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“I tried to send a large attachment to a friend and now the e-mail is stuck in my Outbox! I’ve been trying to delete it and I can’t because Outlook says it’s still trying to send it. Help!”
This is a fairly common issue that we’ve heard a lot of users report through the blog, so we wanted to write a quick post and explain the easiest way to get out of this situation.
E-mail messages can get stuck in the Outbox for a few different reasons, but the most common case happens when the e-mails are very large (megabyte-wise) due to their attachments. You may even see errors like “Outlook is transmitting the message” when trying to delete them from the Outbox.
So if you’ve got an e-mail stuck in your Outbox and you can’t re-open it, try this:
b. Delete the message: this will immediately remove the message from the Outbox and put it in Deleted Items.
If you receive an error at this point that says the message is being transmitted, close Outlook, wait for Outlook to exit (you may need to use Task Manager and wait for the Outlook.exe process to exit), and then start Outlook again and repeat steps 2-3. In some cases, the item may not be released until Outlook has restarted.
Instead of sending a large attachment, consider putting the file on a local network share or a SharePoint site inside your company and then sending a link around:
For details on how to add a link, see: Use hyperlinks in Outlook items and/or Add links containing spaces to an e-mail message.
If you’re sending it to users outside your company or are just sharing files with friends, you can use Windows Live SkyDrive as a cool and convenient way to store and send large files around.
Hope that helps get you unstuck!
Updated 7/31: Added a new step 4 to restart Outlook if you receive an error that the item cannot be moved or deleted. Based on comments from readers of the blog, under some circumstances working offline may not be enough to let you move the item. If you restart Outlook after selecting Work Offline, Outlook will come back up in offline mode, and should allow you to delete/move the item at that time.
Michael Affronti Outlook Program Manager
More info on Outlook email attachments:
Email stuck in the outbox in Outlook 2010
Comments: (88) Collapse
I've had the same issue with Outlook 2007, never with 2003. What has worked for me is the following: send/receive from the toolbar, send/receive settings, show progress, cancel all. This should stop it from trying to send. Then try to delete the email from the outbox. If Outlook is "not responding" bring up the task manager and end task. Reopen Outlook and then delete the email from the outbox.
I've tried all above and nothing has worked....
well nevermind I was able to delete the message this morning!
right-click on send/receive icon in bottom right hand section of outlook to cancel send/receive, then you can right click on the message to delete it
Thank you so much! I have been trying to delete an email I tried to send with a large attachment, it got stuck in the outbox and couldn't get rid of it. It was a quick fix! Thanks again!
Perfect- had an attachment of 145mb!!!! and your advice worked perfectly- thanks!!!!
I have tried EVERYTHING suggested and it is still there. I get a message that Outlook has already begun transmitting. Please help!
Thanks that worked a treat I had an 80mb attachment and at last it has gone. I just did as the instructions deleted it and hey presto! Well done
Followed the advice re Outlook offline then closed using taskbar reopened Outlook and was able to move & delete the large suck file in Outbox.
Thank you
I've tried all of the above suggestions. The message will not delete and I can't move it. Please help.
I have tried all the above but when I try to delete the messages, I get an error message saying "The messaging interface has returned an unknown error. If the problem persists, restart Outlook." I've restarted numerous times. I have run detect and repair and restarted my computer - still no luck.
I have a large mail stuck in the outbox--been stuck there for over a couple of months.I've tried Mat's
CORRECT WAY TO ELIMINATE MESSAGES STUCK IN OUTBOX
1: Place Outlook in Work Offline
2: Close Outlook utlizing the Task Manager
3: Physically disconnect your computer from the internet
4: Restart Outlook
5: Click Send-Receive Messages -an error message will pop up, clear the error message
6: Now you Outlook has given up trying to send the message and it can be deleted.
7: Now you can cancel the Anger Management Sessions after weeks of frustration with Microsoft!!! :) and dave's I finally found a solution that worked in Outlook 2007 after other steps failed. I don't know if every single step below is necessary, but, hey, it worked:
1. File, select work offline
1.5. Close Outlook, restart (if necessary, go to task manager to close down Outlook processes)
2. Tools, select account in question (only if you have multiple POPs)
3. Tools, select Options >> email options
4. Deselect checkbox "automatically save unsent messages"
5. Go to Outbox, delete the bugger!
6. Back to Tools, reselect "automatically save unsent messages"
7. File, deselect work offline
Still No luck.. any help ????
Thanks Matthew! Your suggestion was the only one that worked for me!
Thanks for all your suggestions! The offline/restart/delete worked for me. I was getting ready to call tech support and pay to fix the bugger. You are great!
I tried everything posted here and then had success with the following: Close Outlook (leave in Normal/Online Mode) Physically disconnect your computer from the internet Open Outlook Send/Receive Go to outbox and delete troublesome file
Comments: (loading) Collapse