Mail search not finding messages in Inbox

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Level 1

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Mail search not finding messages in Inbox

Hi,

I just updated to Sierra on my MacBook Pro, and I noticed Mail is not searching properly. I know I have several emails from a particular sender in my Inbox, and when I use my own memory to recall roughly when I received the email, I can scroll down and find it. However, my memory isn't always so reliable, and I need to use the Mail search function. Even when I have the particular email open, Mail Search will not find it. I have enabled Spotlight to search everything, and Mail preferences include encrypted and Trash mail. However, this email is in fact in my Inbox. I have also restarted Mail. Any suggestions to help please?

Thanks in advance,

Rosaroo

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), macOS Sierra (10.12.4), 2.8 Ghz Intel Core i7 16 GB 1TB SSD

Posted on May 13, 2017 4:24 AM

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Answer 1

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tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

May 30, 2017 8:43 AM in response to Ros

Rebuilding the spotlight : How to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

Could be applied and see if it works , or the best method I prefer is :

Take back of all mails in V4folder : Method for how to copy in V4 folder .

Click on go on top menu bar , hold option key click on > library > select mail folder > right click on mail there itself > click on copy mail > right click on extreme right hand side in column B , that is below persistence info.plist > click on paste item .

Entire mails are copied to V4 folder .

Go to the corrupted IMAP account , select it & click on minus sign it is deleted .

Configure new IMAP account , go to top menu bar ,file > import mail boxes > import data from > select apple mail > click on continue > select the back drop folder then choose new .

When new IMAP account is opened , a new folder with all mails will appear in the mail side bar .You can rename the folder .

Did you try to click on get mail icon the very basic step .

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Answer 2

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

May 25, 2017 5:45 AM in response to Ros

An article : macOS Sierra: Right-click

And when you go enter in user library : macOS Sierra: Library folder

find a folder mail , select to get highlighted right click over it ( tap with two fingers on the trackpad ) .

A small window appears click on copy mail take cursor , in second column B and right click in empty white space , and click on paste items all mails of your IMAP account are copied and pasted in V4 folder .

Then follow the steps what posted previously .

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Answer 3

Ros Author

Level 1

107 points

May 25, 2017 8:21 AM in response to tygb

Thanks for the clarification. The first step was fine, but it is not possible to right-click into column B. Nothing happens. If I just click once into the space and try Command-v I get the following message. You can’t paste “Mail” at this location because you can’t paste an item into itself.

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

684,045 points

May 30, 2017 8:43 AM in response to Ros

Try re-indexing the mailboxes. This can take awhile if you have a lot of mail.

Reindex messages For El Capitan, try looking in V3. Sierra use V4

Reindex messages (2) See post by Linc Davis

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Answer 5

Ros Author

Level 1

107 points

May 13, 2017 8:43 AM in response to tygb

Hi tygb, and thanks for your reply.

To give a specific example, I am searching for an email regarding an eBay order. I have multiple emails from eBay. When I enter eBay in the search window selecting either in the Inbox, specific folder or Favourites folder, I get only 2 messages from eBay, not including the one I am searching for. Whether I choose from People or Subjects in the search window, I still get the same 2 messages.

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Answer 6

Ros Author

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107 points

May 13, 2017 8:49 AM in response to tygb

I used eBay purely for the sake of example.The same applies if I search for an email from Apple Support Communities. I have multiple emails from various discussions, and sometimes need to refer back to the. The only emails I see right now from Apple Support Communities is related to the current discussion.

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Answer 7

Ros Author

Level 1

107 points

May 25, 2017 4:19 AM in response to tygb

Hi tygb, thanks for your help and sorry for taking so long to get back.

I have a V2 and a V4 folder. I suspect the V2 folder is from the old OS and is the one not being searched? I'm not sure how to right-click on my trackpad, however I made a duplicate of the whole Mail folder and saved it to the desktop. How should I proceed from here? In the Mail folder, I have sub folders Mail Lost + Found, V2, V4 and the PersistenceInfo.plist

I don't know what you mean by extreme right hand side in column B , that is below persistence info.plist > click on paste item .

Will deleting and configuring a new IMAP account cause the whole lot of mail to download from the server again or does it only retrieve it from the backed up folder?

As far as Rebuilding the Spotlight Index is concerned, I am unable to drag the Mail Folder as it is not available, or at least, I can't locate it using the + button.

Thanks.

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Answer 8

Ros Author

Level 1

107 points

May 25, 2017 4:19 AM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric,

When I tried the post by Linc Davis, pasting

~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData

only opened accounts.plist

The following did not happen:

A folder window will open. Inside it there should be files with names as follows:

Envelope Index

ExternalUpdates.storedata

Thanks.

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Answer 9

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

May 25, 2017 5:54 AM in response to tygb

I have not answered about if you delete the IMAP account and download from server .

Yes you can delete the IMAP account , and once you add the account , the mails will start downloading stored on the server but if thousands of mails or more are there , it will take time and totally depend upon network speed .

If we use copy mails in V4 folder , even a single mail will not be missed .

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Answer 10

Ros Author

Level 1

107 points

Jun 6, 2017 5:24 AM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric,

Unfortunately only the Inbox for the POP account is in the user Library/Mail/V4. I located the Sent mbox (V2) on my computer and tried to import it but I received an error message stating "no valid mbox files were found".

Ros

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Answer 11

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

May 13, 2017 5:04 AM in response to Ros

An article : Mail for Mac: Search for messages in Mail

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Answer 12

tygb

Level 9

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May 25, 2017 7:48 PM in response to Ros

An article : Keychain Access: Copy keychains to another Mac

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Answer 13

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

May 13, 2017 8:46 AM in response to Ros

Never used eBay so can't say ....

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Answer 14

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

May 25, 2017 9:01 AM in response to Ros

As V2 folder is already imported from another Mac OSX Yosemite into your existing Mac OS Sierra , so you cannot copy paste it for two times and the error is shown .

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Answer 15

Ros Author

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107 points

May 25, 2017 10:51 AM in response to tygb

So what is the way around this?

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