How to delete multiple emails?

With the mailbox selected, select Edit. This brings up circle icons to the left of each message. Select the circle to the left of each message you want to delete followed by selecting the delete button that is provided after the first message is selected.

Apple has still made this too difficult. If we have 50 emails sitting in our inbox and we want to delete all of them, we don't want to have to select each one of the emails to delete them. We want to be able to select all and delete all of them in one fell swoop. Even the Palm Treo from all the way back in 2003 could do this.

Maybe so, but if I make a comment or statement like this to what is to fellow users only, I use "I" instead of "we" since I certainly don't speak for everyone, and so what regarding a device could do this "all the way back in 2003".

I don't want the option to delete all emails in my Inbox in one fell swoop with the iPhone since this could be done accidentally with such a portable device, and then add this to list for the habitual whiners and complainers. "We", those who access an Exchange account or an IMAP account, "we" probably have many more than 50 emails in our account's Inbox mailbox and use our iPhone's Mail client as a compliment only with the email client used on our computer for accessing the account where such fell swoops should probably be done anyway.

And since such statements, comments, or opinions are speaking to the choir anyway, this link is better used for providing feedback to the architect.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

'We' definitely don't want that. You might, but I don't. If you want to mass delete a bunch of emails, do it from a desktop. The iPhone is not designed to replace your computer.

"We" are not saying to get rid of the current method in order to do bulk deletion all at once -- but we certainly want the option to do both. You guys can have your single deletion method, but we like to keep a clean inbox and want to be able to "select all" and then delete.

I hate when people say that the iPhone is not designed to replace your computer as an excuse to defend Apple's lack of features. Why can't we quickly have a clean inbox on the road? Why can't we delete as many messages from the server as we want before coming back to our computer?

All other smartphones already have this option to "select all" and then delete, including the Treo, the Blackberry, the Palm Pre, and Windows Mobile devices. So clearly, people are interested in having this functionality.

Just because you guys wouldn't use it doesn't mean that it wouldn't be extremely helpful for many people. And... we wouldn't take away your deletion of single emails either, so you wouldn't be losing anything.

Message was edited by: Scott Rose

No thanks.

I like the current method.

Who deletes their entire inbox anyway?

A lot of people do. I have missed the "delete all" feature from day one.

There is a "delete all" feature in the trash.

+"Who deletes their entire inbox anyway?"+

Did it ever occur to you that not everyone wants to use their phone the same way you do? I am one who wants to empty the mail box "in one fell swoop". I have the same mail account on my desktop and thats where my messages are "archived". I don't want to have to delete all the crap that downloads into my phone (including the "spam" that Mail on my desktop filters out) one by one. I might just need to see one message and the rest can wait until I get home. So If I let the messages remain on the server, I can look at them on the phone, the dump them and still have a copy on my desktop. I understand that this might not be the way everyone wants to do it but having the option to delete emails in some way other than selecting them one at a time would be very handy. For those who worry about accidently deleting all their mail, why not one of those "are you sure" messages that computer and software vendors seem so fond of?

I agree. I only need certain email and the rest can be read from the computer. I'd love to delete all at one time too.

paulcb wrote:
'We' definitely don't want that. You might, but I don't. If you want to mass delete a bunch of emails, do it from a desktop. The iPhone is not designed to replace your computer.

Then that is all the more reason to have a feature like select all and delete. Think about it. Keep all your emails on your desktop. Your phone is just for getting and viewing emails on the go. You read them, and your done with them. If not just for a clean mailbox, this brings up all kinds of security issues if your phone gets stolen.

This is one feature that should be included for sure. I have used a blackberry for years and had this feature. How many times have I accidentally deleted emails? Never. Plus they are not deleted off the server on the iphone, which the blackberry has the power to do. Even if you accidentally delete something its still there and accessible view website emails. yahoo.com, mobileme.com, comcast.net google.com.....and on your real PC's where mail should be stored.

Message was edited by: RobA82

I have to agree here with the original poster. I HATE not being able to delete all my emails at once. I have multiple email addys and work from home but when I do go leave my home office all the emails I received via my computer all day long (often 100 or more) are all stacked up on my iphone. Then I have to go thru them one by one to delete mail I've already read. When you get 100 emails a day (not including spam) this takes a whole long time.

Not having this feature drives me insane.

Susan

iMail - Wading Through Treacle
This is my first day with an iPhone and very unhappy about the lack of deletion features for my mail inbox. I am a very busy and do not have the time to fart about wading through 100's of mail / spam on the go and wasting time deleting mails one by one. . . iphone mail is not something I would recommend to any one as a quick or easy way of reading mail on the hoof. What ever are you thinking of apple? this thread has been going for quite a long time by the look of it. Is there anyone from apple actually reading it?

The lack of a single-button method of deleting everything in the In Box is a pain in my ***.

This seems a bit combative to me. Plenty of people delete all emails in their inbox on mobile platforms. Blackberry, iPhone, you name it. I agree with the other poster. Apple dropped the ball here. All they need to do is a add a bulk delete (and keep the current single-mail delete option as well.