Messages Beta - Deleting conversations

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Level 1

1 points

Messages Beta - Deleting conversations

Has anyone figured out how to delete a message completely in the new Messages Beta?

Send a message to an imessage contact - delete this conversation on all of your ios devices and the folder you have set to save your chat transcripts to (there is no way to not save your conversations in Messages beta like there was in ichat - not good) Ok, now re-message that same contact and all of the old conversation pops back up on the computer only - it is still gone on iphone and ipad. Where else is Messages storing my messages?

Thanks!

Messages Beta-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Feb 16, 2012 10:05 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 16, 2012 10:12 AM in response to AlbertJim

Hello,

In Your Documents folder there is a folder called 'iChats'. Messages saves transcripts there. You can delete them easily enough, but I agree that there needs to be a preference setting to not always keep conversations.

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Answer 2

AlbertJim Author

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1 points

Feb 16, 2012 10:24 AM in response to Easybourne

Thanks for you help, but, that is what I meant when saying to delete the files in the "folder you have set to save your chat transcripts to" probably should have been more clear there. Deleting the files in this folder does not delete the message though - once you send a new messsage to the same contact the old conversation history will be reloaded 😟

Thanks

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Answer 3

AlbertJim Author

Level 1

1 points

Feb 16, 2012 10:56 AM in response to AlbertJim

For reference I have now thrown away the folder chats were saved in. I no longer have an ichats folder in my documents folder just to be safe. Emptied the trash. Quit Messages. Restarted the computer. Restarted. All messages are back once I reopen a chat window and send a message to a previous recipient - nothing has been deleted. I am wondering if it isn't redownloading from icloud and icloud is hanging on to imessage conversations? Or if it is saving the files somewhere else other than the folder designated to save chat transcripts to? Either way is bad! Is anyone else seeing this too?

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Answer 4

AlbertJim Author

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1 points

Feb 16, 2012 11:04 AM in response to AlbertJim

Update #2

Ok so wanted to see if it was holding on to the conversation on local mac or on icloud. Closed each conversation, closed program, deleted entire folder of chat transcripts, emptied trash, turned off wifi, restarted computer. opened new chat window and sent a message to a previous ichat recipient (of course it failed because of no internet) but as soon as hit send all previous conversations to this imessage contact were loaded - so its not an icloud issue seems to be on local computer - messages beta issue - just wonder where it is saving the data at?

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Answer 5

AlbertJim Author

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1 points

Feb 16, 2012 11:07 AM in response to AlbertJim

Update #3

Found out old messages are only loaded once you reply or send to the imessage contact - they do not show up when they message you. So for anyone else testing this - you have to initiate or respond to the conversation to repeat these results.

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Answer 6

Troxad

Level 1

0 points

Feb 16, 2012 12:51 PM in response to AlbertJim

I am having the same exact problem I can't figure it out. It's very annoying.

I'd also like to be able to delete an iMessage conversation from my iPhone or iMac and have it also be deleted from the other location, rather than having to delete separately on each device. I don't know if this is possible or not.

This issue with not being able to delete past conversations no matter what is really driving me nuts.

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Answer 7

FundusX

Level 1

1 points

Feb 16, 2012 2:53 PM in response to Troxad

I had the same problem. And I tried all this things which you did but slightly diffirently. So here is my method and it deleted it completely.

Delete the messages from your iOS device.
Then, on your Mac open the following
Messages > Prefremces> click third box named "Messages" , then under it there is Save chat transcripts to iChat > click that and you will see Open Selected folder > click it and it will take you to a folder > open that folder and then drag everything there TRASH

This will delete the conversation

Please tell if this works for you.

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Answer 8

Feb 16, 2012 3:53 PM in response to AlbertJim

I'm having the same problem. I think they must be saving onto iCloud and then downloading, is it possible to delete from iCloud? 😕

@FundusX I have tried that and it hasn't worked. I have also tried deleting off all other iOS devices that uses the same iMessage.

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Answer 9

FundusX

Level 1

1 points

Feb 16, 2012 4:13 PM in response to BenPerkinsHD

Hi @BenPerkinsHD

I have done twice or thrice and it worked for.

But I tried it just now and its giving me the full log of the conversation.

So I have no idea what is going here.

About the iCloud possibility, it can be true because but I havent enabled iCloud on my iOS device but still its not deleting the conversation.

So, there has to be some other thing and as it is a beta release there might be some bugs.

We can just wait.

Thanks

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Answer 10

Feb 16, 2012 7:03 PM in response to AlbertJim

Guys I know how, you have to delete also all the backups of ichat folders

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Answer 11

AlbertJim Author

Level 1

1 points

Feb 17, 2012 6:27 AM in response to Alexiolopes

As I have stated I have already deleted the transcripts folder so posting here to delete the transcripts folder again is not getting us any closer to a solution. As stated in an earlier post the message is reloading from somewhere on the local computer other than the transcripts folder. With my test of restarting with wifi off it disconnected me from icloud and it disconnected me from my time machine backup as I backup to a time capsule.

So to review:

Old conversations are still loading once you initiate the conversation with or reply to a previous imessage user even after:

Closing Message window

Deleting transcripts backup folder

Deleting conversation on all ios devises

Disconnecting from icloud

Disconnecting from all external backup drives or time machine drives

Empty Trash

Restart

Thank You

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Answer 12

Troxad

Level 1

0 points

Feb 17, 2012 11:11 AM in response to AlbertJim

Thank you, AlbertJim, for saying everything I didn't want to explain again.

I still haven't found the solution.

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Answer 13

djkeel

Level 1

10 points

Feb 17, 2012 6:19 PM in response to AlbertJim

Hi,

I think I figured it out... Close out messages. If you go into the library folder. There's a messages folder. Delete the 3 files in the folder. When you restart messages, and send a message to an imessage contact, it doesn't bring up all of your previous conversations.

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Answer 14

vistaz86

Level 1

8 points

Feb 19, 2012 11:58 AM in response to djkeel

I don't seem to have the messages folder in Library - there is an iChat one but theres nothing related to messages in there. I've tried showing hidden files too and still nothing....

This is quite frustrating!

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Answer 15

djkeel

Level 1

10 points

Feb 19, 2012 12:16 PM in response to vistaz86

~/Library/Messages

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