Q: El Capitan Mail App Download All Of Gmail Messages!
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Oct 12, 2015 6:13 AMby Barney-15E,I never can find anything on this forum, no matter how I configure the query, and I often know many of the words of the title and still can't get what I want.
Anyway, If you upgraded from pre-Mavericks, Mail now shows Gmail's All Mail label by default. They map it to the Archive folder in Mail.
Gmail doesn't use folders like normal IMAP. They have Labels. Messages can have multiple Labels assigned. Mail tries to map the Labels to folders.
When an email comes into Gmail, it is tagged with both an "Inbox" label and an "All Mail" label. If you delete the message from the Inbox, it still retains the All Mail label. That way, Google can continue to harvest the information from messages you thought you had deleted.
Now that Mail shows the All Mail label by default, you are seeing it try to download all of the All Mail labeled messages (i.e. everything you've ever received).
You can disable Labels from showing in an IMAP account by going to the Settings > Labels tab of Gmail's web portal for your account. On the right side are checkboxes to show or hide the label in IMAP.
Some people had problems when they disabled showing "All Mail" in IMAP. I didn't.
If you wish to have Gmail actually delete the messages you thought you deleted, you'll have to open the All Mail folder and select all/Delete from there. However, since the All Mail label contains message that you also want to keep, you have to filter through them all, pretty much individually, to determine if you want to delete them.
Here is how to configure Gmail to actually move the messages to the Trash and not keep them in All Mail.
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Oct 12, 2015 6:26 AMby gronesy,Hi Barney,
I just upgraded from Yosemite. All of the settings were correct in that it uses the Mail app with both IMAP and a POP server. One to use Gmal to send and the other to receive. Everything was working great before the update.
Now, when I connect and tell it to fetch mail, it starts downloading ALL of the messages from Gmail. I'm not that concerned about whether stuff stays on their server because I have stuff I'm happy to leave on their servers until they want to delete them.
My main question is will "Synchronize Gmail" cause Mail to just look at what's out there and what I already have any only give me the new stuff?
Other than bringing it into my Mail app to sort it where I want it, I really don't need Gmail archive on my mac. Like I said, I only use gmail to filter it for spam.
Should I just Synchronize Gmail?
Jeff
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Oct 12, 2015 6:59 AMby Barney-15E,If it is an IMAP account, which is what Mail will set up by default, then it will create an exact copy of the server on your Mac. That is the way IMAP works and Mail doesn't have any mechanism to limit what is synchronized.
A POP account works as you described. It just downloads whatever is new.
If you don't want the Archive (All Mail) folder to show on your Mac, disable it in Gmail's settings.
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Oct 12, 2015 7:29 AMby gronesy,Hey Barney,
What it looks like happened is the Mail upgrade turned on the IMAP that was disabled previously. Sorry for the alarm. All appears to be as it was.
The only thing seeming askew is the default mail reader wants to keep changing back to the google chrome from Mail in the drop-down. I know that only affects what happens when I click on a "mail this form" or other email activation link. I'd prefer it opens Mail but it's not a big issue with me.
Thanks for your incredibly fast and helpful responses. As far as I can tell this is the only thing that messed with settings. I guess the day is early though-LOL!
Seriously, I think I remember I went through something like this the last time I upgraded not sure why Mail would turn on a server that was off but at least we got it figured out.
Thanks again,
Jeff
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Oct 12, 2015 10:05 AMby Barney-15E,Apple is pretty much moving the IMAP (multiple device) route. POP doesn't work very well if you are trying to look at Mail on a home Mac, work Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
They have set it up to Auto-configure accounts and it seems to prefer IMAP over POP.
It also seems to be recreating the email accounts from scratch. That is why you see it create an IMAP account when you had it set up as POP. It isn't using the old account configuration.
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Oct 12, 2015 11:11 AMby gronesy,Hi Barney,
That IMAP is interesting because I use it on my home iMac, iPhone and iPad. The difference is I use the Gmail app on the two mobile devices which I love anyway. Everything plays nice together too.
Also, there must be some part of the setup I'm not getting because why would any user want their machine to mimic the mail server? I knew instantly this morning I did NOT want 40,000 + messages on my iMac or anywhere-LOL!
In my case, it didn't create an IMAP mailbox. It just activated one that was set up and disabled when Gmail was using POP as a workaround to an issue people were having and I never switched it back.
IS there a way to use the IMAP without downloading ALL of the messages on the server?
Jeff
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Oct 12, 2015 3:54 PMby Barney-15E,IS there a way to use the IMAP without downloading ALL of the messages on the server?
Jeff
If there is, I don't know what it would be besides what Gmail offers--disable viewing the folders on the IMAP email client. If you don't want the All Mail folder sync'd, then disable showing it on the IMAP clients. You have to go to Gmail web site, then Settings, then Labels tab. Just create Labels that you don't want to sync, then move all the email you don't want sync'd into that Label. Disable the Label in IMAP along with All Mail.
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Oct 13, 2015 5:48 AMby gronesy,Thanks, Barney!
I would rather just not have all that mail on my machine. I use gmail in what may be considered an inefficient way. I use the browser to look first at what is out there and make sure spam is being pulled out correctly. Takes a couple minutes. Then, I archive anything I don't want to read on my Gmail app on any device. Then, I launch mail and either read or sort for reading later. This way Gmail bears the brunt of the archival process and I know they already know more about me than most people are comfortable with but I don't care. No SS#, full account numbers or anything else that a breach would endanger me.
I started this habit when I was full time ebay so I'd have an easy backup of my transactions and customer emails. I know I can do it differently but it's not at the top of my list right now. I would never want a completely web-based email system nor would I want to mirror my gmail server.
Thanks for all your help here! Have a great day!
Jeff
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Oct 13, 2015 6:19 PMby Barney-15E,gronesy wrote:
Thanks, Barney!
I would rather just not have all that mail on my machine…Then, I archive anything I don't want to read on my Gmail app on any device.
How does my suggestion in any way alter this behavior. To me, it sounds like the perfect solution. You "archive" the messages into a "Label" that you don't propagate to IMAP using the method I demonstrated in the screen shot.
Disable All Mail and any other archive "Labels" using the Show In IMAP checkbox.
Then, when you switch to your Mac or iDevice, those folders are not sync'd to those devices.
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Oct 14, 2015 6:10 AMby gronesy,Hi Barney,
Maybe I'm just not understanding something here.
I have no need for IMAP currently. The whole issue arose because Mail would not stop trying to synch the IMAP folders. Why, if I have no use for the All Mail directory from Gmail would I even want to put it on my machine in the first place? Whether they synch after the fact makes no difference to me. Whether they are hidden also makes no difference to me.
If what you are proposing would keep Mail from downloading 40,000 messages in the first place and allow me to pick up where I am now then it would be something I would consider in the future.
Jeff
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Oct 14, 2015 3:19 PMby Barney-15E,Maybe I'm just not understanding something here.
I have no need for IMAP currently.
Well, that's what it sounds like you are using.
Why, if I have no use for the All Mail directory from Gmail would I even want to put it on my machine in the first place?
You may not, but that is how Mail configures it for those that want to use the Archive functions. Instead of Trash, they Archive which moves the message to the Archive folder (which is called "All Mail" in Gmail).
I don't use it either, and I turned it OFF by using the method I've now advocated several times.
If what you are proposing would keep Mail from downloading 40,000 messages in the first place and allow me to pick up where I am now then it would be something I would consider in the future.
Based on what you have described and my experience, turning off All Mail will stop it from downloading anything in the All Mail folder.
Everything in Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Spam, and Trash, or any Label that is set to "show in IMAP," will sync to your Mac.
Every Label that you uncheck the Show in IMAP box will not sync to your Mac.
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Oct 15, 2015 8:13 AMby gronesy,Hey Barney,
Thanks for your help!
We're on the same page and have been for a while-LOL! I've had IMAP disabled since around post two or three. I see that is what you've done as well. The only thing that confused me initially was the concept of "hiding" a folder. I thought that only meant I would not see it but I see your further explanation clarified that it would not be synced if I did the adjustment inside Gmail.
If I have any reason to use IMAP in the future I'll make sure to turn make the adjustments inside Gmail and then enable it again in Mail.
All is well.
Jeff
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Sep 9, 2016 5:10 PMby Barney-15E,I'm not sure what there is to understand. Mail works one way and Thunderbird works another. That's just how the respective companies designed it. With Thunderbird you have the choice to do it either way, I suppose. With Mail, the only option is to maintain everything locally.
With the messages only stored on the server, you have no way to read them when offline. If it would be impossible to go off line or you don't care to read your email while offline, then the option Thunderbird provides would likely be a better, storage-wise.
