Mail.app - deleting account - question about the process

[mac-convert]

Hello all,

I am ready to delete an unused mail account from Mail.app, but when I selected it and clicked the - sign, I got a prompt and message that caused me to hold off a bit.

The account’s setup information, mailboxes, and all messages will be deleted permanently from your computer. Copies of messages on the mail server, if they exist, will not be affected.

So - does this REALLY go through the local system and delete ALL the messages associated with this account? I could give a rat's arse about the ones on the server, but I don't want the local ones deleted. I have all of them in folders, not the inbox, and there are some that I want to hang on to for historical/hysterical reasons. If this is true, then I should probably forward them to another account before I remove this one, eh?

Thanks in advance.

PS - I'm on Leopard...

 

[WildCowboy]

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe that deleting the account deletes messages from that account that are the Inbox. It won't delete messages that have been moved to another local mailbox.

 

[mac-convert]

Thanks WC. I'll hold off a bit and see if anyone else pops up and has done this. If not, I'll go through and find my mail and forward it. I'll stick one back in the inbox to see what happens.

 

[BeckyJL]

WAIT! move mailboxes first!

NOTE: deleting the account deletes ALL folders residing within that account (that you created while using that account, and positioned beneath/with that account in the window at the left of Mail). All messages you want to save must be moved to "On My Mac" area (look further down in same window) before deleting the account. See this link for explanation:
http://support.earthlink.net/articles/email/how-to-remove-an-email-account-from-mac-mail.php
I wanted my inbox and sent messages, so I created two new mailboxes: "Inbox from [old] account" and "Sent mail from [old] account" and made sure they were beneath the "On My Mac" section. Then I highlighted and dragged all messages from my main Inbox and Sent box so they were all in "on my mac" section. THEN I deleted the old account. Note: trash and junk boxes (which I did not move to "On My Mac") were not emptied, but others who have posted to other lists say they did lose their inbox and sent mail when deleting an account, so beware!
good luck!