Keep a copy of sent emails or automatically delete sent email messages in Windows Mail

Whenever you send email messages from Windows Mail, it will automatically (and by default) keep a copy of each of these inside of the "Sent Items" folder. This behavior is turned on by default, because it allows you to know exactly what you sent, when you sent it, and to whom. This is an easy and intuitive way to confirm if you already sent a reply a particular email message, even if you have not received a response to your reply. In this tutorial, we will explain how you can customize Windows Mail not to save a copy of emails you sent - aside from your personal preferences, this will save a bit of disk space.

Prevent Windows Mail from saving copies of sent email messages

Here is how you tell Windows Mail not to save a copy of emails you send:

• Once you are inside Windows Mail, click on the Tools menu
• Select "Options"
• When the Options dialog opens, click on the "Send" tab
• The first option you will see under the Sending settings is a checkbox that reads "Save copy of sent messages in the 'Sent Items' folder". It is checked by default.
• To instruct Windows Mail to stop keeping a copy of every email you sent (new emails, email replies, or email forwards), just uncheck that checkbox; once you have, click on the OK button to apply the new setting and return to Windows Mail.
• The next time you send an email from Windows Mail, a copy of it will not be saved in the Sent Items folder. This of course means that you'll have to remember if you have already sent a reply to one of your emails.
• Windows Mail Tip - This is where the email iconography Windows Mail uses comes in handy: when you reply to an email, its icon shows a left-pointing arrow in overlay.
• Changing the setting no longer to save copies of sent email messages is not retroactive: all emails you currently have inside the sent items folder are still there. If you want to get rid of them, just click on the Sent Items folder, select all those emails, and delete them.

This is all it takes to change Windows Mail's default behavior of saving sent emails.

Force Windows Mail to keep a copy of every email you send

To restore the original behavior, and make Windows Mail retain a copy of every sent email message, just follow these simple steps:

• Go to the Tools menu and choose Options
• Click on the "Send" tab
• Check the "Save copy of sent messages in the 'Sent Items' folder" checkbox, and click "OK" to apply the change and return to Windows Mail!