Unable to delete a conversation history so that it does not resume upon sending to the same recipient

Question

Level 1

9 points

Unable to delete a conversation history so that it does not resume upon sending to the same recipient

Hello,

I've googled lots on this to no avail so here I am. I find it annoying that it's not a simple matter to end a conversation in the Messages app, at least isn't for me on Sierra or High Sierra. I'd like to end a particular message because the message is a focused topic, and I want it to end so that I can start a fresh topic on another message to the same recipient(s), much like email functions. If I select a message on the left pane which then displays the message thread history, and choose Delete Conversation from the File menu, the message disappears as it should. But if I then attempt to write a new message to the same recipient(s), the entire message thread history again pops up to add to. I've tried both checking and unchecking 'Save history when conversations are closed', and that has no effect. I would like to permanently delete the message, or at least not have it repopulate on a new message.

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Nov 12, 2017 6:20 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 13, 2017 1:46 PM in response to NCP10

Hi,

For me in the Sierra version mousing over the Side Bar and using the x that show up has been "Delete" rather than the Dismiss it used to be.

The Menu items in the File Menu no longer offer dismiss.

Even Save on Close does not keep the conversations.

The app has always brought all the previous conversation with the same person back to view.

The Mail app would be the place to keep separate threads.

This now seriously out of date Feedback page is the place to leave the sort of request you have

Feedback - Messages - Apple

9:46 pm Monday; November 13, 2017

 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

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Answer 2

Nov 15, 2017 1:34 PM in response to NCP10

Hi,

I know that in the past if your were set to Save On Close the app would save all chats that were on view that Day/Session

These are stores in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages/Archive

A summary of those is added to the chat.db items in ~/Library/Messages

The previous action of the x when mousing over a chat in the Side Bar was to just Dismiss the Chat.

Now it deletes it.

My testing seemed to show it was also deleting each and every reference to open chats that were spread over days or week before hand.

So if you have not chatted with someone for some days then there will appear to be duplicates even though they were saved on different dates.

If a partial clearance of the Archive folder helps that that is good.

However the Delete not Dismiss action makes mockery of Saved Chats.

9:34 pm Wednesday; November 15, 2017

 iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

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Answer 3

NCP10 Author

Level 1

9 points

Nov 15, 2017 9:34 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Thanks Ralph--I figured out what was amiss, so your understanding isn't accurate. For reasons I have no explanation for I had TWO copies of the same thread in Messages. When I discovered this, and deleted the 2nd copy, then deleted the remaining identical conversation indeed it works as it's supposed to: creating a new message to the same recipient(s) DOES NOT bring in the prior message thread, so my problem is solved. It appears Save History when Conversation is Closed must be deselected for this to behave as just described.

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