GMail "Delete" button doesn't

I don't know if you are still having trouble with this but this has been bugging me for some time too. On my iPhone, I can get it to do exactly what I want. I tap the trash can button and it deletes the email and then if I were to log on to Gmail via the web, then the message has been MOVED to the Trash and is not in the inbox view and not in archived the All Mail folder (provided you turn off Archive Messages as shown here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4207).

However, as you note, using the OS X Mail, when you click delete, it may remove it from the Gmail inbox on the web but it is still archived in the All Mail folder (ie it just removes the inbox label).

Here is what I figured out. In your Mail preferences under Mailbox Behaviors, do not check either box under Trash options. Now when you are using Mail on OS X, rather than hitting the delete key or clicking the trash can, drag and drop the message to the "Trash" sub folder under [Gmail]. This will move the message to the trash in Mail as well as iOS Mail AND also on the Gmail server if you were to log in using a web browser. It still leaves the "inbox" label on it and if you are playing around and testing it out as you do it, you will see the message still in the inbox view on the web for anywhere from a few seconds to maybe several mins (must be some delay). But eventually the deleted message will be removed from the inbox view and will only appear in the Trash (and not All Mail) just as if you had deleted it normally while using a web browser.

Also any sent messages that are not grouped/threaded will probably need to be deleted the same way, drag and drop it to the trash.

Hope that helps. I sent Apple feedback suggesting that they enhance the OS X Mail protocols to mimic that of iOS since iOS seems to actually be a little more advanced - like maybe build in that off/on toggle for archiving mail like the iOS proeferences. Right iOS is just better for managing/organizing IMAP Gmail as it seems to work just like using the web browser.

Hope that helps. I sent Apple feedback suggesting that they enhance the OS X Mail protocols to mimic that of iOS since iOS seems to actually be a little more advanced - like maybe build in that off/on toggle for archiving mail like the iOS proeferences. Right iOS is just better for managing/organizing IMAP Gmail as it seems to work just like using the web browser.

Certainly hope not. Don't appreciate the iOS (simplification/dummyfication) invasion into a well functioning OS for computers. I do not want my iMac to resemble or act like a 27" iPhone. If I want a device with the iOS system (which is, from what I've read, a simplified version of the Mac OS), I will buy one.

The best solution I've found so far is to move unwanted messages to "[GMail]/Trash".

AFAIK, the message will end up in that account's Trash folder and be deleted after 30 days.

I'd prefer if I could have a button (like "delete"!) that would just move these unwanted messages to "[GMail]/Trash". From what I understand, delete just removes labels from a given message. Unlabled messages appear only in "All Mail". Deleting a message from "Inbox" just removes the label!

So, in Apple Mail (OS X) you can apply multiple labels by copying a message from your inbox to several folders - then when you "delete" the message the "Inbox" label is removed, though the message remains under the various labels to which you've copied the message. Similarly, you can then find your message under which ever folders (labels) you've copied it to; when you hit delete you're only removing the message from that folder (ie: removing that particular label.) After you've removed the message from all folders, it will remain in "All Mail".

However, if you copy a message to multiple folders and remove it from the inbox, you can then find the message in any folder you copied it to and move it to "[GMail]/Trash" - this will delete the message from all folders!

The key to understanding all this is to abandon the notion of folders for that of "labels". Consider the aformentioned move action - you've copied a message to multiple folders, but moving anyone of those "copies" to "[GMail]/Trash" will trash all copies! That's because there's only ever one copy of the message that's been assigned zero or more labels.

"Delete" deletes labels, not messages. "All mail" contains all messages, including unlabeled messages.

Note that on the iPhone it seems there is no option to copy a message - you can only move messages to a single folder - that is, apply a single label.

Pro tip: You can drag and drop [GMail]/Trash to the "Favourites Bar", then drag and drop emails there to move them to your GMail trash. It's much easier than having to navigate to your [GMail]/Trash folder via context menu or mailbox list.