Microsoft KB Archive/306253

= OL: Cannot Delete Default Outlook Folders =

Article ID: 306253

Article Last Modified on 2/12/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Outlook 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 98 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Outlook 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q306253



SUMMARY
In Outlook, all of the default folders must be available; therefore, Outlook does not allow you to delete default folders. You can use a Microsoft Exchange utility or the older Microsoft Exchange Client program to delete these folders; however, Outlook recreates these folders when Outlook starts.



MORE INFORMATION
As an administrator, if you do not want end users to use one of the Outlook modules, such as the Journal or Tasks folder, you cannot delete the folder to remove this functionality. However, in Outlook 2000 or later, you can create a Component Object Model (COM) add-in that prevents users from switching to the folder. You can implement the FolderSwitch event, and then cancel the event if the user tries to switch to a specific folder.

NOTE: Outlook 97 and Outlook 98 do not support COM add-ins; therefore, you cannot create a custom solution to implement this functionality in Outlook 97 and Outlook 98.

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs. If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Partner or the Microsoft fee-based consulting line at (800) 936-5200. For more information about Microsoft Certified Partners, please visit the following Microsoft Web site:

https://partner.microsoft.com/global/30000104

For more information about the support options that are available and about how to contact Microsoft, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

The following Outlook Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code illustrates how you can prevent users from switching to a folder. Implement this code as an Outlook COM add-in so that the code can be deployed. For additional information about creating a COM add-in, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291163 OL2002: How to Create a COM Add-in for Outlook

The following is the Outlook VBA code: Dim WithEvents oExp As Outlook.Explorer Dim oJournalFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder

Private Sub Application_Startup Set oExp = ActiveExplorer Set oJournalFolder = Session.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderJournal) End Sub

Private Sub Application_Quit Set oExp = Nothing Set oJournalFolder = Nothing End Sub

Private Sub oExp_BeforeFolderSwitch(ByVal NewFolder As Object, Cancel As Boolean) If NewFolder = oJournalFolder Then MsgBox &quot;The Journal folder is disabled.&quot; Cancel = True End If End Sub The user can still move or copy items to the folder, so you may want to implement the ItemAdd event on the folder that you disabled. The ItemAdd event allows you to warn the user and move the items to another folder programmatically.

