Outlook meeting invitations vanish after you have responded? Wish you could keep them for reference (or to change your response easily later)? Find out here how to prevent Outlook from deleting meeting invitation emails after you RSVP ⤓.
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How to Prevent Outlook from Deleting Meeting Invitation Emails After You RSVP
Time needed: 1 minute
To configure new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (Outlook.com) so it does not delete meeting invitations from the email inbox after you respond to them:
- Click the Settings gear icon in Outlook.
- Go to the Calendar category.
- Open Events and Invitations.
- Uncheck Delete invitations from Inbox after responding.
- Click Save.
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How to Prevent Outlook from Deleting Meeting Invitation Emails After You RSVP: FAQ
Can I change my meeting invitation response from the original email?
Yes.
To change your response from the invitation email:
- Open the email with the event invitation.
Here’s where: If neither you nor Outlook has deleted the message, you can still find it in the inbox folder; otherwise, look in the Deleted Items folder.
Deleted: You can still change your response if the message is in the Deleted Items folder.
Nowhere: If you cannot find the email, you can update the response in your calendar. - Click your current response.
Example: if you accepted tentatively, click Tentative. - Choose your new response from the choices under RSVP to this event.
To change the response without access to the original invitation email:
- Open Calendar in Outlook.
- Find and double-click the event.
- Now click the current response in the event’s toolbar.
Example: Select Tentative in the toolbar if you accepted tentatively before. - Choose the new response under RSVP to this event.
Here’s where: The choices will appear above the event details but below the toolbar.
(Tested with new Outlook Version 1.2025.122–1.2026.602; first published February 2025, last updated July 2026)