Delete button is grey

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rob
  • Start date Start date
R

Rob

Hi,

I've got Outlook 2003. When I view my inbox or any other folder, I cannot select a message and then click the red x to delete it. I have to open the message and then delete it.

Anyone have any idea how to fix this one?
 
I don't remember that button being red. Just for my own satisfaction I have
to ask; when you mouse over the button, is it indeed labeled, "Delete"?

A few other preliminaries:

- Verify the Standard toolbar is displayed (View | Toolbars | Standard)

- Try resetting the standard toolbar (View | Toolbars | Customize... |
Highlight the Standard entry | Reset...)

- Close Outlook, navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\<your
username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook, and delete the outcmd.dat
file. You may need to show hidden files and folders to see this (on WinXP,
Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View | Show hidden files and
folders). Restart Outlook.

- Verify the item itself has focus rather than the folder in the Navigation
Pane.


....any of these things do anything for you?


--
-Patrick Reed



Hi,

I've got Outlook 2003. When I view my inbox or any other folder, I cannot
select a message and then click the red x to delete it. I have to open the
message and then delete it.

Anyone have any idea how to fix this one?
 
I tried everything and I am still having the same problem. Some of the
folders will allow deleting from the list and others will not. By the way, I
got my button colors wrong. It's black x when I can delete and grey when I
can't.

I also tried doing a repair which didn't work.

Any other suggestion before I remove and reinstall the program?
 
Unfortunately, I don't really have much else for this. Is there anything
common among these folders in which you cannot delete as opposed to ones in
which you can (maybe a similar view or grouping applied, only items of a
certain type, etc.)? On these folders in which you cannot delete, if you go
to View | Toolbars, what toolbars are selected? Are you using any
third-party add-ins for Outlook? Maybe an e-mail scanner in your AV
software? Although I've never heard of this particular issue relating to AV
software, maybe the software is blocking your ability to manipulate the
messages until you open them.

--
-Patrick Reed



Rob said:
I tried everything and I am still having the same problem. Some of the
folders will allow deleting from the list and others will not. By the way,
I got my button colors wrong. It's black x when I can delete and grey when
I can't.

I also tried doing a repair which didn't work.

Any other suggestion before I remove and reinstall the program?
Click to expand...
 
what folders won't delete? The default ones outlook creates can't be
deleted.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Rob said:
I tried everything and I am still having the same problem. Some of the
folders will allow deleting from the list and others will not. By the way,
I got my button colors wrong. It's black x when I can delete and grey when
I can't.

I also tried doing a repair which didn't work.

Any other suggestion before I remove and reinstall the program?
Click to expand...
 
It's the messages inside the folders that won't delete. Any message inside
the inbox has to be openned and then deleted. The sent items has the same
problem. The unread messages favorite works as well as all of the user
created folders.

--
Thanks,

Rob
Diane Poremsky said:
what folders won't delete? The default ones outlook creates can't be
deleted.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.
Click to expand...
 
is the message selected in the message list? If its not in focus you can't
delete it.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Rob said:
It's the messages inside the folders that won't delete. Any message inside
the inbox has to be openned and then deleted. The sent items has the same
problem. The unread messages favorite works as well as all of the user
created folders.

--
Thanks,

Rob
Diane Poremsky said:
what folders won't delete? The default ones outlook creates can't be
deleted.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point
your newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Rob said:
I tried everything and I am still having the same problem. Some of the
folders will allow deleting from the list and others will not. By the
way, I got my button colors wrong. It's black x when I can delete and
grey when I can't.

I also tried doing a repair which didn't work.

Any other suggestion before I remove and reinstall the program?

--
Thanks,

Rob



I don't remember that button being red. Just for my own satisfaction I
have to ask; when you mouse over the button, is it indeed labeled,
"Delete"?

A few other preliminaries:

- Verify the Standard toolbar is displayed (View | Toolbars | Standard)

- Try resetting the standard toolbar (View | Toolbars | Customize... |
Highlight the Standard entry | Reset...)

- Close Outlook, navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\<your
username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook, and delete the outcmd.dat
file. You may need to show hidden files and folders to see this (on
WinXP, Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View | Show hidden
files and folders). Restart Outlook.

- Verify the item itself has focus rather than the folder in the
Navigation Pane.


...any of these things do anything for you?


--
-Patrick Reed



Hi,

I've got Outlook 2003. When I view my inbox or any other folder, I
cannot select a message and then click the red x to delete it. I have
to open the message and then delete it.

Anyone have any idea how to fix this one?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes, we're selecting the message. That's how we can tell it's working from
other folders.


--
Thanks,

Rob
Diane Poremsky said:
is the message selected in the message list? If its not in focus you can't
delete it.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point your
newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


Rob said:
It's the messages inside the folders that won't delete. Any message
inside the inbox has to be openned and then deleted. The sent items has
the same problem. The unread messages favorite works as well as all of
the user created folders.

--
Thanks,

Rob
Diane Poremsky said:
what folders won't delete? The default ones outlook creates can't be
deleted.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]





EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
(e-mail address removed)

You can access this newsgroup by visiting
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or point
your newsreader to msnews.microsoft.com.


I tried everything and I am still having the same problem. Some of the
folders will allow deleting from the list and others will not. By the
way, I got my button colors wrong. It's black x when I can delete and
grey when I can't.

I also tried doing a repair which didn't work.

Any other suggestion before I remove and reinstall the program?

--
Thanks,

Rob



I don't remember that button being red. Just for my own satisfaction I
have to ask; when you mouse over the button, is it indeed labeled,
"Delete"?

A few other preliminaries:

- Verify the Standard toolbar is displayed (View | Toolbars |
Standard)

- Try resetting the standard toolbar (View | Toolbars | Customize... |
Highlight the Standard entry | Reset...)

- Close Outlook, navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\<your
username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook, and delete the
outcmd.dat file. You may need to show hidden files and folders to see
this (on WinXP, Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | View |
Show hidden files and folders). Restart Outlook.

- Verify the item itself has focus rather than the folder in the
Navigation Pane.


...any of these things do anything for you?


--
-Patrick Reed



Hi,

I've got Outlook 2003. When I view my inbox or any other folder, I
cannot select a message and then click the red x to delete it. I have
to open the message and then delete it.

Anyone have any idea how to fix this one?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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