How to Find a Copy of Sent Emails in Windows

By Rebecca Mecomber

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Windows email clients (Outlook Express, Windows Live Email, and Windows Mail, for example) give users the ability to save emails that have been sent. By default, the email client displays these sent emails in the “Sent Items” folder of the email program.

Windows saves these sent emails in an application database folder elsewhere on your computer's hard drive. Once you locate the folder where the email client stores the email files, you can access the sent email items.

View the “Sent Emails” Folder in the Email Client

Step 1

Open your Windows email client. Choose “View” from the Menu Bar. In the menu, choose “Layout.”

Step 2

Check the box “Folder List” in the “Basic” section. Click “OK.”

Step 3

Look in the pane on the left side in the email client. Click the arrow on the “Local Folders” link to expand the folder tree. Look in the list for “Sent Items.” Click the folder. In the large pane to the right, you will see a list of all the sent emails.

Locate the “Sent Emails” Storage Database Folder

Step 1

Open your Windows email client. Choose “Tools” from the Menu Bar. In the menu, choose “Options.”

Step 2

If you use Windows Live Mail or Windows Mail, click the “Advanced” tab. Click the “Maintenance” button under “Maintenance and Troubleshooting.”

If you use Outlook Express, click the “Maintenance” tab.

Step 3

Click the “Store Folder” button. A window will pop up with the location of the sent email database folder. Highlight the folder information in the window. Press “CTRL” and “C” on your keyboard to copy the highlighted folder information.

Step 4

Go to the "Start" menu and click “Run.” Press “CTRL” and “V” on your keyboard to paste the folder information. Click “OK.” The folder with your email information will appear.

Step 5

Double click "Local Folders" to open the folder. Double click "Sent Items" to open the folder and view the .dbx files.

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