macOS 10.13 (High Sierra)
macOS 10.5 (Leopard)
This is an update to a previous blog post How To: Create A Folder In Mail.app. I’ve done the update because the macOS Mail.app interface has changed drastically since my last post on the subject. In my previous post I did two separate sections one on POP and another on IMAP eMail. I’ve done the same in this post too.
Archiving mail, no matter what eMail application you use, is always a good thing to do. Being organized can help you with a cluttered and bursting Inbox and or Sent folder. Here is a simple “How To” for creating a folder/mailbox in Apple’s Mail.app.
Folder = Mailbox / Mailbox = Folder: For some odd reason Apple has always used the word mailbox instead of folder. I never got use to it, understood it, nor liked it; so I continue to call a mailbox a folder. But for the sake of this How To I’ll use mailbox.
Renaming Your Apple TV
1) Select Menu: Mailbox > New Mailbox…
| This is POP! |
| POP supports download and delete requirements for access to remote mailboxes. Although most POP clients have an option to leave mail on server after download, eMail clients using POP generally connect, retrieve all messages, store them on the user’s PC as new messages, delete them from the server, and then disconnect. |
2-POP) Enter the name of your new mailbox. Click “OK”.
| When using only POP accounts, “On My Mac” will be your only choice. If archiving eMail “On My Mac” make sure you’re backing up your Mac with Time Machine or other utility. If something happened to your computer, you’d have no backup of your eMail, especially if the account is set up as POP and was also set to delete eMail off the server after retrieval. |
| After clicking “OK” you should see the new “On My Mac” mailbox, with the newly added subfolder below it. |
| TIP: Never use “.” periods or “/” forward slashes in the names of mailboxes — POP or IMAP. Example: The name “my.mailbox” will create a mailbox “my” with an invisible mailbox inside of it called “.mailbox”. The name “my/mailbox” would create a grayed out root level folder “my” with a subfolder called “mailbox”. |
New Mailbox: Contextual Menu
1) Hover over the account you want to make the mailbox in. Click the “+” icon.
2) Name the new mailbox. Click the “OK” button.
| TIP: If you click on the “+” icon in the wrong account, you can always choose the right account in the drop down sheet’s popup menu. |
| 3) The new mailbox in the chosen account. |
New Mailbox: Contextual Menu
1) Right click or Control click on an account. Select “New Mailbox”
2) From the popup menu, select where you want the new mailbox. Name it. Click “OK”.
| If you leave the popup menu selection on the current folder, the new folder will become a sub folder of the parent folder. You can navigate via the popup menu to place the new mailbox elsewhere. |
| 3) The new mailbox in the chosen account as a subfolder. |
These are the basics for creating mailboxes for organizing and archiving both IMAP and POP eMail. I’m a stickler for organizing eMail. If I’ve touched an eMail, read, and or acted on the eMail, I will file it or delete it immediately. I rarely have eMail in my Inbox over a day. Seeing hundreds of eMails in an Inbox, or Sent folder, makes me crazy! I do have clients who keep THOUSANDS of eMails in their Inbox and then search for what they need. It comes down to how you work, the habits you’ve acquired, and what works best for you. Good luck and happy eMailing.
Archiving mail, no matter what application you use, is always a good thing to do. Being organized can help you with a cluttered and bursting Inbox and Sent Items folder. Here is a simple “How To” for creating a folder/mailbox in Apple’s Mail.app
POP eMail
For those of you who have only one POP eMail account, the procedure is very straight forward.
1) At the bottom left corner of the Mail window click on the “+” pop-up menu. Select menu item “New Mailbox…”
2) You will then see a drop down sheet. Enter the name of your folder, mine is named “First Level” and click “OK”.
| A new folder/mailbox has been created. To create a sub-folder, a folder within a folder, single click on the folder you just created, or any other you have created and repeat steps 1 and 2. You will have created a first level folder and a sub-folder within the first level folder. |
IMAP eMail
IMAP mail is a mail protocol that keeps all mail on a server, rather than delivering it to your computers mailbox and deleting it from the server. There are many advantages to using IMAP. If you have multiple computers or an iPhone, you would be able to see the same mail on each device. And if you delete an eMail from one device, this update will be seen by all of your devices. This includes all archiving folders created on the server too.
Here is how to create a folder/mailbox using a single or multiple IMAP eMail accounts.
1) Select the account mailbox you would like to create a folder in.
2) At the bottom left corner of the Mail window click on the “+” pop-up menu. Select menu item “New Mailbox…”
3) You will then see a drop down sheet. Enter the name of your folder, mine is named “First Level” and click “OK”.
4) If you were successful you should see something similar to the above.
| And that’s it! You now know how to create folders/mailboxes in Apple’s Mail.app. If this was helpful to you … please leave a comment. Thanks! |
