Adjusting "leave mail on server"

If your email client is configured to use POP, it could be conifgured to leave a copy of each message the server for a number of days after you have already downloaded the message onto your computer. This setting can be helpful if you want to check mail from multiple devices (such as a computer and a mobile phone), so many email programs are configured by default to leave mail on the server for 14 days.

That said, the length of time that messages are stored on the server has a direct impact on the amount of storage being utilized for your email account on the server. This can quickly magnify if you frequently receive large email attachments.

One way to reduce the amount of storage being utilized on the server is configure your email program to leave mail on server for a smaller number if days, or to disable leaving mail on the server entirely if that feature is not needed. Mail can still be retained on your computer for as long as you desire.

Outlook 2013 / 2016

These instructions were written for Microsoft Outlook 2013, but the steps are fairly similar for other versions.

1. Open Microsoft Outlook
2. Click on the File tab
3. Click on the Account Settings button
4. Click on the Account Settings option
5. Highight the POP3 account you wish to modify and click Change
6. Click More Settings and click on the Advanced Tab
7. At the bottom of the window locate the Delivery heading
8. Set Remove from server after _ days to a lower number
• Unchecking Leave mail on server instructs your email program to automatically delete all mail from the Inbox on the server as soon as all new messages have been sucessfully downloaded
9. Press the OK button
10. Press the NEXT button to apply these changes
11. Press the CLOSE button once the account test is complete
12. Press the FINISH button to complete the task
13. press the Send and Receive button to fetch new messages and remove older messages from your Inbox on the server.