Why no Select All in email?

RMJFlack wrote:

I'm curious, how does mail on a Mac handle this? Just wondering if it's some sort of Apple theology, or something to do with iOS per se. I do get a recurrent feeling that Apple doesn't want iOS devices used for 'work', but maybe that's just me.

Mac Mail like most desktop/laptop devices has Ctrl+A (cmd+A) to select all then you can delete, flag mark etc.

Also the Junk folder has a limited life you can set before auto deletion. There are other choices on "right click" too.

I think yes there should be a select all in Junk mail and Trash folders in ipad mail where "delete all" is valid. The original post was for all folders where 86% was unwanted, like my letters from my bank or my favourite online seller. Unwanted is not the same as a Junk or Trash folder, both of which can be controlled by a shelf-life setting on the webmail, usually.

Yes OK it's being pedantic but these junk and trash should not appear on the ipad in their thousands if you sync one or two weeks only, and or delete them daily.

If it was me I would set up a rule in my webmail to divert all mails from groupon (or whomever) to trash or junk if they really became a problem, or unsubscribe.

Point is after 2 years of begging Apple have not provided what is wanted, so probably never will.

Can't speak for Yahoo or AOL, both the spawn of Satan.

Also, it's not just a out deleting files or dealing with junk. In any "view" (folder or search results) one should be able to select all and then delete or move to another folder - the latter is as important as the former in managing mail.

QuantumArq —thank you for eloquently bringing it back to the original issue of having a "Select All" button. Every last one of the supposed solutions and work-arounds are more complicated than a simple, no-brainer, basic-as-bread "Select All" button for the InBox.

There already is a "mark all". I think what people are pining for is a "delete all"

There is no "Mark All" (that would be the same as "Select All") there is just a "Mark" button. You still have to select emails one by one. At least that's what I see on my iPhone and iPad.

With the latest Mail with iOS 7, there is most definitely a "mark all".

http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1595/en_US/ipad_user_guide.pdf#page 44

Edit>move all> trash

Transmog-- you are right. On the "Hello Kitty" version of the iOS (iOS 7) there is a "MarkAll." But the only options in the fly-out are "Flag" and "Mark As Read". How do you get Edit>Move all>Trash?

And asking no one in particular... are "flagging all" and "marking all as read" things that people need to do the most? I don't get it. What's the point of flagging EVERY email in your inbox? What planet are these devices from? All I need is an "Edit>Move all>Trash" !!!!

First, it depends on how an email account is set up. gMail, for example doesn't have a delete button, yet an archive button. Long holding that archive button lets you permanently delete. Second, one needs to be in a thread for an email transaction. Select edit>move all> trash.

That will only trash all in the thread.

While, this is true. Unfortunately, the point is, there is a move all and select all button with iOS 7 mail for working with multiple messages. I don't think Google will allow a delete all for mass deleting iOS Google account mail. I think they would rather users "archive" it.

transmogrification wrote:

...... I think they would rather users "archive" it.

Yes, that way Google can mine data from it for years to come. "I will keep it "safe" for you for ever ... buhahahaha"

Gmail does have a select all, and once all the messages are selected it is possible to delete all. By default, it deletes only the visible messages, but you can also apply the action to all the messages, even the nonvisible ones.

I do this on a fairly regular basis in gmail.

I don't, by the way, use the gmail app. I use the web interface, even on my iPad. Google keeps pestering me to use their app, which I don't like. I wish there were a way to set a preference to always default to the web interface (the standard one, not the mobile one).

Generally, after entering my credentials, I just have to tap the back button a couple times and it goes back to the format I prefer.

Victor, this thread is about the feature lacking in the iOS 7 mail app.