Igor D.

Q: Mavericks Mail app and Gmail Drafts folder

After installing Mavericks I'm unable to unselect "Store draft messages on the server" and "Store sent messages on the server" checkboxes under my Gmail accounts settings. Unselecting both checkboxes and saving settings works for up to a minute or so - after that the check marks re-appear again by themselves. As a result I end up with dozens of half-finished drafts in the Trash folder after I finish the original and send it out.

 

I used to have both checkboxes unselected prior to Mavericks, and everything was working fine.

 

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Oct 22, 2013 10:45 PM

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Q: Mavericks Mail app and Gmail Drafts folder

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  • by S. G.,

    S. G. S. G. Oct 24, 2013 10:16 AM in response to Igor D.
    Level 1 (51 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 24, 2013 10:16 AM in response to Igor D.

    Same problem, tons of partially saved drafts in the trash, but issues run even deeper. First, synchronization of all Gmail folders occurs way too often. Then, try moving a message from your Inbox to a Gmail folder. It will be copied to the folder, but pop right back up in your Inbox.

     

    According to this article (http://tidbits.com/article/14219), a workaround or partial fix is to allow the All Mail mailbox to show in IMAP (in Google settings), but this means that all your messages have to be retrieved again, which can take hours and many gigabites.

     

    Thunderbird has no such problem with Gmail (and neither had previous versions of Mac Mail).

     

    Send feedback to Apple to urgently fix issues with Gmail: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

  • by Steve Rhyne,Helpful

    Steve Rhyne Steve Rhyne Oct 24, 2013 10:30 AM in response to Igor D.
    Level 1 (49 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Oct 24, 2013 10:30 AM in response to Igor D.

    I had the same problem and it was causing dozens of versions of autosaved drafts to appear in my Trash. (Gmail autosaves drafts at the server level and trashes previous saves. The feature is not customizable.)

     

    This fixed it for me, at least for the time being:

     

    1) Quit Mail.app.

    2) Log into Gmail in your favorite web browser.

    3) Click on the gear menu and select "Settings".

    4) Click on the "Labels" tab.

    5) Under "System Labels", next to "Drafts", click on "show if unread" and uncheck the "Show in IMAP' box.

     

    Now disable "Store draft messages on the server":

     

    6) Launch Mail.app.

    7) Select Mail > Preferences...

    8) Click on the "Accounts" button in the toolbar.

    9) Click once on the account name and then click the "Mailbox Behaviors" tab.

    10) Uncheck the "Store draft messages on the server" box.

    11) Close the window and opt to save your changes when prompted.

     

    A few other Gmail / Mavericks Mail.app discoveries:

     

    * You must enable the "Show in IMAP" option for the "All Mail" label in Gmail if you had it disabled before. (Google this tip for explanations and ramifications.)

     

    * Mail.app now seems to automatically map the Sent, Junk, Trash and Drafts folders, i.e. you can't use this menu command anymore: Mailbox > Use This Mailbox For > Drafts / Sent / Junk / Trash

     

    * I used to add the "[Gmail]" prefix under the "Advanced" tab of my mail account to eliminate it from the IMAP view, but it doesn't seem to be necessary any more, and might even have been causing some weirdness.

  • by brianpmullaney,

    brianpmullaney brianpmullaney Oct 24, 2013 10:34 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 10:34 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Steve's fix seems to work for me.  Thanks, Steve!

  • by Phil_Ken_Sebben,

    Phil_Ken_Sebben Phil_Ken_Sebben Oct 24, 2013 10:37 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 10:37 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    will that work for hotmail/outlook imap as well?

  • by indiekiduk2,

    indiekiduk2 indiekiduk2 Oct 24, 2013 11:00 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 11:00 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Steve's fix did work for me.

  • by apajos,

    apajos apajos Oct 24, 2013 11:02 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 11:02 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Thank you, you solved my problem

  • by goingdutch1,

    goingdutch1 goingdutch1 Oct 24, 2013 11:11 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 11:11 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Resolved. Thanks, Steve.

  • by S. G.,

    S. G. S. G. Oct 24, 2013 12:05 PM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (51 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 24, 2013 12:05 PM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Steve's fix improves the issue with multiple partial Gmail drafts saved in Gmail trash.

     

    However, the final draft ends up in Gmail trash after sending the email, duplicating messages unnecessarily.

     

    Moreover, deleting a draft before sending it now puts the message in the trash "On My Mac" rather than just making it disappear entirely. It is a privacy concern, as you have to remember emptying the trash if you delete a draft before it is sent.

     

    I understand a fix is to enable All Mail to show in IMAP, but what if you have no space for all the extra GB on your hard drive?

  • by atytse,

    atytse atytse Oct 24, 2013 9:37 PM in response to S. G.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 9:37 PM in response to S. G.

    Steve's fix is decent though it would make much more sense if Apple solves this in a native manner. I would love to see a more hassle-free fix and a better compatability between Mail.app and Gmail.

  • by Gaik T,

    Gaik T Gaik T Oct 24, 2013 11:20 PM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 24, 2013 11:20 PM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Thanks, Steve! Your fix solves the problem.

  • by thingo,

    thingo thingo Oct 25, 2013 7:08 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 25, 2013 7:08 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    This solved Gmail accounts problem, great!!

     

     

    However I have the same problem with my ISP imap mailbox, so it isn't a google only problem. I don't know where to fix the same things on my ISP control panel though, obviously I don't have the same preference panes..

  • by sojourner16,

    sojourner16 sojourner16 Oct 25, 2013 7:33 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 25, 2013 7:33 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    I had the identical problem and Steve's solution worked perfectly. I use 5 gmail accounts and I had to update each one separately, but the problem is resolved.

  • by alandrew,

    alandrew alandrew Oct 26, 2013 11:48 PM in response to Igor D.
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 26, 2013 11:48 PM in response to Igor D.

    Brilliant; thank you Steve. Minus one, Apple.

  • by Roger Steare,

    Roger Steare Roger Steare Oct 28, 2013 12:40 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 28, 2013 12:40 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    Thank you Steve. This works for me too! Best wishes, Roger

  • by hjogi,

    hjogi hjogi Oct 28, 2013 6:24 AM in response to Steve Rhyne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 28, 2013 6:24 AM in response to Steve Rhyne

    thank you very much.

     

    This workaround solve my problem too.

     

     

    hjogi

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