[LINK] Microsoft's Really Hidden Files

[Grant Bayley]

On Wed, 21 Nov 2001, Malcolm Miles wrote:

> On Wed, 21 Nov 2001 11:01:46 +1100, you wrote:
>
> >If MS Outlook really kept all my emails plus attachments instead of trashing
> >them, as this site claims, my harddisk would be full, wouldn't it - I mean,
> >where on my PC is this stuff being stored?
>
> It appears that  what he has "discovered" is that all traces of an email may not be physically removed from the Deleted Items folder until the folder is compacted. He does suggest that you.....
>
> >> a) Get in the habit of compacting your folders all the time.
>
> which is probably something worth doing if you are worried about someone prying into your email. This is certainly less destructive than his initial reccomendation to DELTREE /Y MAIL, which, as he points out, "will  erase all your e-mail correspondence".

The lack of compaction after all modification (read: primarily deletion)
operations is little more than a speed hack.  The old saying that
security gets in the way of usability applies perfectly here.  Want to
wait while the mail app compacts a 500 Mb mailbox after deleting a 1 k
message?  Didn't think so.

Grant