June 29, 2009


Do you know the recall feature in Outlook which recalls sent e-mails? But before you want to vent your anger about a colleague by e-mail, because you can call the message back, I have you to slow down in advance. This feature admittedly sounds very attractive. But however there is a small catch. The feature works only under the following conditions:

1) The recipient has not yet read your message
2) You are working on an Exchange server
3) You sent the e-mail internally.

If these conditions are met, you can recall your e-mail at any time and replaced it by another. This is just useful if you forgot to insert an attachment.

For recalling a message try this:


1. Open the corresponding e-mail in the Sent Items folder

2. Then go to Actions – Recall this message
In Outlook 2007 you will find this command under Other Actions



3. A dialog box opens. Here you can choose between two options. Delete unread copies of the message means that your e-mail will be deleted in the recipient’s inbox. By selecting the other options you can replace your old e-mail with a new one. The e-mail will opened and you can change it. Just click the send button and the new e-mail will replaced the old one. So the recipient receives only the modified version.



Please mind to unmark the option Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipients.

Caution: If your receiver anticipate you and read your e-mail before recalling it, he can both read the old e-mail and also get informed about your recall and changes. So please take this feature with caution!