented with two options, I suggest you leave the default ‘Delete unread copies of this message’ option selected. Then click ‘OK’
  7. Outlook2013-Recall3
  8. The recalled message will remain in the sent items folder but will have a notice that reads ‘You tried to recall this message on the date and time
  9. Outlook2013-Recall4
  10. The recipient will receive a recall message, if their system supports recalls (for example, they are connected to an Exchange mail server) and they haven’t read the message it will be successfully recalled.
  11. You will receive a message that confirms that the recall was successful or unsuccessful.