Hi, Ron.
Your message headers say you are using OE6; I'm using WLM beta. So neither
of us is using WM at the moment. And WM is what the OP is using and asking
about. The three programs have many similarities, but also some subtle,
evolutionary changes.
In WLM, I DO have the line to "Purge...IMAP folders", as you said. But a
couple of lines below that is what I described: "Purge...in the
background", with the "Delete... days after..." option under that. (See
attached GIF, from Vista's new Snipping Tool.) As I recall, OE6 and WM have
the same or very similar options.
To Phil, the OP: Your original question was about how to delete newsgroup
messages to conserve space. There have been quite a few posts here asking
the opposite question: how to preserve newsgroup posts that we want to keep
permanently (or semi-permanently). I think the WM/WLM Team is still working
on this feature. At the moment, WLM does not allow us to move or copy NG
posts, so there's no good way to save ones that we want to keep. I think
(but I'm not sure) that when we Synchronize All (or Synchronize Account),
WLM will delete from our computer all the posts that have been deleted from
the server. And when we Unsubscribe from a newsgroup, WLM deletes that NG's
posts; if we re-subscribe to that group, WLM downloads them again.
Similarly, when we Remove a news Account, WLM deletes everything about that
account, including the messages we've downloaded and stored; if we Add the
account again, WLM starts fresh with it. The WLM Help file tells us how to
save emails, but skimps on such advice for news messages.
While it may be possible to locate, gain control over, and delete messages
from the database by using Windows Explorer and other tools, the best way to
get rid of a lot of newsgroup posts is probably to Unsubscribe from a
newsgroup or Remove a news account. (We could also temporarily change the
"Compact the database..." option to every 1 run.) When WLM finishes its
housekeeping after all that, the messages and headers should be gone. Then,
if we want, we can add the account again, subscribe to some NGs, and set
OE/WM/WLM to download only a few (the default is 300) headers and New
messages only.
I haven't yet been motivated to explore how to trim the database since, at
the moment, I have "more disk space than I'll ever need" - just like when I
got that humongous 1 GB HD a few years ago. ;^}
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta in Vista Ultimate x64)
"Ron Sommer" <rsommer@nospam.ktis.net> wrote in message
news:exG0EI8vHHA.3560@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>I don't have Windows Mail available to check, but are you sure Tools |
> Options | Advanced | Maintenance says 'Purge newsgroup messages' or does
> it
> say 'Purge deleted messages when leaving IMAP folders'?
>
> Delete news messages __ days after being downloaded only removes the
> message
> body and only occurs when you compact folders.
>
> I use a news rule to delete messages sent more than 20 days ago.
> I apply the rule manually and compact afterward.
> This also deletes messages that dated more than 20 days in the future.
> Browse to the server name to apply the rule to all newsgroups under that
> server or browse to Outlook Express to apply the rule to all newsgroups.
> --
> Ronald Sommer
>
> "R. C. White" <rc@grandecom.net> wrote in message
> news:OQAYkP4vHHA.4332@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> : Hi, Phil.
> :
> : Yes, Windows Mail stores newsgroup messages for a while, as individual
> .nws
> : files. But it also deletes them from time to time.
> :
> : Unlike email messages, newsgroup posts are stored on the news server,
> and
> we
> : don't control that server. This microsoft.public.windows.vista.mail
> : newsgroup, for example, is hosted on Microsoft's public news server,
> which
> : is freely available to anyone. Microsoft deletes posts from time to
> time,
> : but I don't know their schedule. It varies from one newsgroup to the
> next,
> : probably depending on the amount of traffic. I show at least one
> message
> : here dated 3/30/07.
> :
> : You also store NG posts on your own computer when you download them.
> How
> : long you keep YOUR copies is up to you. Many delete all Read messages
> each
> : time they exit the NG. Others - like me - are packrats and keep them
> for
> a
> : long time. OE/WM/WLM all have a similar setting, although the
> click-path
> to
> : it may vary slightly. In WLM, click Tools | Options | Advanced |
> : Maintenance. Here you can tell it to Purge newsgroup messages in the
> : background, and to Delete news messages __ days after being downloaded.
> : Note that this is the number of days after you've downloaded them before
> : they are deleted on YOUR computer. This has no effect on how long the
> : server keeps the messages available for you to re-download them - or for
> : thousands of other users to download them.
> :
> : My setting is for posts to be deleted 32 days after I've downloaded
> them.
> : Since I installed WLM on about June 7 and downloaded lots of messages at
> : that time, I expect to see many of those messages disappear from my HD
> next
> : week.
> :
> : But I almost never directly delete messages from the Windows Mail
> folder.
> : So I don't need to "take ownership" of it.
> :
> : RC
> :
> : "Phil" <phil12345@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> : news:5D0C4690-9225-40A9-B8F5-8CE8F6DFA98B@microsoft.com...
> : > When I read files from newsgroups they are stored automatically, as
> far
> as
> : > I can tell, in C:\Users\MyUserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Window s
> Mail.
> : > After a while, I suppose, there is quite a build-up of files here. I
> would
> : > like to delete them. However, I cannot see or gain access to the
> : > C:\Users\MyUserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Window s Mail directory,
> even
> : > though I am using the administrator account. What must I do to gain
> access
> : > to this directory? I tried "taking ownership" of the directory, but
> that
> : > didn't seem to get me anywhere. Help will be appreciated.