Mailboxes not in Alphabetical Order by Default

[currins]

Dumb Question:

In iCloud, all my mailboxes are organized alphabetically. On my MBP (Lion), they are not - when I add a new mailbox, it just puts it at the bottom.

I've tried manually synching, removing the iCloud account from my MBP, etc, with no luck.

This seems silly, but it's annoying. Any ideas?

 

[Rajpdx]

Dumb Question:

In iCloud, all my mailboxes are organized alphabetically. On my MBP (Lion), they are not - when I add a new mailbox, it just puts it at the bottom.

I've tried manually synching, removing the iCloud account from my MBP, etc, with no luck.

This seems silly, but it's annoying. Any ideas?

Do you mean in Apple Mail? If so you can just drag the mailboxes in the sidebar into whichever order you like.

 

[yusukeaoki]

When you open your mail, just click it to sort by date.

 

[currins]

Apologize for any confusion. Yes, Apple Mail.

And I'm not talking about mail messages, I'm talking about the Mailboxes (or folders) in the sidebar.

In the past, when I created a new Mailbox, it automatically showed up in alphabetical order with the rest...very convenient.

Sure, I could move them manually, but on 4 different devices, it's frustrating.

The other rub is that on iCloud, they're in alphabetical order. On my iMac, MBP, they're not (all my mailboxes are iCloud versus This Mac).

Like I said, silly issue, just frustrating. Especially b/c it just started with my migration to iCloud.

 

[rreiser]

How to alphabetize your mailboxes in Apple Mail

If you want to have your new mailboxes automatically alphabetized when you add them to your existing list of mailboxes in your IMAP folder, make sure that the mailboxes that are already listed there are in alphabetical order. You can do this manually by moving them up and down on the list on the left hand side of your screen. Once you accomplish this task, any new mailboxes you add to IMAP folder will automatically be placed in alphabetical order. I tried this approach and it worked for me.

 

[2BoyzMom]

Mine was doing the same thing. Finally figured out when I clicked sort by date...I had "All Mailboxes" checked. I had to uncheck that and check Inbox Only. Now it is adding them in ABC order again. Hope this helps. This is on an imac.

 

[eleanorb]

Mine was doing the same thing. Finally figured out when I clicked sort by date...I had "All Mailboxes" checked. I had to uncheck that and check Inbox Only. Now it is adding them in ABC order again. Hope this helps. This is on an imac.

When you say "clicked sort by date" — where did you do that? In mail? In mail preferences? — Eleanorb

 

[redheeler]

When you say "clicked sort by date" — where did you do that? In mail? In mail preferences? — Eleanorb

It's right above the list of messages.

 

[eleanorb]

If you want to have your new mailboxes automatically alphabetized when you add them to your existing list of mailboxes in your IMAP folder, make sure that the mailboxes that are already listed there are in alphabetical order. You can do this manually by moving them up and down on the list on the left hand side of your screen. Once you accomplish this task, any new mailboxes you add to IMAP folder will automatically be placed in alphabetical order. I tried this approach and it worked for me.

Yes, I find that I can rearrange my mailbox folders in alphabetical order and they will stay in that order, and a newly created folder will be placed in proper alphabetical sequence. However, if I move a subfolder into the main sequence, it will not automatically be placed in order, I have to move it to the right spot. Is this also your experience?

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It's right above the list of messages.

To redheeler:

Hmm. So, are you talking about sorting the messages within a folder, or sorting the folders by name? I thought that this thread was about sorting the folders… Also, I'm using Mail 6.6 — how about you?

 

[2BoyzMom]

When you say "clicked sort by date" — where did you do that? In mail? In mail preferences? — Eleanorb

Up at the top click view...then sort by...then date.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Up at the top click view...then sort by...then date.

FWIW, that only sorts messages.

I tried the 'disable/close/open/enable' trick, and it didn't work. It is very annoying, not having folders sorted...

So 'flattening' the OS is more important than sorting the damn folders? Really?

Outlook can do it...

 

[fwibaux]

Dumb Question:

In iCloud, all my mailboxes are organized alphabetically. On my MBP (Lion), they are not - when I add a new mailbox, it just puts it at the bottom.

I've tried manually synching, removing the iCloud account from my MBP, etc, with no luck.

This seems silly, but it's annoying. Any ideas?

I found this that worked perfectly for me :
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/macvisionaries/UQtzrgiAIrA
You really need to check all Mailboxes in user/library/Mail/V3(or V2)

 

[PemWeno]

Do you mean in Apple Mail? If so you can just drag the mailboxes in the sidebar into whichever order you like.

OH! Doh! Been wondering/trying to do that for 12 months! Thanks 708347

 

[jagooch]

OH! Doh! Been wondering/trying to do that for 12 months! Thanks 708347

I hope that you are kidding.

but for people with dozens of mailboxes out of order, it isn't a practical solution.

 

[madmac30]

I hope that you are kidding.

but for people with dozens of mailboxes out of order, it isn't a practical solution.I

I finally found the answer because like you I have well over 100 mailboxes and sorting them manually is impractical and an unreasonable solution.

This is what you need to do:

1. Turn off/disable the offending mail account in preferences/settings
2. Quit mail
3. Go to ~/Library/Mail/V10 (or whatever version you are running - I'm on Ventura)
4. Locate the folder for the offending account (you will have to look for the one that has all the mailboxes in it that you are trying to sort)
5. Once you have the offending mail account folder selected hit "command + shift + period" keys to show invisible files
6. At the top of the mailbox list you should see a file called .mbox.Cache.plist - move that file to the desktop or trash but don't delete
7. Open mail and turn the offending account back on

You should see everything sorted in alphabetical order now. Once you verify the order is correct and that all mailboxes are populated you can delete the file in the trash and hit command + shift + period to hide invisible files

This is what worked for me