Yosemite Mail still has sync problems with Gmail - any solutions?

The strange part of this is that I was able to see the 7 emails being downloaded, yet upon opening the Inbox only 3 appeared. So, the files were in some location somewhere, but somehow, 4 out of the 7 disappeared.

I thought there might be some option or item that had to be checked or unchecked in the Gmail Settings, or perhaps something in Apple Mail Preferences, but I could not find what that might be. I don't want to be having to continually removing the Envelope files from the Library folder. Maybe someone out there has another idea.

Thanks for your help

I finally found one solution to my sync problem where the folder I had on Apple Mail did not sync to those shown on my google mail website folders. The solution has one drawback, but perhaps when you hear it, someone may be able to solve the final piece of the problem.

Solution:

I closed my Apple Mail.

I open my Gmail account. In the upper part of the Settings/Labels pages I unchecked the "All Mail", leaving the Inbox/Sent Mail/Trash/Drafts checked.

I, then, reopened my Apple Mail and let it refresh. This did not take too much time.

Next, I looked at all of the Apple folders (I have about 80 of these), and everyone was populated exactly as the Gmail folders.

Anything done in either the Apple Mail or on Gmail was mirrored on the other.

Apparently, there is a glitch which will not allow the email in both the All Mail and the Apple Mail folder. The All Mail takes precedence.

In my case, I don't understand why this situation occurs in only about 50% of my folders, the rest remained populated.

I never had this problem until Yosemite.

For me, All Mail was a nice feature. Since, at times an email directed to someone belonged in more than one my folder and it was more convenient to find it using All Mail, especially if it was a fairly recent email. In my case, it is more of a convenience since I will have the respective folders to go to if All Mail is not present.

I would like to be able to put the All Mail back and work with Apple Mail. Prior to Yosemite, this was not a problem. Now it is. If anyone can indicate what can be done on the Gmail account to allow the All Mail to appear on Apple Mail with both containing the email, it would be helpful. I am not that familiar with Gmail, but I wonder if there was some way to create in the Settings/Labels a new All Mail label?

Well, this started OK, but did not end well. While it cured one problem, it created another. Indeed, unchecking the All Mail in the Gmail account did allow all folders on Apple Mail to be the same as on Gmail, but another major problem crept up. Now, when I get emails coming into the Inbox, either they can be noticed for a minute or so, then they disappear. Even if I get a chance to open it, a few seconds later, it disappears. Without the All Mail folder, they are lost from sight. I know I can go into the Gmail account and find them under All Mail, but that is a pain. Even if I "Move" the email from the All Mail folder back to the Inbox, as soon as I get it in Apple Mail Inbox, it disappears again.

So, I have no choice except to recheck the All Mail in the Gmail account, so it can been seen as a folder on Apple Mail, and let it populate so I can find my email. This, of course, causes me to lose much of my email content in many of the Apple Mail folders, but it is the lessor of 2 evils. At least, I can do a search in All Mail. BUMMER!

I've been part of this thread since its origin, and have experienced all the Apple Mail problems. Over the years I have tried every email client available and I've finally come to a conclusion and will stop searching for something that doesn't exist. There are only two types of email apps that work with Gmail. The first is the Gmail web app itself, and the other is any app built with a browser webkit such as Mailplane (which uses the Safari webkit) and Kiwi for Gmail (which uses the Chrome webkit), both giving you the exact Gmail experience as Gmail itself.

The two latter Mac desktop apps simply wrap the Gmail interface "identically" into their UI, but add a few extras to justify their cost. Currently, Mailplane is the most polished and has the most added features, but having spoken with the Kiwi for Mac developers, I'm convinced they will add some very cool features in the near future. I own both these apps and I can comfortably live with either...and they're both better than using Gmail in a browser, especially if you have multiple Gmail accounts, which I have.

It simply doesn't matter how much any of us like Apple Mail, it's interface, or its integration into the Apple OS. It's just never going to work well with Gmail. This issue has been around since the origin of Gmail...I know because I was one of the first few hundred private Gmail beta testers. Though I may check here back now and then, hoping for a miracle, or some feature note in a future Mac OS update that says "Apple Mail finally works well with Gmail", I am sticking with either Mailplane of Kiwi for Gmail. I think waiting for Apple to get this one right is like Microsoft saying "We finally fixed all the problems" with their Windows 10 release.

Larry, Thanks for the information. I agree with you 100%. I just wanted to make sure I have covered all of the bases and tried all of the obvious solutions. I have been in all aspects of the computer business from the first day they were manufactured. I find it hard to believe that this problem could not have been solved by Apple, if they wanted to. I will be moving over to Mailplane and/or Kiwi. Before I do, I would like to ask you a few questions about it, so I do it in the easiest possible way. I have about 50 folders that I created on Apple Mail. I want to be able to move any Inbox mail to one of these folders. I don't care that Gmail keeps them in the All Mail folder on their server. I just don't want there to be duplicates showing up in the client mail folders which is, I think what happens now when I have All Mail as well as the 50 folders showing up on the Apple Mail sidebar. I assume that Mailplane does not do this, Am I correct?

1) Will Mailplane allow me to use folders, and without the All Mail folder activated, still mirror what the Gmail site shows in the same folders?

2) What is the easiest way to install Mailplane and transfer all of the current Apple Mail folders, with their contents, onto the Mac?

3) Once this is done, how to I safely delete the Apple Mail?

4) Is it best to make sure the Mailplane is working correctly before I delete the Apple Mail?

5) What features did you lose when you converted to Mailplane? Would you switch back to Apple Mail if you find that they have corrected the sync capability of Apple Mail with Gmail? I ask this because I am wondering if the Mailplane, for you, is just a stopgap measure.

6) Would you know if a purchase of Mailplane allows the installation on 2 Macs or will this require 2 purchases? I have both a 27" and a new 21" iMac.

I appreciate you help.

Herschel

Do not delete Apple Mail, it's a part of OS X. Just stop using it.

I am about to answer Herschel's questions in a reply to his post, but though you are correct to not delete Apple Mail, the Gmail account within Apple Mail "MUST" be deleted, or Apple Mail will continue to sync with Gmail and the problems will continue.

That's what I meant by stop using it, thanks for expanding.

Herschel, Doug correctly answered your question about folders "On My Mac". Following are my replies to your question, using corresponding numbers.

1) Mailplane (and Kiwi) use the "actual" Gmail interface via either the Safari webkit in the case of Mailplane or the Chrome webkit in the case of Kiwi. What you see in either app is "EXACTLY" what you see in the Gmail app itself. Everything...every single feature, including Settings, Contacts, Google+, whatever you use, are identical.

2) All the folders on your Mac that are synched from Gmail are going to already be in either Mailplane or Kiwi since they both use the "actual" Gmail app, only it's displayed within their own app UI...but in the very same visual format. Doug's reply addresses any folders you have in "On My Mac" as opposed to folders from Gmail displaying in your Gmail account in Apple Mail.

3) Do not delete Apple Mail. Simply delete your Gmail account from Apple Mail. If you keep the account, it will continue to cause synching problems in Gmail.

4) It will be...same with Kiwi. I think you should install both these on your computer so you'll see what I'm talking about...they both are the same Gmail interface as you are used to seeing and all your Gmail content will be displayed perfectly in either app. Mailplane has a 14-day trial period with an uncrippled version and Kiwi has a Lite version that is ad-supported in the MAS, but you'll still get the idea...just picture it without the ads after you pay the $10. Mailplane must be downloaded and purchased from http://mailplaneapp.com.

5) I honestly don't miss any features of Apple Mail, other than I do like the interface, probably because I've been in the computing industry for so many decades I'm used to standard email apps. Others may have different opinions, but if anything, I think I gain back features that Mail.app doesn't have, such as the ability to attach PDFs and images (big issue for me), rather than force me to insert them inline. Apple Mail is more like what we all have come to think an email client looks like over the years, while Mailplane and Kiwi are duplicates of Gmail, only with many added features, like the ability to use multiple Gmail accounts, and other Gmail add-on apps like Rapportive, etc.

6) Mailplane can be used on any Mac used by "you" and with "your" email addresses. If you want to install Mailplane on any other Mac a family member uses, you must purchase their family license which is for five Macs in your household. I have Mailplane on two Macs and my wife's.

Hope this helps. I'm not pushing either product, I'm simply tired of fighting this situation which will never get better.

I wouldn't disagree, at least with the aesthetics. There's been a debate on inline images vs. attached images for decades, and that's merely personal preference. At least Gmail, Mailplane, and Kiwi all give you the choice...Apple refuses to allow the user that choice, which is why that debate rages on in many threads here.

And I couldn't agree more about labeling and actually any keystrokes available when using Gmail or the other two apps. These may not be important to the casual user, but to most power users they are. Back when I was ****-bent on using Apple Mail I even tried moving over 30 Gmail labels, most with a bunch of sub-labels into a basic 20 some labels, none with sub-labels. It didn't fix anything, and as we all know now, the primary problem is with the All Mail label and having it turned on when using Gmail in Apple Mail, even though there are other issues.

Thanks to all of you for your timely and helpful replies. They have been extremely constructive.

To clear up:

Larry, When you say to "Simply delete your account from Apple Mail", do you mean to uncheck the "Enable this account", or do you mean to click on the "-" sign at the bottom of the Account page and physically remove the account? In other words, should I just disable the account until it is ready to be physically removed after Mailplane is installed and working?

About the folders now in Apple Mail. They also reside in Gmail. If I delete them from the Apple Mail now, I assume they will also be deleted in Gmail. So, is there a way to physically transfer the folders to Mailplane? If I simply disable the Apple Mail as a temporary measure, they will still be available when Mailplane is installed. Can they then be dragged over to Mailplane? If so, they would then mirror the emails that now reside in the same Gmail folders.

Larry, to clarify 1) above. If I decide, in Mailplane, not to have All Mail as a folder, will my other folders in Mailplane still mirror my created folders in Gmail? What is the advantage of having the All Mail folder, when I have the emails already assigned to their respective folders? Isn't this just duplicating emails? Or is this a requirement of Mailplane and Kiwi, that ALL folders seen in Gmail are integral and must be displayed?