Sometimes, in the hustle of sending numerous emails, we hit send on an Outlook email only to realize there were mistakes or missing information. On Windows, this can often be resolved by using Outlook’s recall feature, which allows users to retract sent emails before they’re read by the recipient. However, when it comes to Outlook for Mac, the situation is a bit different. We must navigate through alternative methods since Outlook for Mac doesn’t offer a traditional recall feature.
What we can do instead is make use of a similar function—namely, the ‘Undo Send’ feature. It’s not a recall feature per se, but it can serve a similar purpose if configured correctly. Outlook for Mac allows us to set a delay for all outgoing emails, giving us a short window to cancel the send. This feature provides us the opportunity to stop the email from reaching the recipient’s inbox if we act promptly within this crucial time frame.
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Understanding the Recall Feature
We find that recalling an email in Outlook allows you to retract a message after it’s been sent, but there are important caveats to its success.
How Recall Works in Outlook
Requirements for Successful Recall
- Exchange Account: Both sender and recipient must use an Exchange account within the same organization.
- Outlook 365: Recall is accessible using Outlook 365 for Mac or the Outlook client.
- Message Status: The message should remain unread by the recipient for recall to be possible.
Limitations and Considerations
| Limitations | Considerations | Recall Success |
| Recall won’t succeed if the recipient has read the email or if it’s protected by custom mail rules. | Works only within the same organization’s Exchange server; public folders negate recall. | Check recall success or failure in the “Tracking” section of the message after recall is processed. |
Executing Recall in Outlook for Mac
In our experience, recalling an email on Outlook for Mac isn’t straightforward because the functionality is different from its Windows counterpart. The need to unsend an email arises more often than we’d like to admit, and understanding the possibilities within the Outlook for Mac client can save us from potential embarrassment or miscommunication.
Steps to Recall an Email
Edit or Delete Options
Dealing with Unread Messages
| Strategy for Unread Emails | ||
| Verify if the message is unread | Compose a follow-up message if necessary | Contact the recipient directly |
| We can check the status in Sent Items | We should write a clarification or correction | This can minimize the impact of an error |
| Speed is crucial in this | ||
We have learned, however, that if the email remains unread by the recipient, we may contact them and request they disregard the erroneous message. This requires a direct communication approach which, while not as seamless as a recall feature, can be equally effective in managing the oversight.
Managing Expectations and Outcomes
Understanding the mechanics of recalling an email in Outlook for Mac is critical. We’ll guide you through confirming the recall status, what you may expect as outcomes, and how to act swiftly in urgent circumstances. Our goal is to provide clarity and mitigate confusion for both sender and recipient in the recall process.
Confirming the Recall Status
When we attempt to recall an email, Outlook may provide a recall message report. This report indicates whether the recall is a success or failure. Recall success means the email was removed from the recipient’s inbox, while failure indicates the recipient still has access to the original message. We should always look for the confirmation, which tells us whether the recall succeeds or fails.
- Check the Sent Items folder for the recall status notification.
- Be aware that success varies based on recipient actions and their Outlook settings.
Understanding Possible Outcomes
Two primary outcomes exist for recalled emails: either you delete unread copies of the email or delete unread copies and replace them with a new message. However, it’s vital to understand that recall may not work if the recipient has already opened the message or if certain exceptions apply. For instance, if they are using a different email client or their mailbox is configured not to allow recall actions.
| Possible Outcomes | Explanation |
| Recall Success | Recipient never sees the original email. |
| Recall Failure | Recipient has access to both the original and recall notice. |
| Replace with New Message | Original email is replaced seamlessly (if unread). |
| Opened by Recipient | Recall will not succeed; recipient retains the email. |
Handling Urgent Situations
In urgent situations, where the email must be addressed immediately, we should not solely rely on the recall function. We recommend direct communication with the recipient as the most effective approach. Calling or sending a follow-up message to mitigate the impact of the erroneously sent email can be essential. Additionally, one should always double-check emails before sending to prevent the need for recalling messages.
- Directly inform the recipient of the error, if possible.
- Acknowledge the mistake and provide corrected information promptly.
Additional Recall Strategies
When recalling an email isn’t an option on Outlook for Mac, we must explore alternative strategies to manage our sent messages. Here we’ll consider three such methods: delaying email delivery, safeguarding our emails against mistakes before they’re sent, and looking into alternative email clients that may offer more features.
Deferring Delivery
We can configure Microsoft 365’s Outlook to delay sending our emails for a few minutes, giving us a window to stop emails in the Outbox folder before they are actually sent. Here’s how it works:
- In the Outlook desktop client, click on the ‘Options’ tab after composing your email.
- Select ‘Delay Delivery’.
- Inside the pop-up window, under the ‘Delivery options’, tick the ‘Do not deliver before’ checkbox.
- Set the date and time for when you want the email to leave your Outbox.
Protection Against Mistakes
Before hitting the send button, we use features like MailTips to warn us if we’re committing common mistakes, such as sending sensitive information or emailing someone outside our organization. For higher security environments, Azure Information Protection can help classify and protect documents and emails by applying labels.
Alternative Email Clients
| Email Clients with Unsending Features | ||
| Apple Mail | Mailbird | Spark |
| Airmail | Postbox |
If Outlook for Mac doesn’t meet our needs, we can investigate other email clients for macOS that offer the ability to recall a sent email or that provide a delay feature to prevent mistakes before they happen. Some clients have a short window after hitting send within which you can undo the send command, much like the Undo Send feature in Microsoft Exchange.