Mail bug in Mountain Lion

PrincetonMacUser wrote:

I have this exact same problem ... multiple e-mail addresses, rules that sort incoming mail into "On My Mac" folders ... and then the BUG so that when I reply to one of the e-mails in an "On My Mac" folder, it always sends from one default address, instead of from the addresss that received the message.

That is the problem and there's no point in us explaining it any more. Most people here just don't get it and Apple is the only one who can fix it.

Now, watch someone post a "here's what I do", which will be totally unrelated to the issue, within the next few posts.

Please, if you're considering posting anything more in this thread then read through every single post (270+) in this thread that has been posted so far and make really, really, REALLY sure that whatever it is that you are about to bring up has not been covered so far. If you cannot pay the subscribers to this thread that courtesy, then please do not expect us to spend time crafting a response to you.

I have this exact same problem. Here's how I solved it.

All you have to do is close your eyes when you reply and send and you won't be able to see that the From field is incorrect!

(Sorry, this bug needs to be fixed and this thread needs to die. :-)

I'm experiencing the same issue and it's caused me a bit of pain in keeping emails for my different businesses isolated from each other and my personal emails. My question is: I'm comfortable with the Apple Mail interface and have a large number of rules set up, so there's friction keeping me on the platform. However, this issue is enough for me to consider alternative clients, given that we have no idea when or if Apple will fix this issue or offer a viable solution. This is a relatively obscure feature and isn't going to be highlighted in the marketing docs of other mail clients. Can anyone recommend a mail client that has an easy transition from Mail (ie: imports mailboxes and rules as well as accounts) and retains the old reply behavior?

I'm experiencing the same issue and it's caused me a bit of pain in keeping emails for my different businesses isolated from each other and my personal emails.

I feel your pain.

My question is: I'm comfortable with the Apple Mail interface and have a large number of rules set up, so there's friction keeping me on the platform. However, this issue is enough for me to consider alternative clients, given that we have no idea when or if Apple will fix this issue or offer a viable solution. This is a relatively obscure feature and isn't going to be highlighted in the marketing docs of other mail clients. Can anyone recommend a mail client that has an easy transition from Mail (ie: imports mailboxes and rules as well as accounts) and retains the old reply behavior?

I'm hoping that Apple will fix this soon. My bet is that it will be easier to wait than to migrate to another mail program with a whole different set of problems and compromises.

There's an AppleScript posted by 'sfare' on page 13 of this thread. I stuck it in a dragthing dock and assigned a command-key to it. It's an ok temporary fix.

Hope this helps.

Two (potentially) useful links. I've not tested either one yet so can't comment but will try these in the next couple days and will post my solution - I'm hopeful one of them will work.

Improvements to the aforementioned AppleScript to remove dependencies on 3rd-party apps:

http://techpatio.com/2012/guides-how-to/mountain-lion-mail-default-from-field-se nder-bug

A bundle that can be integrated into Mail.app that could serve as the basis for fixing this issue:

https://github.com/smagdali/Mail.app-AutoFromPicker-plugin

What I did since I had the same issue is delete all of the accounts. Re-added just one. Sent an e-mail to another account. It worked. Added the other account, did the same thing, it worked. And so on since I have four accounts. But bug or not. This is what worked for me.

I'm using Exchange for one account and IMAP on all my other accounts. I also never delete email, I sort it with rules. Because of those factors it was pretty easy for me to switch to Outlook 2011. But seven weeks later I switched back to Apple Mail in disgust. Outlook 2011 is a truly bad app with numerous design flaws, bugs and UI inconsistencies. It's so rough around the edges that it was obviously hustled out the door before it was fully QAed. Bottom line: the pain of using Outlook 2011 was worse than the pain of using Apple Mail with the Mountain Lion-induced bug.

FWIW, in coming back to Apple Mail I rethought how I configure my accounts. I now only have one account whose incoming messages are moved to a different inbox -- and that's the default account. I'm using Smart Mailboxes to create usable inboxes for my other 8 or 9 accounts. I've disabled about 10% of my rules and am using Smart Mailbox rules to strip out extraneous stuff I don't need to read right away. I don't love it, but It's workable for me. (Of course, this approach may not work for you.) I look at this as a temporary strategy, though. Still hopeful that Apple will make this right.

Postbox is doing everything for me Mail used to do.

http://www.postbox-inc.com/

In OS X 10.8, it is not possible to modify the order of accounts via drag drop, as it was in previous versions, in order to set the default email account. It is possible to set the account from which new messages should be sent in the Composing tab of the Email preferences under "Send new messages from". However, this is not ideal because it overrides the account of the currently selected mailbox. Ideally, the drag/drop behavior would be restored as it was before. This would allow the following:

1. The account of the currently selected mailbox would be used if a specific mailbox is selected.

2. The account of the currently selected email would be used for reply/forward.

3. The default account (based on account order via drag/drop) would be used for new messages if a specific mailbox is not selected (e.g. if you are in the "Inbox").

The above behavior is currently impossible due to drag/drop having been disabled in the account ordering. The best that can be done at the moment is to select an account in the Composing tab, which overrides the currently selected mailbox.

By the way, I think I found out who is the manager of OS X Mail. Terry Blanchard.

This:

http://donmelton.com/2012/12/18/chain-of-fools/

Led to this:

http://www.terryblanchard.com/about/

So maybe if Terry could *get someone on his team to fix this bug* we might get somewhere, and we all might not regret upgrading to Mountain Lion.

What say you, Mr. Blanchard?

Potentially Good News!

I heard back from Terry who suggests that 10.8.3 has a FIX for the problem we've all been facing.

Very much looking forward to the release of 10.8.3!

It's currently in beta (builds available); no idea when it gets released generally to the public.

But now I have reason to try it out day 1!

Oh boy that would be great!! Thanks for reaching out to Terry - let's hope he understood the bug and how it works and doesn't work, so he's not confusing it with something else.

Nice job Brian! Terry, if you're reading this, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the FIX in 10.8.3 addresses that if emails are routed to mail folders using rules, that when I click reply or reply all, my response is from the same email as the original email was addressed to, and not a default email address.

Hallelujah!! I hope lthey really DO have a fix, as I am ultra frustrated at having spend $2200 on a new MacBook Pro Retina and discovering that mail worked better on my Mac Air 2008!! Does anyone know WHEN the new version is due to be released???