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Mail Keeps Reappearing in Inbox After Applying a "Move to Folder" Rule

Using Apple Mail app on Macbook Pro, I am creating rules to move certain emails that I do not want to deal with at the moment into subject folders. I am running into a problem where the email keeps reappearing in my Inbox after the rule has been applied. How can I prevent this from happening? Is this related to Archiving? Thanks for any help.

MacBook Pro

Posted on Dec 19, 2020 10:01 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 20, 2020 11:35 AM

If you are using POP email, you can move emails to folders, they will be physically moved.


If you are using most IMAP email systems, you can also physically move the emails to folders (or you have the option to move a copy leaving the original where it is).


GMAIL is different. While Apple Mail allows you to "move" GMAIL messages to folders, in fact those are not true folders, they are physically just labels. So when you "move to a folder," GMAIL actually attaches that folder's name to the email as a label, but it is not physically moving the message. You can have multiple labels attached to a message. Apple Mail will make it appear to be in multiple folders. This is a feature of GMAIL, not necessarily what you want, but it is how GMAIL operates.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 20, 2020 11:35 AM in response to KevinMcMarketing

If you are using POP email, you can move emails to folders, they will be physically moved.


If you are using most IMAP email systems, you can also physically move the emails to folders (or you have the option to move a copy leaving the original where it is).


GMAIL is different. While Apple Mail allows you to "move" GMAIL messages to folders, in fact those are not true folders, they are physically just labels. So when you "move to a folder," GMAIL actually attaches that folder's name to the email as a label, but it is not physically moving the message. You can have multiple labels attached to a message. Apple Mail will make it appear to be in multiple folders. This is a feature of GMAIL, not necessarily what you want, but it is how GMAIL operates.

Mail Keeps Reappearing in Inbox After Applying a "Move to Folder" Rule

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