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Mail rules / smart mailboxes

M

mrjosh

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 5, 2009
116
5
Hi all,

I'm trying to organize my mail by sender (if anyone has better organizational ideas other than deleting mail, let me know).

Right now, I have rules so all new emails are directed towards various inboxes (family, friends, etc.). However, this means I need to go to a bunch of different folders to read my email.

Is there a way to set up a rule so that mail gets routed according to email address after being read? I just want to go to my primary inbox, read a message and have it routed accordingly. I feel like I might be missing something very basic here...

Any help would be appreciated. In case you can't tell, I'm new to the world of mac. Now that I don't spend all my time fighting with a pc, I actually have time to try and organize my life...
 
rdowns

rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Jul 11, 2003
27,397
12,521
Do not apply the rules automatically. Let your mail come into your inbox and once read, then use the apply rules command.
 
M

mrjosh

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 5, 2009
116
5
Thanks rdowns. I'll check the rules when I get home and apply correctly.
 
K

krx

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2009
36
0
Will this actually work? Don't you have to check the box next to each rule first in order to "apply" it? And if the box is checked I believe mail is sorted automatically when it arrives. If so, for the recommended method to work, you'd have to go in and check all the boxes next to each rule, then apply rules, and then go back in and uncheck all your boxes so that new mail doesn't get sorted automatically. If you just three rules then maybe. But if you have a hundred or more rules to apply as I do then this is not a practicable solution.

Please correct me if I'm wrong cause this is the primary reason I have not switched to Apple Mail.
 
D

DJPD

macrumors newbie
Aug 12, 2009
1
0
I'm having the same problem and thinking of changing to another mail software. You can't even add a folder to put read mail in :mad: Or am I just missing something here?

Why in the world would apple remove such a basic feature:confused::confused:

can anyone recommend a different mail software?


Thanks
 
K

krx

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2009
36
0
To my knowledge there is no email app available today that handles rules/filters in an efficient way - at least for those with more than a small handful of rules/filters. The old Eudora was fantastic at this: once filters were created mail was sorted automatically upon sending and receiving. Mail folders receiving new mail opened automatically which made it (at least for me) very efficient to work through the open folders, saving those that needed a response or that I otherwise needed to come back to in the dock. All pending email was on my desktop or in my dock - I didn't have to remember it or scan through a list of 100+ folders to see if anything jarred my memory (as I do now).

I tried Eudora 8.x but as far as I could tell it didn't keep this filter/folder management method. I am currently using both Entourage 2004 and Apple Mail, trying to decide which is better (Mail has a better interface and probably syncs better with the rest of my Apple apps but completely screwed up the import of mail from Entourage). So far it seems to me each handles rules/folder management the same way. I have all my rules activated so mail gets sorted automatically as it comes in. Then I scan the folders to see which are in bold and have numbers next to them. It's a ridiculously inefficient way to do it, and i've found no way to keep track of what's pending (suggestions?), but I've found no better way to date.
 
swiftaw

swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
Instead of creating a folder (mailbox) for each sender then using rules to move the messages to each folder (mailbox), why not leave the messages where they are and create a smart mailbox for each sender?
 
K

krx

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2009
36
0
swiftaw said:
Instead of creating a folder (mailbox) for each sender then using rules to move the messages to each folder (mailbox), why not leave the messages where they are and create a smart mailbox for each sender?
Click to expand...
Smart mailboxes are great for archiving mail but how would this resolve the mail processing problem? New mail comes into my inbox (assuming I'm not using rules and instead using smart mailboxes to organize my mail). I could then just look at the inbox as my pending email folder, which would be great. Except once I've processed an email I would need to move it out of the inbox - otherwise the inbox will become massive and therefore inefficient very quickly. It doesn't work to look at in inbox full of hundreds or thousands of messages and have to scan through to see what needs processing. But if I delete the message once processed than it is no longer saved in my smart mailbox - it is gone. So then I'm back to having to set up rules to save the email in another folder.

I suppose though, come to think of it, that I could just create one massive "archive" folder which holds all processed email that I need to save, and use smart mailboxes to organize all of it. Then maybe to keep this single folder from getting too big I could break it down into years. I could then use the inbox for processing all messages, then move them manually to the current archive folder. Hmmm... This may actually work.

So the idea is this:

1. Use the inbox as the "Pending Email" folder. All new email comes here first, to be processed and, once processed, either archived for future reference or deleted forever.

2. Archive all email that needs to be saved in annual folders - which in my case will hold on average about thousand emails each. These folders will function primarily as physical (digital?) repositories for all saved email, since smart folders are virtual folders and don't actually hold anything.

3. Create smart mailboxes to organize all extant (archived and pending) email.
 
swiftaw

swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
krx said:
Smart mailboxes are great for archiving mail but how would this resolve the mail processing problem? New mail comes into my inbox (assuming I'm not using rules and instead using smart mailboxes to organize my mail). I could then just look at the inbox as my pending email folder, which would be great. Except once I've processed an email I would need to move it out of the inbox - otherwise the inbox will become massive and therefore inefficient very quickly. It doesn't work to look at in inbox full of hundreds or thousands of messages and have to scan through to see what needs processing. But if I delete the message once processed than it is no longer saved in my smart mailbox - it is gone. So then I'm back to having to set up rules to save the email in another folder.

I suppose though, come to think of it, that I could just create one massive "archive" folder which holds all processed email that I need to save, and use smart mailboxes to organize all of it. Then maybe to keep this single folder from getting too big I could break it down into years. I could then use the inbox for processing all messages, then move them manually to the current archive folder. Hmmm... This may actually work.

So the idea is this:

1. Use the inbox as the "Pending Email" folder. All new email comes here first, to be processed and, once processed, either archived for future reference or deleted forever.

2. Archive all email that needs to be saved in annual folders - which in my case will hold on average about thousand emails each. These folders will function primarily as physical (digital?) repositories for all saved email, since smart folders are virtual folders and don't actually hold anything.

3. Create smart mailboxes to organize all extant (archived and pending) email.
Click to expand...


Exactly, you have two real mailboxes. The inbox, which contains mail you haven't dealt with, and another one, for arguments sake, lets call it the Done mailbox which contains mail you have dealt with.

Then, you create as many smart mailboxes as needed which essentially index all the mail contained in Inbox and Done. Furthermore, if you color each mail in the Done box then when browsing the smart mailboxes you'll be able to tell the difference between Done mail and Inbox mail.
 
K

krx

macrumors member
Aug 10, 2009
36
0
swiftaw said:
Exactly, you have two real mailboxes. The inbox, which contains mail you haven't dealt with, and another one, for arguments sake, lets call it the Done mailbox which contains mail you have dealt with.

Then, you create as many smart mailboxes as needed which essentially index all the mail contained in Inbox and Done. Furthermore, if you color each mail in the Done box then when browsing the smart mailboxes you'll be able to tell the difference between Done mail and Inbox mail.
Click to expand...
I will give this a try. My only problem now is figuring out how to get all my mail from Entourage into Mail. I used the import tool in Mail but it screwed up the dates and left some messages empty - and that's just the problems I know about. So...

Anybody know of a better way to transfer just my email - with the metadata (ie, dates) intact? I don't need filters or accounts or anything else.
 
J

justin052

macrumors newbie
Nov 1, 2009
7
0
I'm unsure if this is a similar problem (or request) but what I'm trying to do is keep emails from going into the master inbox. I want a separate folder for emails from a certain person, that when they come in, they go directly there, and i don't see them unless I go to that specific folder. Is this possible?
 
swiftaw

swiftaw

macrumors 603
Jan 31, 2005
6,328
25
Omaha, NE, USA
justin052 said:
I'm unsure if this is a similar problem (or request) but what I'm trying to do is keep emails from going into the master inbox. I want a separate folder for emails from a certain person, that when they come in, they go directly there, and i don't see them unless I go to that specific folder. Is this possible?
Click to expand...

Yes, create a Rule that moves emails from specified people to a different mailbox.
 
C

Cynamine

macrumors newbie
Nov 21, 2011
1
0
Email addresses and rules for one smart mailbox folder

I need a mailbox folder that will pick up multiple rules in different messages.
For instance:
I want all messages that come from either A@gmail.com, B@gmail.com, C@gmail.com, and so on to all get filtered into one smart mailbox folder.
The issue that I seem to be running into is that unless all the email messages are not from or contain or whatever all of them then they will not get sorted. I can't seem to find a way to sort A, B or C if they email me separately into one smart mailbox folder. Does this make sense?
 
dianeoforegon

dianeoforegon

macrumors 6502a
Apr 26, 2011
907
137
Oregon
mrjosh said:
Right now, I have rules so all new emails are directed towards various inboxes (family, friends, etc.). However, this means I need to go to a bunch of different folders to read my email.
Click to expand...

Create Smart Folders:

Unread
Received Today

Even if you have rules that move your messages, these two smart folders will allow you to easily view your mail regardless of where it's filed.
 
N

nacnack

macrumors newbie
Dec 17, 2012
1
0
Not Working??

dianeoforegon said:
Create Smart Folders:

Unread
Received Today

Even if you have rules that move your messages, these two smart folders will allow you to easily view your mail regardless of where it's filed.
Click to expand...


I have been all over the internet for days trying to find a solution for either smart mailboxes or smart mailbox folders (rules) with no avail. I'm using Mail 5.3 with my Mac Air OX 10.7.5. No matter how I set these up they just do not move messages to the appropriate folders and I cannot find a solution anywhere on the internet.

I have a folder for my Avis reservations:

Smart mailbox settings

Contains messages that match "all"
Any Recipient - Contains - avisreservations@avis.com
Any Recipient - Contains - Avis@rent.avis.com
Any Recipient - Contains - Avis.RentACar@avis.com
Any Recipient - Contains - Avis@mail.avis.com

include message from Trash
include messages from Sent - both checked

Smart Mail Folder Rules

If "Any" of the following conditions are met

"Any Recipient" - Contains - Same settings are above

Perform the following Actions:

Move Message - to mailbox - Avis Car Rental

NOTHING WORKS- - Please Advise

and my smartboxes set up the same way to see which one will work. I did set them up individually and not at the same time, but they will still not capture the mail coming from my in-box.
 
dangerfish

dangerfish

macrumors 6502a
Aug 28, 2007
584
133
For your smart mailboxes, you've told it that the email must contain ALL of those Recipients in order to be put into the smart mailbox. Avis is not the recipients; they are the Sender. Delete all those rules and put in 1 rule that says "From, Contains, Avis". I bet that will work.
 
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