How To empty a full Email Account Print

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If you have received an email from our server warning you were over your email quota, it might look something like this:

The “email@domain.com” email account is full / almost full.
The email account currently uses % of its capacity.
You should remove some emails from the mailbox as soon as possible in order to prevent the loss of any future email.

Clearing Messages off the Server

Webmail

If your Inbox has become too full and you want to delete all of the email messages in your Inbox, you can use Webmail to clear out emails.

  • Go to webmail by vising your-domain.com/webmail/
    • Replace your-domain.com with your domain name.
  • Enter your email address and password
  • Select your preferred Webmail client
  • Click Login

From Webmail, you can delete any emails directly off the server.


Microsoft Outlook or Live Mail

  1. Access the account settings.
    1. Outlook 2007 and older:
      • Mouse over Tools in the main navigation bar and click on accounts.
      • Check that the account Type (under server information) is POP3.
    2. Outlook 2010 and later:
      • Choose File in the top left corner. Click on the ‘Account settings’ box in the center and then click on the ‘Account Settings:
      • Add or remove accounts or change existing accounts’ box that appears.
      • Check that the account Type (under server information) is POP3.
      • Click on the ‘more settings’ button (in the bottom right of the pop-up box).
    3. Live Mail:
      • Mouse over Tools in the main menu bar and click on accounts.
      • Double click on the account that is full.
  2. Click on the server tab. Check that the “My incoming mail server is a” POP3.
  3. Click on the Advanced Tab.
  4. UncheckLeave a copy of messages on the server”.
  5. Close out of the “email setting” box and close out of the “change email account” box.
  6. In the main mail section of Outlook click “Send Receive”. This will download any messages to your computer and clear them off the server.
  7. It can take several hours for backed up emails to get thru as they work their way thru the mail queue.
  8. Send a test mail to yourself to make sure you receive it. If you are still having trouble you can try using webmail to delete messages directly or contact your system administrator.
  9. Reset your mail client
  10. Go back to the advanced tab the same way you did previously.
  11. Under the advanced tab, check the box “Leave a copy of messages on the server” .
  12. Select the tab to Remove from server after a few days to give your computer time to backup and/or to get the messages onto other computers.
  13. Select the tab “remove from server when deleted from ‘deleted items’.

Often emails fill up because of a few emails with huge attachments such as pictures, proposals or videos. By saving these files (if you want them) to somewhere else in your computer, such as documents or desktop, and then deleting the emails and emptying the deleted folder in your mail client you will minimize the chance of ever having a full mailbox.


Mail on Mac OS

  1. Open Mail then click on the Mail menu at the top left of your screen and select Preferences.
  2. Click on the Accounts icon at the top of the window.
  3. In the “Accounts” window, click on the newly created Account listed on the left, then “Advanced”. (Mail Menu->Preferences->Accounts) .
  4. Click the ‘Remove Now’ button.mac-remove-now
  5. If you want to eliminate this problem change “Remove Copy from server after retrieving a message” to “Right away”.
    • If you check your mail from more than one computer and/or a mobile device follow the directions above and change the dropdown menu under “Remove Copy from server after retrieving a message:” to “After one day”.
  6. Click the red close bubble button at the top left of the Accounts window to close it.
  7. It can take several hours for backed up emails to get thru as they work their way thru the mail queue.
  8. Send a test mail to yourself to make sure you receive it.
  9. If you are still having trouble you can try using webmail to delete messages directly or contact your system administrator.

Why are Mail Box Sizes Limited?

In order to keep your website and email performing optimally, we limit the amount of space allocated to websites and emails on its servers. We do this to maintain a high level or performance. Mailbox quotas are put in place to keep email storage from taking over a website.

Emails should only be left on the servers long enough for your computer(s) and mobile device(s) to download the emails and back them up. Once the computer has downloaded and backed up the emails, the emails should be deleted from the server to free up server space. This way the server can run smoothly and efficiently.


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