Efox87
Level 1 (5 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Is it possible to delete or compress files from mac mail?

I am using El Capitan OS X 10.11.6. I have recently discovered that mac mail has been saving all of my mail files onto my hard drive (21GB worth!). Is it possible to delete these files without deleting them on the mac mail app? Is there a way to compress them so that they don't take up as much space?

 

I've looked into the community questions, but did not find anything (or query correctly?). Any information that could be provided would be well-received.

 

Thank you!

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012), iOS 10

Posted on Sep 27, 2016 6:30 AM

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Efox87

Q: Is it possible to delete or compress files from mac mail?

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  • by irina_w,

    irina_w irina_w Sep 28, 2016 8:10 AM in response to Efox87
    Community Specialists
    Sep 28, 2016 8:10 AM in response to Efox87
    Hi Efox87,

    I understand that you have some questions about deleting Mail from your MacBook Air. I know that it's important to have control over your data, so I'm happy to help.

    The messages that you're seeing in the Mac Mail app are stored locally on the computer. Because of this, deleting them in one location would delete it in the other as well. This means that you cannot delete the files that Mail is storing, without it also deleting them from the app. You can learn more about it here:
    Mail for Mac: Delete messages in Mail

    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Cheers!