Mail - On an On...

[oo7ml]

Hi, i have just changed over from Windows to Mac and i am having some trouble setting up my email (gmail account).

1 - I left the mac running last night downloading all of the emails... when i went to bed it was at 12285 of 13896 (mail activity) but now it seems to be downloading another group of messages as it reads 356 of 16343...what could this be or could the process have started all over again for some strange reason

2 - how do you check how much space your emails are taking up on the overall system

3 - is it possible to set how many emails you want to download from the server (gmail) instead of downloading all of your emails over the last 5 years

Thanks in advance...

 

[MacDawg]

You can go to your Library (hidden on Lion) and check in the mail folder for the size of each mailbox
[you can use a little program called DesktopUtility to show hidden folders and files]

Yes, you can go to Gmail's mail settings and limit the number of downloads

Or you can set Mail to not store your messages on your Mac at all

 

[oo7ml]

Ok cool, thanks...

So i i choose not to store them on my Mac, how does it work, does it just access the mail like it would through the normal gmail web mail, thanks for your help

 

[MacDawg]

Pro: doesn't use space on your Mac
Con: you don't have access to stored emails while offline

I found my Mail folder was nearly 40 GB on my Mac and only about 4 GB on Gmail
There were duplicates in All Mail, Sent Mail, Labels (folders) and past deleted mail off the server

I changed my settings and gained that space back on my MBA

You can also show which Gmail folders show up on your Mac in Gmail's IMAP settings

 

[oo7ml]

Ok cool, i think i have it sorted now, thanks...

Am i right in saying that Mail is only acting the same as any browser that you use to access your gmail accounts, thanks again