AOL E-MAIL STORAGE

Beware that AOL is very nasty about storing email. They arbitrarily throw away email older than whatever they think is "old" (something like 2 weeks!). I would never recommend using AOL email for any use at all.

That said, it depends on how you're access it, as asked earlier. Are you using Mail via POP or IMAP? Or...?

You really don't need AOL for the Mac to access your AOL mail. I don't even know what possible benefits AOL for the Mac would provide to you that can't be had with Mail and/or iChat and/or Safari (at webmail.aol.com).

So just launch Mail.app, go to Preferences, Accounts, and click on the "+" in the lower left corner to add a new account. Type in your AOL email address, depress the tab key to move to password field and (optionally) enter your password. Note that a pre-checked checkbox appeared to automagically configure your AOL account. Click on Create. Voila! Your AOL account is configured in Mail. AOL is of type IMAP, so whatever machine you access Mail from, so long as it has your AOL account configuration stored on it, each machine will sync to AOL's IMAP server every time you check your AOL messages in Mail.app.

On your computer, in the main viewer window, you can click on the "+" in lower left corner in order to add a new "On My Mac" mailbox where you can cache important emails indefinitely. They will only be on that Mac, not on the IMAP server, though.

Wouldn't let me go back to make a last minute edit/add-on...Insofar as finding deleted messages, in Mail, they might still be in the Trash folder, once you set up the account here, unless they were deleted from trash in AOL for Mac or by AOL themselves. Also, once the account is created in Mail.app, there should be a globe with AOL in the left column, expand it and look and see if they are in the deleted items (or similarly named) folder, e.g., see hpr3's post.

Be aware that AOL, by its policies, removes messages from the Inbox (the account is IMAP and the Inbox resides on the server, btw) that are older than 27 days. If messages have not been moved to the Saved folder on the server, they are then lost. I don't believe AOL does this move to Saved for you, but rather you must act to do it.

Ernie

Hi Donald!

Did you install one of the AOL applications from HERE?

Do you log on to AOL on your Mac, go to AOL.com, or do you use the Apple Mail application on the Mac to read and send Email?

ali b

Please don't type in all caps. It's like your screaming at us. Are you using AOL's web service or your mac's Mail client?
hpr3

The deleted emails are either in saved mail or "previously deleted mail".
hpr3