IMAP email still keeps local copies of all emails....you can read your emails off line.
Not sure if this is the rights forum but given I have just updated my MacBook Pro and this is the operating system now I thought I would ask.
On my 2015 MacBook I used to use multiple pop gmail accounts with Mac mail and on my iPhone. During the day I would delete messages on my phone and at night open my computer, download all messages and file and delete how I pleased. I like to keep very few emails on my phone so could delete them with pop and still have back up copies on my computer.
I can’t do that with imap as everything always syncs! Great for most. Not for me.
So to the question. I need to know how I can create folders on my MacBook so I can save and file emails I want to keep on an offline basis. Is this possible? Anyone got a good way to set this up?
Please let me know do you can. Thanks.
"I need to know how I can create folders on my MacBook so I can save and file emails I want to keep on an offline basis. Is this possible? Anyone got a good way to set this up?"
i think i have a similar set up that achieves what you want to do.
i have an iPhone and a mac.
i use the iPhone to read email during the day. my iPhone message client is apple's standard Mail on the iPhone. i have no file or rules set up on the iPhone to direct incoming messages to any particular folder.
on my mac i have alot of rules that i have set up to put incoming message directly into offline folders depending on various rules parameters set.
my email accounts are all set to IMAP.
on my phone after i read a message i either (1) delete it; with it going into Deleted Messages on the server, or, (2) just read it and leave it as Read in the incoming mail box.
next time i am on my mac i download messages that are still on the server.
the new unread messages go directly into folders if they are being downloaded for the first time, or, if they were read first on the phone they either are there still waiting in the inbox as read message but still available due to its IMAP, or, they may be in the Deleted messages on the server in which case they need to be deleted permanently by deleting them again.
either way, to get messages on yr mac into pre-set up folders, you simply need make Rules that are applied to the messages and then the message will go into the Rules based folders you have set up.
to set up Folders on yr mac is very straightforward. just make folders from yr menu bar in Mail: Mailbox/New Mailbox.
then set up Rules to place incoming Mail into these Mailboxes.
in Mail preferences i have set up my Mailbox Behaviors (Mail/Preferences/Accounts/Mailbox Behaviors) to all be On My Mac for Incoming, Drafts, Sent. For Archive the box has particular differences in the way that each mail account prefers and limits yr options - whether the Mail account is Gmail, iCloud, or other - each of these has its own preferred way of handling where Deleted messages are housed. but the differences are not meaningful in the end.
i have the last 13 years of all my mail including all attachments that i have wanted to keep, kept in these off line folders. amounting to a total of 83GB.
apple's macOS Mail program has not failed me during all this time.
and, doing it this way has saved me multiple times when my macs have failed as its easy to backup the Library/Mail entire Mail folder.
