Shopping for Email Clients

nburman · Feb 9, 2013

I love Mail, but it's not doing everything I want. Hints and tips on how to fix these issues would be great, or alternative clients.

Here are things I would like.
1. Sent mail from my iPhone ends up in desktop client Sent folder.
2. I have dozens of email filters, moving emails to different folders. When Mail is turned off and mail is picked up on iPhone/iPad, then Mail is turned on, emails don't get filtered. I would like a way to 'Filter All Mail Again' to resort emails into folders.
3. (Bit of a dream, this one..) I'd like a timer, so after a set time the program gets shut down. The reason for this is that if I leave Mail open, I can't get filtered mail on my iPhone/iPad. Or, a way to get filtered mail on iOS.

If I'm going to switch email clients, I need to have emails and filters exported from Mail.

Has anyone had great results from other email clients? As much as I like Mail, I can't help thinking there are better ways to skin a cat. Are there features I would LOVE that I'm missing out on?

Wolffie · Feb 9, 2013

Sounds like you use POP3 protocol for your email in Mail and on your iOS device.
Can you confirm you use POP3 settings?

What is your email domain or service provider?
I can understand not wanting to post your email, can you advise everything after the "@"? E.g. @gmail.com

If your email provider allows IMAP, I suggest setting up your email with those settings on Mail and iOS devices.

nburman · Feb 9, 2013

I'm using IMAP, actually, which made me think that maybe my iOS settings aren't right. I didnt' realise that there is a setting for Sent folder as well. Iv'e changed it to the folder that appears to be the server folder.

It's a work (.com) email address that I host. Well, i don't run the server, but it's hosting I have access too.

Thanks for the tip Wolffie!

flynz4 · Feb 9, 2013

nburman said:
I love Mail, but it's not doing everything I want. Hints and tips on how to fix these issues would be great, or alternative clients.

Here are things I would like.
1. Sent mail from my iPhone ends up in desktop client Sent folder.
2. I have dozens of email filters, moving emails to different folders. When Mail is turned off and mail is picked up on iPhone/iPad, then Mail is turned on, emails don't get filtered. I would like a way to 'Filter All Mail Again' to resort emails into folders.
3. (Bit of a dream, this one..) I'd like a timer, so after a set time the program gets shut down. The reason for this is that if I leave Mail open, I can't get filtered mail on my iPhone/iPad. Or, a way to get filtered mail on iOS.

If I'm going to switch email clients, I need to have emails and filters exported from Mail.

Has anyone had great results from other email clients? As much as I like Mail, I can't help thinking there are better ways to skin a cat. Are there features I would LOVE that I'm missing out on?

With IMAP email, #1 is exactly the behavior that I would expect. The key feature of IMAP is to have the exact same view of your mail irrespective of machine or time. I am not too sure why you would want something different.

Personally... I do not use automatic filters to put messages into folders... so I cannot help there. What I do instead is have all received email forward a copy to a dedicated gmail account for archiving. Given that I then have an account that captures all my mail for perpetuity, I ruthlessly delete almost all mail that arrives in my mailbox. I only save things that I know I will need for a short while (like travel itineraries, etc). Hence... while my mailbox is generally nearly always empty... a quick google search lets me find any message within seconds.

I just like the feeling of a clean minimalist inbox... while still having access to all the crap I've ever received.

/Jim

Huntn · Feb 9, 2013

I really dislike Mail, maybe because before that I used Eudora. Specifically what I dislike is that it gives me multiple copies of the same email, sometimes 3. I've not been able to figure out why... If I could find a good client, I'd switch too. As it is I mostly use gmail online. I run periodically so I'll have a copy of emails on my computer.

Wolffie · Feb 9, 2013

nburman said:
2. I have dozens of email filters, moving emails to different folders. When Mail is turned off and mail is picked up on iPhone/iPad, then Mail is turned on, emails don't get filtered. I would like a way to 'Filter All Mail Again' to resort emails into folders.

So if #1 is taken care of, lets start #2 and hope #3 is no longer needed.

What version of Mail are you using?
Are your filters setup with in Mail?
Are these folders that hold filtered mail located on the desktop or on the server?
Can you provide a screen shot of mail open with the folder listing? Don't need to see the emails.
What is the expected behavior for your mail on the desktop?
What is the expected behavior for your mail on the iOS Device?
On the iOS Device, are you entering Mail then inboxes only?
Do you get your filtered mailboxes if you enter the work specific mailbox account? (Below the Inboxes listing when first entering iOS Mail)
How many Mail Accounts do you have on your iOS Device?

My current assumption, as you are using IMAP you will only get notifications of mail delivered to the INBOX. If you could use the Exchange protocol to access the work account, you could then select each folder that you would like push notifications on your iOS Device. This would produce the behavior you are requesting.

NMF · Feb 9, 2013

I use Postbox, which is a lightweight, awesome email client specifically tailored for Gmail. It does everything you want (besides auto-shutdown, I think) -- at least, for Gmail. I'm not sure how your email server is set up. As a rule, OS X's Mail.app and iOS Mail do a terrible job of providing Gmail functionality. With Postbox I finally have things like my "Sent" folder and labels syncing. For filters, however, I still use Gmail.com so that it works across everything.

Anyway, it's $9.99 but offers a fully-featured 30 day free trial. It's probably worth at least trying since it is free. Again, it's amazing with Gmail, and it's pretty much the only OS X app that can claim that now that Sparrow has been gobbled up. I imagine it should probably be able to do what you need it to. It's actually incredibly customizable if you want to get down into the nitty gritty of the config files.

If it doesn't work for you, maybe consider shifting your website's email hosting to Gmail? ;-)

glenthompson · Feb 9, 2013

2. I have dozens of email filters, moving emails to different folders. When Mail is turned off and mail is picked up on iPhone/iPad, then Mail is turned on, emails don't get filtered. I would like a way to 'Filter All Mail Again' to resort emails into folders.

I have rules for the same with my iCloud account and have no problems. I see the mail in its proper location regardless of whether I'm using my iPad, MBP, or both. The folders used definitely have to be on the IMAP server. I have local folders for archiving that don't show on the iPad.

nburman · Feb 18, 2013

Wolffie said:
So if #1 is taken care of, lets start #2 and hope #3 is no longer needed.

What version of Mail are you using?

6.2

Are your filters setup with in Mail?

Yes.

Are these folders that hold filtered mail located on the desktop or on the server?

Desktop (I think I sense a need for improvement here... ok, moving on...)

Can you provide a screen shot of mail open with the folder listing? Don't need to see the emails.

Sure! https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3108208/mine/mailScreenshot.pdf

What is the expected behavior for your mail on the desktop?

It gets filtered into folders.

What is the expected behavior for your mail on the iOS Device?

None really.

On the iOS Device, are you entering Mail then inboxes only?

Everything goes to the inbox on iOS.

Do you get your filtered mailboxes if you enter the work specific mailbox account? (Below the Inboxes listing when first entering iOS Mail)

On Desktop, yes.

How many Mail Accounts do you have on your iOS Device?

Three.

My current assumption, as you are using IMAP you will only get notifications of mail delivered to the INBOX. If you could use the Exchange protocol to access the work account, you could then select each folder that you would like push notifications on your iOS Device. This would produce the behavior you are requesting.

Interesting! Would I get similar results if I move my filter folders to the server?

----------

NMF said:
I use Postbox, which is a lightweight, awesome email client specifically tailored for Gmail. It does everything you want (besides auto-shutdown, I think) -- at least, for Gmail. I'm not sure how your email server is set up. As a rule, OS X's Mail.app and iOS Mail do a terrible job of providing Gmail functionality. With Postbox I finally have things like my "Sent" folder and labels syncing. For filters, however, I still use Gmail.com so that it works across everything.

Anyway, it's $9.99 but offers a fully-featured 30 day free trial. It's probably worth at least trying since it is free. Again, it's amazing with Gmail, and it's pretty much the only OS X app that can claim that now that Sparrow has been gobbled up. I imagine it should probably be able to do what you need it to. It's actually incredibly customizable if you want to get down into the nitty gritty of the config files.

If it doesn't work for you, maybe consider shifting your website's email hosting to Gmail? ;-)

Thanks for the recommendation. I don't use GMail, except as a backup and when travelling, but Postbox sounds worth trying. Cheers!

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Shopping for Email Clients

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