macmini14
Level 1 (8 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Mail: messages don't expand in preview pane

I recently upgraded to El Capitan on a Mac Mini (from 10.6).

 

In Mail, message previews don't expand all the way in the preview pane. If the pane is, say, 4" wide, the message preview is only 1.5" wide. When I adjust the width of the pane, the messages snap into fully expanding in the pane, and expand and contract with the pane width as you'd expect. But when I select another mailbox, the previews are once again 'squished up'.

 

Thanks, DW

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 20, 2016 1:38 PM

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macmini14

Q: Mail: messages don't expand in preview pane

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  • Helpful answers

  • by alex_oz,

    alex_oz alex_oz Aug 21, 2016 8:06 AM in response to macmini14
    Community Specialists
    Aug 21, 2016 8:06 AM in response to macmini14

    Hello macmini14,

    Great job with upgrading your Mac's OS X to El Capitan. The new version of Mail may look and feel slightly different, but it's definitely the same Mail app that you are accustomed to! You might be able to change it to "Classic" view to get your Mail app back to how you are used to seeing it. 

     

    To change to classic view:

    1. Open the Mail preferences from the Mail Menu Bar.

    2. Click on the "Viewing" tab

    3. Then place a check in "Classic Layout" 

     

    You can checkout Mail's new features in the link below as well. 

     

    Use Mail on your Mac

     

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities to post your question. Adjusting your Mail view settings will have you seeing your mail just like you used to.

    Have a great day. 

  • by macmini14,

    macmini14 macmini14 Aug 21, 2016 9:56 AM in response to alex_oz
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 21, 2016 9:56 AM in response to alex_oz

    Thanks for the suggestion. When I choose "Classic Layout" in preferences, the app actually crashes and then hangs on launch. I have to go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts and de-select all accounts, re-launch Mail, de-select Classic view, and then add the accounts back.

  • by JayB.,

    JayB. JayB. Aug 21, 2016 11:57 AM in response to macmini14
    Community Specialists
    Aug 21, 2016 11:57 AM in response to macmini14

    No problem! Glad to lend a hand here. So it sounds like we maybe having an issue with the Mail App itself. Try booting your Mac up in safe mode then retry changing the view in your Mail preferences. Starting up in safe mode may help you diagnose problems you’re having with your Mac. If the app runs smoothly while in safe mode, I would check your Mac's login or start up items and remove them. This area has applications that run in the background and can cause issues with your other apps. But if the issue remains while in safe mode, please use the 10.11.6 Combo update. 

     

    OS X El Capitan: Start up in safe mode 

    OS X El Capitan: If you think you have incompatible login items

    Download OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update

     

    Please try each procedure to see if you can get your Mail app to function as expected.

    Cheers

  • by macmini14,

    macmini14 macmini14 Aug 28, 2016 7:21 AM in response to JayB.
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 28, 2016 7:21 AM in response to JayB.

    Thanks! I've tried safe mode and deleting all the login items, and Mail still behaves the same. (I already had the latest OS update).

     

    Any suggestions on what I might try next? I've also run First Aid from Disk Utility (I guess that includes the old Repair Permissions, which isn't a menu option I can find in the new Disk Utility).

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 28, 2016 1:55 PM in response to macmini14
    Level 9 (70,161 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 28, 2016 1:55 PM in response to macmini14

    Try a restart.

     

    Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.

     

    Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Prefeences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.

     

    Isolating an issue by using another user account

  • by macmini14,

    macmini14 macmini14 Sep 3, 2016 7:10 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 3, 2016 7:10 AM in response to Eric Root

    Yep, in my other (administrative) account, Mail behaves as expected.

     

    Under ∼/Library/Preferences I found these files, so I moved them out of the Library one by one and launched Mail, but none of them seemed to have any effect.

    com.apple.mail.plist

    com.apple.mail-shared.plist

    com.apple.MailMigratorService.plist

    com.apple.mail.plist.nOy . . . [other random characters]

    com.apple.mail.plist.fRI . . . [other random characters]

     

    Any suggestions?

  • by macmini14,

    macmini14 macmini14 Sep 11, 2016 7:42 AM in response to macmini14
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 11, 2016 7:42 AM in response to macmini14

    Woo hoo! figured it out! The plist was hiding in this folder:

    ˜/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plis t

    Deleting it fixed the problem.