Deleted a screenful of messages by mistake

sync00 · 19 Oct 2010, 08:45 AM

Is there any way to figure out which messages I just deleted so I can retrieve them?

**Sherry** · 19 Oct 2010, 11:09 AM

Were you on the FM Web when you deleted them? If yes, did you look in the Trash Folder to see if they were there? If they are in there you can select what you want back then put them in the folder you want them in.

If in a client like Outlook, Outlook Express etc you can look in their Trash or Deleted folders.

Sherry

PS - When I delete things they go to the top of the list in the Trash or get a line through them in my email client.

sync00 · 19 Oct 2010, 11:27 AM

I did this in the web interface.

They are in the trash folder. But the messages I accidentally deleted go back a month and are mixed in with about 1,000 other messages that I don't want to retrieve.

There does not seem to be a deleted date so there is no way to separate them from the messages I don't want.

**Sherry** · 19 Oct 2010, 11:44 AM

Oh, I see. After reading your post I see the ones going to the top of the list are newer dated. Hmm, not sure how to tell the date when things have been deleted. Perhaps someone else knows a way like maybe in an email client that might show it if an IMAP account was setup in it?

Sherry

sync00 · 20 Oct 2010, 12:28 AM

This is the second time I've done this. Each time I halve the number of messages displayed in the Inbox.

**Sherry** · 20 Oct 2010, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sync00

But the messages I accidentally deleted go back a month and are mixed in with about 1,000 other messages that I don't want to retrieve.
There does not seem to be a deleted date so there is no way to separate them from the messages I don't want.

Sounds like you either delete a lot of emails or like to keep a lot in the trash folder in case you ever want something back?

If it's because you delete a lot of messages you could set a time for older emails to be automatically "purged" (permanently deleted). In the Options/Folders screen you can set the time to "Auto-purge" messages in the Trash folder making sure you don't purge the more resent emails you last accidentally deleted. Then again, maybe some of those are old emails you wouldn't want to loose?

I wouldn't do this right away as it is a permanent thing and maybe someone will post a way to get the right emails out of the trash but it may be something to at least look at for the future?

Sherry

sync00 · 20 Oct 2010, 03:41 AM

That is a good idea. I currently have auto-purge set to 31 days for the Trash folder. Reducing that will make it easier to deal with this the next time it happens.

Thanks

**Sherry** · 20 Oct 2010, 03:55 AM

I don't know how often FM does the purge (everyday?) but some accidentally deleted emails may be more than 31 (or whatever) days old?

If you think it would help you could maybe make a "Feature Request" to have a purge choice for the Trash folder to "Auto-purge" emails that were "Deleted" xx days ago? That way the most recent deleted emails won't get purged...

Sherry

sync00 · 20 Oct 2010, 04:18 AM

I copied all the email in the Trash to a temp folder to make sure I didn't lose it.

Quote:

If you think it would help you could maybe make a "Feature Request" to have a purge choice for the Trash folder to "Auto-purge" emails that were "Deleted" xx days ago?

To do that they would need to keep track of the date emails are deleted, which I'm pretty sure they are not doing.

I thought of making a feature request for a deleted date. But I figure this is so fundamental that they obviously don't think it is important.

placebo · 20 Oct 2010, 04:52 AM

I'd make the feature request if I were you. Programmers and engineers have a knack for often missing seemingly obvious features, so just because it seems obvious to you doesn't mean you shouldn't suggest it.

**Sherry** · 20 Oct 2010, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sync00

To do that they would need to keep track of the date emails are deleted, which I'm pretty sure they are not doing.

I know some feature requests would involve "many" hours/weeks/months to do because it involves major changes to their internal coding. Just "maybe" this kind of request may not be considered major by them. You never know if it's just a matter of adding a deleted date to the existing code that may only take a few hours (instead of many?)...

Sherry

brong · 20 Oct 2010, 09:21 AM

They will be the most recent message by UID. But no, we don't provide any easy way to recover the messages from your trash. An IMAP client that doesn't do any sorting would have them all at the top or bottom... you could try that.

hadaso · 21 Oct 2010, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brong

They will be the most recent message by UID. ...

Perhaps some playing with searching in the web interface can fetch the messages with most recent UIDs?

sync00 · 21 Oct 2010, 06:01 AM

I did some searching but I can't figure out what the UID is.

brong · 21 Oct 2010, 07:55 AM

It's embedded in the URL, but not easily findable. You're really much better off with an IMAP client than with our web interface for this sort of low level stuff...

But overall, it's really not easy

19 Oct 2010, 08:45 AM	#1
sync00 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 127	Deleted a screenful of messages by mistake Is there any way to figure out which messages I just deleted so I can retrieve them?

19 Oct 2010, 11:09 AM	#2
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	Were you on the FM Web when you deleted them? If yes, did you look in the Trash Folder to see if they were there? If they are in there you can select what you want back then put them in the folder you want them in. If in a client like Outlook, Outlook Express etc you can look in their Trash or Deleted folders. Sherry PS - When I delete things they go to the top of the list in the Trash or get a line through them in my email client. Last edited by Sherry : 19 Oct 2010 at 11:21 AM.

19 Oct 2010, 11:27 AM	#3
sync00 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 127	I did this in the web interface. They are in the trash folder. But the messages I accidentally deleted go back a month and are mixed in with about 1,000 other messages that I don't want to retrieve. There does not seem to be a deleted date so there is no way to separate them from the messages I don't want.

19 Oct 2010, 11:44 AM	#4
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	Oh, I see. After reading your post I see the ones going to the top of the list are newer dated. Hmm, not sure how to tell the date when things have been deleted. Perhaps someone else knows a way like maybe in an email client that might show it if an IMAP account was setup in it? Sherry

20 Oct 2010, 12:28 AM	#5
sync00 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 127	This is the second time I've done this. Each time I halve the number of messages displayed in the Inbox.

20 Oct 2010, 03:41 AM	#7
sync00 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 127	That is a good idea. I currently have auto-purge set to 31 days for the Trash folder. Reducing that will make it easier to deal with this the next time it happens. Thanks

20 Oct 2010, 03:55 AM	#8
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	I don't know how often FM does the purge (everyday?) but some accidentally deleted emails may be more than 31 (or whatever) days old? If you think it would help you could maybe make a "Feature Request" to have a purge choice for the Trash folder to "Auto-purge" emails that were "Deleted" xx days ago? That way the most recent deleted emails won't get purged... Sherry

20 Oct 2010, 04:52 AM	#10
placebo Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 743	I'd make the feature request if I were you. Programmers and engineers have a knack for often missing seemingly obvious features, so just because it seems obvious to you doesn't mean you shouldn't suggest it.

20 Oct 2010, 09:21 AM	#12
brong The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,696 Representative of: Fastmail.fm	They will be the most recent message by UID. But no, we don't provide any easy way to recover the messages from your trash. An IMAP client that doesn't do any sorting would have them all at the top or bottom... you could try that.

21 Oct 2010, 06:01 AM	#14
sync00 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 127	I did some searching but I can't figure out what the UID is.

21 Oct 2010, 07:55 AM	#15
brong The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,696 Representative of: Fastmail.fm	It's embedded in the URL, but not easily findable. You're really much better off with an IMAP client than with our web interface for this sort of low level stuff... But overall, it's really not easy