PM help again, please, for Thicko here

[Nan2seven]

My PM box is now 100% full. I read the earlier post and have not been able to follow it. I have been deleting PMs I didn't need to keep, but those I have now I want to hang on to. When I put a tick in the box alongside each and hoped I had sent them to a folder, as text, up came all those I have deleted in the past but none of those at present in the box. I am very dim when it comes to folders, files, etc.. Could you possibly give me a blow-by-blow list of how to empty my box without losing all its contents? I have Windows 7, if it's necessary to know that.

Yours hopefully, Nan XXX

 

[CaPattinson]

pms

Sorry Nan2seven I only know how to delete a message and the ones I want to keep are still on the inbox page. So you're not the only 'thicko'. If it is full I copy the text I want to keep and paste it into a word processing document. That way u can keep them as long as u want. As far as folders go I haven't sussed that one out. Until u find the right way this might help. xx Chris

 

[jenniferpa]

Ok - I'll give you a set of pictures so you can see what you do.

Back in a mo.

 

[jenniferpa]

The first thing to note is that you can only have a maximum of 70 messages in your assorted folders. It doesn't matter if they are setn, in your Inbox or in a folder, that's an absolute maximum. So if you wish to save these messages, you can only effectively save them to your computer (and then delete them on TP to free up some space). Firstly, you go to your Private Message area and select either your Inbox folder, or your sent item folder. I'm going to be working on my sent item folder (incidentally - yes I know my sent and inbox items add up to more than 70, but moderators have bigger mail boxes)



I'm going to be saving my 36 oldest messages, and then deleting them.

I have ticked the select box for these messages. Obviously you can select messages individually if you wish.



Then you scroll down to the bottom of the page to indicate what you want to do with the selected messages



I tend to select "Download as Text"



Press the Go button.

Depending on your system and/or your browser you may get a message
similar to this, or it may simply automatically save the file.




Once the file has been saved, go back to the screen that lists the messages and then change the "download as text" to "delete" and press the go button.

You will now have permanently deleted these PMs from Talking Point. Can I emphasize that last point? Once you have deleted them from here there is no way to recover them if you haven't already saved them.

 

[JPG1]

Once you have deleted them from here there is no way to recover them if you haven't already saved them.

So, before you delete them all, it's safest to check (i.e. open the file on your computer where you think you have saved them all) and if that file shows you all the messages you hope you have saved, then you're probably safe to delete them from TP. But if you haven't managed it yet, then don't delete. Until such time as you are sure you have saved them all.

It's called here DO IT, CHECK IT, then CHECK IT AGAIN.

 

[Nan2seven]

Dear Chris, Jennifer and JPG - I have cleared my Inbox! Many thanks, Jennifer, for the picture guide. It seems that I have down-loaded them twice (so was successful the first time, but didn't think then to delete them) - but am still a little mystified by there being also a down-load of all the messages that I thought I had deleted from the Inbox just to make more room. (i.e. I have 3 downloads from TP to-day.) No matter. I have done what I was trying to do. Thank you again.

Love, Nan XXX

 

[JPG1]

It's not you that's the Thicko, Nan, it's the software!!

If you download from your SENT box, you may get a different 'download of messages' total from what you achieve if you download from your INBOX.

As long as you make sure your change the name (to protect the innocent) you may see what I'm talking about. (Or not, as the case may be!) Pictures won't help much; you've just got to suck it (or rather download it) and see.

It's not you - it's the software.

Cue experts!

 

[jenniferpa]

Unless you have exactly the same number of messages in your inbox and your sent mail folders then of course your download totals will be different.

Nan - I'm not sure what happened with the ones you thought you had deleted. Is it possible that you selected them and then forgot to press the "go" button?

 

[JPG1]

Unless you have exactly the same number of messages in your inbox and your sent mail folders then of course your download totals will be different.

That's not what I was meaning. I think we all know that 2 + 2 = 4, but ....

Nor did it apply to what I was saying.

But hey ho. Suck it and see as a normal TPer.

 

[jenniferpa]

If that's not what you meant, it would be helpful you could explain exactly what you did mean so that 1) other members are not confused and 2) if something is not working to spec we could attempt to fix it.

Edited to add:

Ah do you mean that I mispoke when I said 100 messages? Yes, it's 70. I'm not quite sure why you wouldn't just point that out, though, so perhaps it's something else.

 

[JPG1]

Ok, here goes:

I wasn't talking about 70 v. 100. You'd already explained that one. Or even 86 v. 36.

What I was attempting to say, but hadn't written the appropriate essay then, was that:

If, e.g., one has 20 messages sitting in one's INBOX, and if one goes to one's INBOX first and ticks/checks all those messages, then downloads those messages one will download a total of 20 messages.

If, e.g., one has 10 messages sitting in one's SENT BOX, and if one goes to one's SENT box first and ticks/checks all those messages, then downloads those messages one will download a total of 10 messages.

However, if one, e.g., starts with one's INBOX and ticks/checks all those messages for download and then goes to one's SENT box and ticks/checks all those messages, one will download a total of 30 messages. (All those ticked/checked in INBOX plus all those ticked/checked in SENT ITEMS box.)

So, the easiest foolproof way is perhaps to scroll down to the bottom, (before ticking/checking anything at all in either INBOX or SENT ITEMS box), one can then download ALL private messages in one go (i.e. 20 + 10 , or whatever your own particular total might be.)

Then check the download before deleting the originals.

Is that now as clear as mud? Probably.

It's been a long day here - and probably for you too, Jennifer.

 

[jenniferpa]

Now I see where you're coming from.

Scroll to the bottom of the page as here



Yes, that would be an option, and the quickest way to download. Unfortunately, you'd still have to go back and mark the ones you wanted deleted. I imagine that's a safeguard to because as we have both pointed out, once something is deleted, it's deleted.

Of course, if one really wished to be organized, one coudl set up separate folders for each of one's primary correspondents, put sent and received PMs from them in there, and then download those folders separately. Of course, there are only so many hours in the day..

 

[CaPattinson]

downloading and folders no thanks

Goodness me now I am totally confused! But its OK PLEASE don't offer me any more HELP. I am quite happy copying pms I want to keep to a word processing document! Thank you very much! If nan's got it then job done! Chris