How to delete multiple emails at once in Microsoft Outlook and empty your inbox faster

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How to delete multiple emails at once in Microsoft Outlook and empty your inbox faster
You can delete batches of emails through Microsoft Outlook in a few easy steps.Allmy/Shutterstock
  • You can delete multiple emails at once when your Outlook inbox or any other Outlook folder is cluttered.
  • Using the Shift and CTRL keys, you can choose a consecutive series of emails or any set of non-consecutive messages for deletion.
  • Select multiple emails in the Outlook mobile app by tapping and holding a message to enter the app's selection mode.
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Unless you practice a time management strategy like Inbox Zero, your Outlook inbox is probably overrun with email. Some may be relevant, but many more are likely obsolete and simply cluttering your view of more urgent messages.

To help clean up your inbox, the email client offers a way to quickly and efficiently delete multiple emails at once. The process for removing multiple emails is the same no matter what version of Outlook you use but is slightly different depending on whether you're on a desktop or the mobile app.

Here are several handy tactics for selecting and deleting multiple emails.

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How to delete multiple emails in Outlook on a computer

To delete all the emails in a single folder (such as the inbox):

1. Click any message to select it.

2. Then press CTRL + A to select all the messages in the folder.

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3. Press the Delete key to eliminate them.

To delete a range of consecutive messages:

1. Click the first message and then scroll to the last email you want to delete.

2. Holding Shift, click the final email.

How to delete multiple emails at once in Microsoft Outlook and empty your inbox faster
All the intermediate messages should be highlighted.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3. Press Delete.

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To delete non-consecutive emails:

1. Press and hold the CTRL button on the keyboard.

2. While still holding CTRL, click each message you want to delete.

3. When you're ready, press Delete.

How to delete multiple emails at once in Microsoft Outlook and empty your inbox faster
Only the emails you click will be highlighted.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

How to delete multiple emails in Outlook on a mobile device

1. Open the folder with the messages you want to delete.

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2. Tap and hold the first message you want to delete. After a moment, checkboxes to the left of each email will appear.

How to delete multiple emails at once in Microsoft Outlook and empty your inbox faster
Outlook's selection mode activates when tap and hold a message and lets you choose any set of non-consecutive emails for deletion.Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3. Tap each message that you want to delete.

4. If you want to delete everything in this folder, tap "Select All" at the top of the screen.

5. When you're ready, tap the Delete icon at the bottom of the screen.

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