Apple Mail - Unread Spam Messages/ Inbox and Sent Folder

Fellow apple users ... I recently upgraded from Windows to iMac, what is amazing (but could not afford it until now). I love it, but ... I do have a few problems:
1/ I have two IMAP email account. My problem is that the Spam and Junk are being treated as New, Unread Messages. I really do not care about these and would like to see a notification only for mail which comes to my Inbox. Any ideas how this could be done ? I am sure there might be an easy setting ... if not then just setting up a Rule?!
2/ Probably this is a feature of Mail, but I would like to disable it. The INBOX, SEND and DRAFT are being showed in different tabs (e.g. I need to press 'show' 'hide'). I would like to have Inbox, sent draft under each account and not separate. How can I disable this?
3/ Sent messages. Since I am using IMAP I should have a copy of my sent messages in the 'sent' folder but the iMac sent messages do not appear sent folder on my iPhone. I checked if the messages are being saved in the same imap folder and it does look like they are ... so not sure?!
Any ideas reply is welcome.
Regards,
Siki

Hi Ernie,
Thank you for your reply and explination.
1/ Yes, the instructions did help. It was obvious, but I haven't ever used Mac's. They are the best, but switching over it's not the easiest.
2/ Have been thinking about changing to another mail client because of this (Thunderbird). Usually everything with iOS X makes sense, but having the MAILBOXES option and sub-structure (Inbox, Flagged, Drafts, Sent, Junk, Trash) is beyond me at the moment (a lightbulb might go off in the future ...)
3/ Not sure why, but now everything is working fine. Could be becuase of the update to iOS 6.
Siki

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Why doesn't Apple mail download Gmail messages that were sent to myself?

When I e-mail myself to my Gmail address, the message sits in the Gmail inbox but Apple
Mail doesn't download it.
Mail downloads every other message in the Gmail inbox, but not the ones i've addressed to myself to my Gmail address.
Any ideas for why this is happening?

Gmail POP access doesn’t work like a normal POP mail server would. Here are some of its idiosyncrasies:
1. Messages downloaded by any conventional POP mail client are marked as downloaded at the server (but not as read on the web), and no longer available to either the same or any other POP mail client.
2. To make already downloaded messages available for POP access again, you must go to Gmail’s Settings > Forwarding and POP page, select Enable POP for all mail, and click Save Changes, which causes everything (and I mean everything) still on the server to be downloaded again.
3. The Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Advanced > Remove copy from server settings have absolutely no effect on the messages stored on Gmail’s server. Gmail ignores any requests to delete messages from the server made by a POP client. What happens to the messages on the server after a POP client has downloaded them is determined by Gmail’s Settings > Forwarding and POP > When messages are accessed with POP setting alone. In the case of Gmail (and only in that case), I recommend turning OFF Remove copy from server in Mail, so that Mail doesn’t even try to remove any messages from the server, regardless of whether you do actually want already downloaded messages to be removed from the server after some time or not.
4. Messages sent using the web interface will be downloaded by your POP mail client as if they were received messages. Although this may seem weird, it's good because it allows archiving all messages locally in Mail, regardless of how they were sent — as long as you don't access the same Gmail account with more than one POP mail client, that is. You can set up a rule in Mail to automatically route those messages to the appropriate Sent mailbox (or to any other mailbox for that matter) if that's what you want.
5. Messages sent using a POP/SMTP mail client such as Mail are also treated as if they were incoming messages for POP purposes, just as in #4. What prevents them from being downloaded is that Gmail marks them as already downloaded immediately. Since they’re on the server nonetheless, already sent messages would be downloaded together with all the other messages on the server if proceeding as described in #2.
6. A particular case of #5 are messages sent to yourself. Instead of putting a copy of the sent message in the server’s Inbox and making it available for download, both the sent and the “received” message on the server are actually one and the same, and hence, cannot be downloaded via POP for the reason explained in #5.
7. Gmail allows POP accounts to be set up in a special way that avoids some of these issues while introducing others. If you only need POP access to the last 30 days of mail, you may configure Mail in “recent mode”, as described in Using POP on multiple clients or mobile devices. Configuring the account this way would allow Mail to download messages marked by Gmail as already downloaded (and download messages sent to yourself in particular), but it would also cause all sent messages (not just messages sent to yourself or through webmail) to be downloaded as if they were received messages.

Main in inbox and sent folder gone after recreating mail account in prefs

I called my ISP when I was getting outgoing mail server error messages. Their tech person said that I had to recreate that email account. They had me delete the existing account then basically make the account again. Expletives deleted. The result for this brilliant advice was that all the mail in my inbox (800 messages) and sent mail copies (maybe 4000 messages) is gone. Apparently over written by a new account with the same name as the old one. I didn't expect that the mail messages themselves would be removed, just the account settings. Is there any sort of trash place that I might be able to recover them from? I've checked the obvious places in myuseraccount>library>mail.

Hello David.
Your ISP gave you some not so good advice without being familiar with the Mail.app account and associated mailbox filing structure at the Finder level. Not good news but don't shoot the messenger.
Before deleting an account in Tiger Mail, the following warning message is provided:
Are you sure you want to remove the (account type here) account “XXXXXXXXXX”?
This will permanently delete the account setup information, mailboxes, and messages from your computer. Copies of messages on the mail server, if they exist, are not affected.
This is usually ignored or not completely understood but is based on the Mail.app filing structure so now the long winded answer for the reason.
Many other email clients utilize a single large database which is not dependent on individual account and associated mailbox filing.
When creating an account in Mail, an account named folder (named by the user name and incoming mail server for the account) is created in the Mail folder at Home > Library > Mail using the Finder.
For POP type accounts, the following mailbox (mbox) folders are created within the account named folder when the function is used by the account: INBOX.mbox, Drafts.mbox, Sent Messages.mbox, Deleted Messages.mbox and Junk.mbox (when Junk mail is set to automatic). The mbox folders within the account named folder represent the account named mailboxes under In, Drafts, Sent, Trash and Junk (when Junk mail is set to automatic) in the Mail.app mailboxes drawer.
When deleting an account in Mail, the account named folder at Home > Library > Mail is deleted at that time and as the warning message indicates, the associated account mailboxes within the account named folder are also deleted. You must select OK after the warning message appears.
It would be preferable for the account named folder to be moved to the hard drive Trash can which requires an additional step to delete but this is not what occurs.
To have any hope of recovering your data, you need to immediately stop using your system and then purchase a copy of a recovery tool such as Tech Tool Pro (Micromat) or Data Rescue (Prosoft Engineering), both of which have data recovery tools. I've not used Data Rescue, but I've seen reports that it recovers files that the others cannot, so it might be your best hope. The chances generally aren't really good even so, but short of sending your drive to a data recovery service (expensive), such utilities are your only hope.
Note that the more you use your system before you attempt recovery, the more likely it is that the system will overwrite the sections of the drive where the data you want to recover is stored, rendering it unrecoverable by any means. You should therefore stop using the system completely until you get and try to use one of the file recovery tools.
This also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a regular backup of the Mail folder and other important data.

Mail deleted account lost inbox and sent mail

I was editing an account with on IT(not a MAC user) person yesterday to check my work mail from a diferent server. In the process my old work account got deleted so I lost all of my incoming and sent mail from the account that was deleted.
After that happened I started reading info on mail accounts and it says that will happen.
The question is is there any way to recover those email? I purchased Prosoft data recovery II today and have been looking thru recovered files but can not find what I am looking for.

Since you’ve already read other threads on this subject, I’ll spare you the details.
If the messages are not on the server, and you don’t have a backup, your only option in the case of Mail 2.x is to try to salvage as many deleted *.emlx files as possible with a data recovery tool such as Data Rescue II, TechTool Pro, or FileSalvage (the files to be recovered would be different in the case of Mail 1.x). Of these, the only one I know for sure that can recover deleted *.emlx files is FileSalvage.

Why has iCloud mail stopped showing messages in the "Sent" folder?

Recently I've noticed that any emails I send from iCloud email does not show in the "Sent" mail folder. This, in and of itself is not really a big deal, but I'm curious to know if everything i've sent is being stored somewhere and is accumulting taking up storage space. I try to delete almost everything out of iCloud since I only have the basic storage account. Anyone else experiencing this with iCloud Mail.
Thanks,
Dave

Sounds like a limit of your ISP, as it's trying to put it back on the mailserver, which may not accept such a large file.

My ipad mail is synced to my iMac mail account. On iPad, I can only see my inbox and sent messages. I can't see any of the folders I have created on my iMac. How do I do that? Probably a dumb question, but I know there's a lot of smart people out there!

My iPad mail is synced to my private email account, which I organise on my iMac. On iPad, I can only see inbox and sent messages folders, not any of the other folders in my email account I have created on my iMac. How do I get iPad to show my other folders? Probably a dumb question, but I know there's a lot of smart people out there.

If you select a mailbox, you should get an Edit button (easier to see in landscape mode). Clicking the button will provide you with check circles for the messages. You also get Delete and Move buttons at the bottom. Check the messages you want to move and then navigate to the mailbox you want to drop them into. I think as long as you can navigate to a mailbox you can move the messages to it.
In the Mac Mail application and probably Outlook on the Windows side, you also setup rules to move messages to specific mailboxes. If the mailboxes are stored on the server, then you can have the sorting done on the server and they should appear that way on the iPad. If your later messages do not show up, you may need to have the iPad app pulled down more messages until they are all showing.

How do i save all my mail in my inbox and sent box?

hello
i am going to upgrade my OSX to Snow Leopard
how do i save all my mail in my inbox and sent box then restore it when my new OSX is installed?
thanks in advance
tk

It's always good to have a backup, but Snow Leopard should leave all your data intact, just install new OS components & updated Apple Apps.
If you don't have room to back everything up...
On Mail...
First Quit Mail, then I'd backup these two Mail folders, by right clicking on them in the Finder, then choose Archive/Compress.
Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail
Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail Downloads
(Could be a different folder here if you chose such in Mail Prefs)
Right click on that Mail folder, choose archive, you'll get everything in the folder, and the folder itself in a file called Mail.zip, move it to a safe place, same for the Mail Downloads folder... only the plist is separate.
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist
For Address Book, quit AB...
Files...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.abd.plist
Folders...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Caches/com.apple.AddressBook/
If you do have room to back everything up...
Get carbon copy cloner to make an exact copy of your old HD to the New one...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
Or SuperDuper...
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/

Messages In Inbox and sent mailbox have disappeared

I have been using my mac e-mail for a considerable time with no problems however in the last month, I have lost virtually all of my messages in both my inbox and sent mailbox> I have checked my preferences and the deletion of e-mails is set to 'never'. Does anyone know what might be causing this and how to stop it from happening. Thanks.

You’re welcome.
If the *.emlx files associated with those messages are gone from the filesystem, rebuilding mailboxes or re-creating the index cannot make them reappear.
There is no way to know what may have happened if you don’t know when it happened and what did you do that could have a bearing on it. What you mention about moving data between computers could certainly have a bearing on it when it happened the first time, but there is no way to know what the problem exactly was in that case either with the information you’ve provided...
If the messages are nowhere to be found and you don’t have a backup, you may try to salvage as many deleted *.emlx files as possible with a data recovery tool such as Data Rescue II, TechTool Pro, or FileSalvage. Of these, the only one I know for sure that can currently recover deleted *.emlx files is FileSalvage. Beware, however, that anything you’ve done with the computer since the messages were deleted may have caused them to be overwritten, which makes me believe your chances of recovering them now are pretty low...

Messages from the Inbox and Sent folders are being transfered to the Outbox

Why are the messages from my Inbox and Sent folders being transfered to my Outbox?

There is probably something wrong with the Envelope Index file. In the few cases I've seen something similar, however, there was also something wrong with the structure of the Mail folder, and we must fix that before trying to re-create the index.
In the Finder, go to ~/Library/Mail/. With that folder open, do Edit > Select All (⌘A), then Edit > Copy (⌘C), and paste it in your reply to this post, to let me see the names of the files and folders present at the root level of the Mail folder.
Before actually posting that information, you may edit it so that the file/folder names do not reveal any details you wish to keep private, e.g. you may replace any real username with "username" if you wish; similarly, you may disguise any domain names you don't want to be revealed. Try to be consistent in how you disguise those details, though, as we may need to refer to them in subsequent posts.
Now, go to ~/Library/Mail/Mailboxes/. With that folder open, repeat the process to let me see the names of the files and folders it contains. Again, you may disguise any mailbox names you wish to keep private.
Finally, locate the account folders within ~/Library/Mail/ -- their name begins with the account type (POP, IMAP, .Mac), followed by the account username and the incoming mail server. For each account folder, repeat the process to let me see the names of the files and folders it contains.
Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user's ~ folder. You can easily locate any of the folders referred to in this post by copying the file path here, doing Go > Go to Folder in the Finder, and pasting the file path there.

Inbox and sent messages gone

I was trying to recharge my Nokia N97 with a blackberry USB charger. It worked but then I realized all my inbox and sent messages have disappeared!! What happened? Can I find them back?

Hi,
Firefox and other browsers can only display the emails. All the content, emails, settings etc. are stored at and received from the remote site/server. If an add-on is being used with Firefox, you can try to check its '''Options''' in '''Tools '''('''Alt '''+ '''T''') > '''Addons''' > '''Extensions'''. Otherwise you may have to check the mail archives in Gmail and Windows Live sites. You can also check the trash/deleted folders in the respective mail sites for any mails that may have been manually deleted within usually 30 days.
[http://support.google.com/mail/?hl=en Gmail Help]
[http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=6576 Gmail Archive]
[http://windowslivehelp.com/ Windows Live Help]
For Thunderbird issues please see [https://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla_messaging/topics/new this].

Inbox and Sent messages are gone?

Messages in both inbox and sent messages prior to mid-November of 2011 are gone. I had thousands of messages going back several years, and they're gone. I didn't delete. This is the case for both gmail webmail and for Windows Live. I have no idea what has happened. Is there any way to recover these messages? Thank you

Hi,
Firefox and other browsers can only display the emails. All the content, emails, settings etc. are stored at and received from the remote site/server. If an add-on is being used with Firefox, you can try to check its '''Options''' in '''Tools '''('''Alt '''+ '''T''') > '''Addons''' > '''Extensions'''. Otherwise you may have to check the mail archives in Gmail and Windows Live sites. You can also check the trash/deleted folders in the respective mail sites for any mails that may have been manually deleted within usually 30 days.
[http://support.google.com/mail/?hl=en Gmail Help]
[http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=6576 Gmail Archive]
[http://windowslivehelp.com/ Windows Live Help]
For Thunderbird issues please see [https://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla_messaging/topics/new this].

Inbox and Sent Messages Disappeared

Started the mail program (v 4.2) and received a new email. Clicked on it and I'm not sure what happened but all Inbox and sent messages are now gone. Very strange. My iPhone shows all messages but the iMac shows none of them. All other mailboxes are intact. What folder do I use with Time Machine to refresh all of them?
Thanks

For some reason the account had been dis-enabled in preferences. Re-enabling has reproduced the messages. Very strange!

Inbox and Sent Mail GONE

Tech support for my provider had me delete and re-enter my account settings in preferences because I was unable to send or receive mail. It wiped out my inbox and sent mail (smart mailboxes and archive folders are fine) I tried to import the mailboxes in the mail folder in the library, but these were created when I re-entered my information and were empty. AND I was in the process of reformatting the time machine drive so my backup were lost. Duh. I did a global search for "inbox" but nothing is coming up and tech support at comcast was at a loss. Any ideas where these messages could have gone? I verified my HD, as was recommended, and it is fine. Thanks!

My friend and I are having just the same problem on an old iMac running OSX 10.4.11 and Mail 2.1.3. I've located the lost messages on my friend's external HD. They were in the directory Users-->(username)-->Library-->Mail-->POP-(username@ISP address@incoming mail server).
The folders were copied to the iMac's desktop from HD. The problem is that using the Import Mailboxes function under File in the Mail menu produced the following error message, "No valid Mail for Mac OSX files were found".
The folder contains several mailbox folders, (name.mbox), including INBOX.mbox, Sent Messages.mbox, etc. They probably are the old default folders. Within each is a Messages folder. Their contents can be read individually by clicking on each .emlx file BUT how do we import them back into Mail?

Inbox and sent mail gone after re-entering account settings in preferences

Tech support for my provider had me delete and re-enter my account settings in preferences as I was unable to send or receive mail. It wiped out my inbox and sent mail (smart mailboxes and archive folders are fine) I tried to import the mailboxes in the mail folder in the library, but these were created when I re-entered my information and were empty. AND I was in the process of reformatting the time machine drive so my backup were lost. Duh. I did a global search for "inbox" but nothing is coming up and tech support at comcast was at a loss. Any ideas where these messages could have gone? I verified my HD, as was recommended, and it is fine. Thanks!

Tech support for my provider had me delete and re-enter my account settings in preferences as I was unable to send or receive mail. It wiped out my inbox and sent mail (smart mailboxes and archive folders are fine) I tried to import the mailboxes in the mail folder in the library, but these were created when I re-entered my information and were empty. AND I was in the process of reformatting the time machine drive so my backup were lost. Duh. I did a global search for "inbox" but nothing is coming up and tech support at comcast was at a loss. Any ideas where these messages could have gone? I verified my HD, as was recommended, and it is fine. Thanks!

Mail Inbox and Sent box disappeared

The Inbox and Sent boxes appear empty and do not respond. Trying to move messages from other boxes to the Inbox results in a message saying the box does not exist.
Not able to send or receive mail to the computer. MobileMe works.
Have recovered the last inbox, but cannot move the recovered msgs to the Inbox.
Cannot rebuild the Inbox as that item in the menu is grayed out.
Reindexing the boxes does not solve the issue.
Questions: Is there a fix within the current configuration that does not lose the contents of either box? Would downloading a new Mail app fix the problem and recognize the old mailboxes? If I have to install a new Mail app, where do I get it?
Appreciate any help

all the mail content (but not the headers) in my Inbox and Sent box disappeared.
Setting up the same account twice in Mail is probably what got you into trouble. I suspect Mail simply removed all mailboxes associated with that account without checking to see whether they belonged to the original or the dupe.
Do the disappeared messages from my Inbox, and their attachments, all exist somewhere on my Mac even though I can't see them (I have searched the Library)?
Very unlikely. Try looking in the ~/Library/Mail/ folder (where '~' means "your user folder). See if there are any mailboxes still there that might be appropriate, and try duplicating them to the desktop and then import them into a new mailbox. That's unlikely to work, but you never know.
Is there any utility out there that might help me to find them?
If they're really gone, no. If you have backups, you can restore them from the backup, of course. But without backups, the best you'll be able to do is try a data recovery tool, which is unlikely to give very good results in this case, but would be worth a try if there's no other option.
And what happens to attachments in Mail nowadays, when there seems to be no separate Attachments folder?
Attachments are stored with the message, just like they are sent across the internet as part of the message. They are not automatically decoded and saved as individual files somewhere. That happens when you either open them or tell Mail to save them somewhere.

Apple Mail - Unread Spam Messages/ Inbox and Sent Folder

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