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RobT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 20, 2007
679
163
Ohio, USA
I'm new to using G-Mail on my Mac and have run into an issue I can't figure out. I'm using GMail for e-mail everywhere I send an e-mail (work laptop (Win 7/Outlook), iPhone, iPad) my message is saved in a GMail folder titled "Sent Mail." This is great and what I want to continue to happen.

The issue is when I send an e-mail using my Mac with Mail.app it creates a folder called "Sent Messages" and stores the sent message there, which I would like to stop from happening.

Any idea how I can get the Mac and Mail.app to use the GMail "Sent Mail" folder on the server instead?
 
You may need to check the IMAP prefix in Mail under the advanced tab in preferences for the account. Enter this: [GMAIL]

If that doesn't fix it after closing and re-opening mail, then try selecting Sent Mail in the list and under the Mailbox pull down at the top select "Use this mailbox for" then select Sent.
 
Make sure you have IMAP set up for your Gmail account(s), then make sure your folders are configured properly:

Properly sort Drafts, Deleted, and Sent mail in Apple Mail:

Highlight [Gmail] Sent Mail in the sidebar and select Mailbox (menu bar) > Use This Mailbox For > Sent.
Highlight [Gmail] Drafts in the sidebar and select Mailbox (menu bar) > Use This Mailbox For > Drafts
Highlight [Gmail] Trash in the sidebar and select Mailbox (menu bar) > Use This Mailbox For > Trash
Highlight [Gmail] Spam in the sidebar and select Mailbox (menu bar) > Use This Mailbox For > Junk
 
I did those steps...

and sent and trash went their little way and disappeared from the "gmail" tab--I'm assuming because now they are synced with the mail mailboxes...

However, I've encountered 2 problems:

1) My spam won't let itself be used as "junk"

2) I can't find a way to make my gmail "all mail" box be easier accessible--I have to open two layers inside the gmail "tab" in order to get to it. I often archive my messages using this box--is their an alternate way to do the same thing?

Thanks!
 
1) My spam won't let itself be used as "junk"
What do you mean by that? What happens when you follow that step?
2) I can't find a way to make my gmail "all mail" box be easier accessible--I have to open two layers inside the gmail "tab" in order to get to it. I often archive my messages using this box--is their an alternate way to do the same thing?
Again, I'm not sure what you mean by archiving, using this box. Think of All Mail as somewhat equivalent to "Music" in iTunes. It shows all your mail, just like "Music" shows all your music. Think of Inbox, Sent Mail, Trash, etc. as somewhat equivalent to "playlists". A song appears only once in Music, even though it can also appear in a playlist. If you delete a message from your Inbox, it simply moves it from the Inbox "playlist" to the Trash "playlist", so it still appears in All Mail "Music". Only when you empty the Trash do you delete the message from All Mail (akin to Option+deleting from a playlist, which removes a song not only from the playlist, but from the iTunes library).

It's not a perfect analogy, by any means, but hopefully it makes it a bit clearer.
 
When I click on my spam folder and go to mailbox>use as>junk...nothing happens. It just sits there. Where as my other ones disappeared as they were being "eaten up" by the other folders precontained within mail.

Does that make sense?

Yeah, but like on gmail online, I can be in an email and click archive and it automatically goes into my "all mail" folder--I'd like a similar functionality--it is not in my immediate inbox but it's not deleted either.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for your help.

I'm a Mac noob--got the iMac on Saturday.

edit: ok so I just found something else new--if a message is in my inbox, I can right click and there is an option for "move to all mail again"...I'm not sure why it says again, but that is similar functionality to the gmail. I just wish it was a button. All mail is where I save stuff like e-bills, documents people send me,etc--I don't want to look at them everyday but I want them available and searchable should I need them in the future. And with gmail's extensive search feature, I don't really need to label/organize the mail--it's super easy to find if it's in all mail.

I'm wondering why it says again though...hrm?
 
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