If your Outlook’s storage space is filling up fast or it’s getting slow, then it can be due to Duplicates. Hence, you must learn how to remove duplicate items in Microsoft Outlook safely to boost your Outlook’s performance. Moreover, it also saves storage space to accommodate fresh data whenever needed.
However, users are unable to execute such operations due to various critical reasons. We are going to explain to you the solutions to remove such unwanted duplicate data files from your system. We’ll start with the automated method as it is the most ideal solution followed by its features & the manual method.
In addition, after deleting these duplicate files, we will show you the reasons why this happens. It can help users to prevent Outlook from creating duplicates the next time.
Remove Duplicate Items in Outlook Using The Modern Method
The automated approach that most people are not even aware of is actually recommended by IT experts. Microsoft’s MVPs also suggest users opt for such a solution to get rid of Outlook duplicates.
Learning how to remove duplicate emails from Outlook 2019 can be easy with the automated solution. Not just the 2019 version but it can also delete duplicate data from Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 & 2007. Download the automated tool & then copy the steps mentioned below in order to learn how to remove duplicate items in Outlook safely.
Step-1. Click Add File button to add the PST files having duplicate data.
Step-2. Select if you want to remove duplicates from a Within the folder or Across folders.
Step-3. Browse the Destination folder path to accommodate resultant files.
Step-4. Select all of the Categories from which you want to delete the duplicate data.
Step-5. Specify the Criteria to define a data item as duplicate & Click on the Next button.
Step-6. That’s it. Click on the Ok button to finish the project.
What Makes the Modern Method Better than the Other Ones
If you wanna learn how to remove duplicate items in Outlook using the automated method, you made the right choice. It has several advantages that can easily make the entire process easy for you.
Below are the highlights of the modern method that help users to reduce their efforts & provide exact results while deleting the Outlook duplicate data items.
- The automated method can delete duplicate emails, contacts, calendars tasks, notes & journals.
- Offer the option to delete duplicate data files either from within the folder or across the folders.
- Identify duplicate data items based on various properties/criteria for the accurate deletion of unwanted files.
- The software is totally capable to draw out duplicate data items from OST/PST/BAK file format.
- Date & Category filters help in the selective deletion of Duplicate items from the Outlook application.
- It provides dual reports at the end of the project. Moreover, Outlook installation is not mandatory here.
How to Remove Duplicate Items in Microsoft Outlook Manually
Clean Up Inbox feature is the manual way to remove the unnecessary duplicate data from the Outlook application. Microsoft Outlook must be installed in your system to execute this operation as this feature is present in Outlook itself.
Step-1. Open the Outlook application in your system.
Step-2. Select any Mailbox Folder having duplicate data items.
Step-3. Go to the Home tab & then Click on the Clean Up button.
Step-4. Now Configure the below-mentioned Options as follows:
- Clean Up Conversation – Remove duplicate items in Outlook (conversation emails).
- Clean Up Folder – Remove duplicate emails across folders.
- Clean Up Folders – Remove the duplicate folders & subfolders.
Step-5. Right Click on the Deleted Items folder & then Click on the Empty Folder option.
Is the Manual Method Reliable to Remove Duplicate Items in Outlook
The manual method we discussed works well but it isn’t the complete solution. Users don’t have the advanced features that make a method wholesome. It lacks plenty of features that could have made it better.
- No filters are available for selectively removing duplicate data items in Outlook.
- Deleting bulk emails is not possible as this method is slow & gets stuck in between.
- Manual solution lacks various criteria to specify a data item as duplicate or original.
- Unable to get the accurate number of duplicate files present in a particular account.
- No status report is available at the end of the process to get statistics for analysis.
Prevent Outlook from Creating Duplicate Data Items Again
To prevent Outlook from creating duplicates again, make sure the mentioned key points are cross-checked. These are the most basic reasons why Outlook creates duplicate data items in the mailbox. This is as important as learning how to remove duplicate items in Outlook.
Configure Rules The Right Way
If your Outlook rules are configured incorrectly, your system may get confused while sending & receiving emails along with other data items. Evidently, it results in the creation of duplicate data files.
Set the Inbox Update Frequency
Users need to increase the inbox update frequency. For this users need to Start Outlook & then Go to Send & Receive option. Select Define Send or Receive Groups & Set Frequency from 15 to 30 minutes.
Proper Setup of Your Accounts
If you’re using a single Outlook account on various devices then it can lead to repeated synchronization of incoming messages. Make sure you set up your account properly in order to avoid this.
Issues with Mailbox Settings
Set mailbox parameters carefully while creating an account in Outlook. Users who don’t pay attention to this often end up having the same message multiple times in their mailbox.
Briefly To Conclude
Both methods work well but the automated method is quite advanced. It can remove the problem from its root. Whereas the manual method is the temporary one to delete duplicate data items. Select the method & tool wisely as the wrong decision can affect your end results severely.
After learning how to remove duplicate items in Microsoft Outlook, users must know the root cause of it. This is crucial to prevent Outlook from creating duplicates again & get rid of the problem.
Also Read: Know How to Fix Corrupted Calendar in Outlook Application Smartly
