Mail: keeping IMAP on server?

@wjosten: the problem is obvious. I'm new to IMAP and thus didn't know it remains in the Trash. I also couldn't know and don't, know what happens to mail that you move to a folder. Does that make the email local on just that device? I was under the impression that even in a folder the email is server centric so removing an email in a folder will remove it from server and all devices. Bad in my case.

I use my iPhone just as a window to my email but want the management, storage, filing to be done on my iMac at work.

What I was looking for was direction more than sarcasm, such as it may be that I simply have to rethink email from an IMAP perspective. People who use IMAP love it over POP which is not lost on me.

So maybe the best is to start using my devices more like full computers and have all my mail available whether in the inbox or a folder on all devices, especially since this doesn't take up drive space on my iPhone, as the mail resides on the server.

See now?

Yup. I'm starting to see the wisdom of IMAP over POP slowly.

Last question, I think, so if I move an email from my inbox to a folder, does that localize it? Or is the moved email still server based so if I later delete it, even from a folder, that email is gone, or at least moved to the Trash.

If I'm starting to "get it," is there a way to bring an email down to your computer or a device and live there independent of the server?

Thx,
Steven

@worsten,

I thought I was getting your point but then you lost me. First you say that

"With IMAP, you can create any folders you want on the server, move any mail you want to any of these folders, and the mail will be in sync on every device you use to access mail."

Then you say:

"The only folders that would not be in sync or be visible on all devices are folders created locally on your computer."

So.. are you meaning: that if I'm getting my mail via browser since we're linked in with Gmail, and if I create a folder that way, THEN I've created a server based folder and all mail put into that folder(s) will be available on all devices that access the IMAP account.

But.. using my email client, Apple Mail in my case, and create a folder and drag even my IMAP mail into that folder, that in this case, NOW I've created a local folder that can't be accessed by my other devices.

Am I getting warmer, or colder 🙂

I think I'm getting it. To be clear let me say my wish for how I'd like things to work.

Ideally, I'd like my work computer to be the center for my IMAP mail and then use my iPad, iPhone and home computer as "windows" into these IMAP emails and if I delete any they will still be available on my work iMac.

The point being that I get A LOT of these IMAP work emails so my personal devices are getting really full with lots of email that I really don't want there, but I do want/need the ability to check my work email to see if there is anything I need to deal with or do and then have the ability to delete them from my devices and home computer.

It's sound like I need to set up folders so I can move these emails out of my inbox when on my devices or home computer instead of deleting them to keep my inbox clean. And then if I do it this way, my work emails will still be available to me on my work computer in the folder I have placed them. And then in this way use folders to find my emails and work on things from the folders instead of from the inbox.

Am I getting closer to a way to use IMAP versus POP?

I just created a folder under my email that shows in the left column of my Apple Mail client on my Mac Pro home computer and dragged a work email into it as a test to see if the folder and email in it now will show on my work computer when I go in to work tomorrow.

I guess I can also check my devices and see if the folder was created there too, or if the folder was just a local folder on my Mac Pro.

I just checked my iPhone and the folder is THERE! as is the email I dragged inside it. That is kind of cool. Now I'm trying to move a work email in my inbox while on my iPhone into this new folder. COOL it worked! I just checked in my Mail client on my Mac Pro and it's there.

So.. I see that I just need to work differently than I have all these years using POP. I can see a bit more now why people like IMAP so much. Do it once and it effects all other devices and computers. I used to do everything a number of times one for each device. I could get very used to this 🙂

Can you change a POP account to IMAP? Or do you have to delete the POP account and recreate it as a IMAP account? But doing this will I lose all my saved emails, or because they're in local folders on my Mac Pro, they'll still be there?

@ Julian Wright: So.. if I'm not connected to the internet, I won't be able to see my IMAP mail even the older ones because they were never really local and always being seen on the server? Hmmm.

I quickly looked thru the Mail menus looking for something like "cache email" or "save locally" or some such. Didn't see anything but could have just missed it.

How does one "cache" an email as you put it? And I did see under Mailbox > Synchronize (email address)

If I select this, is this what you meant by "re-sync" ? The way you say it, it sounds like all emails will be available on all devices automatically once the device you made the email local with is on the internet again. If so, then what is the: "Mailbox > Synchronize" for or do?