Apple Mail and IMAP Gmail - Conflicting Configuration Instructions

[JoelMarcey]

I am reconfiguring Apple Mail (4.4) with my Gmail accounts. I use IMAP. I noticed something weird. When setting up a Gmail account with Apple Mail, it is pretty easy. Enter name, user name, password, and it configures automatically.

Looking at Preferences | Accounts | <Gmail Account> | Mailbox Behaviors, you will see some items checked and unchecked. The attached screenshot shows what is checked and unchecked by default.

Then I go here on the Google site for recommended IMAP settings for Apple Mail:

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=78892#

... and the Google recommended settings are the EXACT OPPOSITE of what Apple Mail does by default. See the attached screenshot.

Does anyone find that odd?

So what are the most optimal mailbox behavior settings? What should be checked and unchecked?

Thanks.

 

[miles01110]

Does anyone find that odd?

No, because Mail's automatic setup is programmed by Apple, not Google.

So what are the most optimal mailbox behavior settings? What should be checked and unchecked?

The options are not very ambiguous. Since "most optimal mailbox behavior" is a personal preference, your questino is meaningless.

 

[JoelMarcey]

The options are not very ambiguous. Since "most optimal mailbox behavior" is a personal preference, your question (sic) is meaningless.

Not meaningless, actually. I am sure Apple nor Google didn't just run a random number generator program or flipped a coin to determine which boxes should be checked or not. There has to be rationale coming from both sides, unless one set of recommendations is a mistake. I am asking which set most people use. Do they just stick with the default Apple settings or go with the Google recommended settings or some mix between the two?

I suppose I could experiment to determine the mailbox detriment of having one box checked or not (e.g. duplicate messages, not having sent items locally) ... but knowing the quirks that IMAP Gmail has, I figured I would try to save that time.

 

[GGJstudios]

Not meaningless, actually. I am sure Apple nor Google didn't just run a random number generator program or flipped a coin to determine which boxes should be checked or not. There has to be rationale coming from both sides, unless one set of recommendations is a mistake. I am asking which set most people use. Do they just stick with the default Apple settings or go with the Google recommended settings or some mix between the two?

I suppose I could experiment to determine the mailbox detriment of having one box checked or not (e.g. duplicate messages, not having sent items locally) ... but knowing the quirks that IMAP Gmail has, I figured I would try to save that time.

Apple's recommendations appear to be based on what would be a safer and more versatile approach, leaving messages on the Gmail server so they can be downloaded to other computers and so they remain there in case of data loss on your hard drive. Google's recommendations appear to be oriented toward reducing the amount of storage used on their servers.

Ultimately, it's the user's preference that rules.

 

[jimthing]

Gmail + Mail.app = BUG vs. BUG as your options!

This certainly is a big problem AFAICS, with Gmail IMAP accounts in the Mail.app!

AUTOSAVE vs UNIFIED MAILBOXES

It causes an issue to do with composing emails if you use Apple's set-up, but if you try to use Google's set-up there is also a problem too, with each bug appearing if you set one way but disappearing set the other...

Apple recommended set-up: under "Mailbox Behaviors" tick *all* (Notes is optional) of the boxes and set to Never.
Causes bug: when composing emails, ie. Drafts, the Gmail autosave function saves repeats in your Trash mailbox every 30-60 seconds while you are composing the email. These have to be manually deleted.

eg: I composed an email for 30 mins today, and I had 28(!) autosave parts repeated emails in my Gmail Trash folder!

Google recommended set-up: under "Mailbox Behaviors" tick *none* (Notes is optional) of the boxes, *except* Junk and set Junk to Never.
Causes bug: trying to unify Inbox/Drafts/Sent/Junk/Trash (by, for example, highlighting the Gmail 'Drafts' mailbox, going to dropmenu Mailbox > Use This Mailbox For > Drafts, and doing this for the Sent/Junk/Trash too), then the Mailbox Behaviors re-save automatically in the background, or even by prompting you to save them, back to having them ALL ticked (as per Apple's way above)!


I have played with this endlessly over the last 12 months, gone into an Apple Genius apointment, phoned AppleCare, spoken to my ISP Virgin Media UK (as I also have one of their addresses, and they use Google Apps email), and spoken to Virgin Media UK's Complaints after they picked up a letter I sent to their CEO complaining about the issue.
And I'm still here none the wiser with the same problem, having to use the Apple method above, and just deleting the hundreds of repeats of Draft emails (whether the Draft gets sent or not, you ALWAYS get these repeats) from my Trash?!

(sounds like the ACTUAL reason Virgin Media do not offer support for Apple's MAIN email program! While mysteriously they do offer Thunderbird for Mac support?? There is no other reason not to support the native mail program otherwise!)

What settings are you other Gmail users using in Mailbox Behaviors to NOT get these repeats in your Trash, whilst still being able to UNIFY your mailboxes?? Please help I'm desperate to know.

 

[jimthing]

@JoelMarcey did you get this to work?

I've been on the Gmail forums, and still haven't had a resolution to it.
Plus see my original post here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1132661/