macOS Mail pane not showing proper content...

Question

macOS Mail pane not showing proper content...

My Apple Mail application has three panes. The left pane shows the mailboxes, the top right pane shows the latest messages, and the right-bottom shows the contents of the highlighted message.

If I choose a mailbox under "On My Mac" and I highlight a message, it will show me the content of that message in the right-bottom pane but if I then highlight another message, the right-bottom pane does not refresh itself and it continues to show the content of the first message. If I highlight other messages, the right-bottom pane continues to show the content of the first message.

This only started happening with macOS High Sierra. Using 2010 17" MacBook Pro with macOS 10.13.3.

MacBook Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13.2), 2010 17" MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 1, 2018 1:00 PM

Reply

Answer 1

tygb

Level 9

64,588 points

Mar 2, 2018 6:59 AM in response to thedeerhunter

If you create a mail box in the apple mail application in the example it is " reww" and there are two mails in it if you select the second mail it is highlighted and the third column subject is also shown along with it and if you click on the first mail same way the subject in third column is shown .

It's just a switching from first mail to second - and its content are shown for that mail and that works ,

for a normal working mail account see this image .But in your mail it is not as such you can delete the mail account from system preferences - internet account ( select the mail account and click on subtract sign ) and configure it once again see this article Set up Mail on your Mac with email accounts - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 2

Mar 2, 2018 8:47 AM in response to thedeerhunter

thedeerhunter wrote:

Unfortunately, due to privacy reason, I can't post a screenshot.

Well this is the confusing part:

"The left pane shows the mailboxes, the top right pane shows the latest messages, and the right-bottom shows the contents of the highlighted message"

3 column view: It is possible that show conversations, show related messages is selected?

Mail Viewing preferences on Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

141,126 points

Mar 2, 2018 7:08 AM in response to thedeerhunter

The left pane shows the mailboxes, the top right pane shows the latest messages, and the right-bottom shows the contents of the highlighted message.

That illustrates "Use Classic layout". If you see three columns instead, that is not Classic layout. Select your desired layout in Mail's Preferences.

I don't believe that preference bears on the behavior you describe though, and I can't duplicate it in either view. Selecting one Message shows its content in the right or bottom region of the Mail window. Selecting another shows its content. Selecting multiple Messages depicts them as a stack with the topmost one being the most recently selected. Whatever Apple's intent that seems to be what I would expect.

Any attempt at fixing it will require rebuilding the misbehaving Mailboxes, so if you are concerned about message duplication create a backup first. To learn how to use Time Machine please read How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support.

Reply

Answer 4

Mar 2, 2018 6:24 AM in response to leroydouglas

Unfortunately, due to privacy reason, I can't post a screenshot. However, my three column view is the standard Apple Mail view; I don't remember customizing it. I have restarted Mail and rebooted my machine, to no avail. I tried a "Rebuild" on a test mailbox and noticed that every rebuild causes the messages in that mailbox to be duplicated; after 5 test rebuilds I now have 5 copies of each message. Some (but not all) of these duplicated messages are corrupted (they have a grey background and no text or images). So, I don't think I will run a Rebuild on my important mailboxes. Thank you for your help, though.

Reply

Answer 5

Mar 2, 2018 9:09 AM in response to leroydouglas

My layout does not look exactly like that. There is a mailbox pane on the left (like yours), and two panes on the right, stacked on top of each other. The top pane shows all the messages in the current mailbox (including the currently highlighted message); the bottom pane shows the content of the currently highlighted message.

It is the bottom pane that does not show the proper content. If I highlight another message in the top pane, the bottom pane will still show me the content of the previously highlighted message.

Reply

Answer 6

Mar 12, 2018 4:13 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I can now confirm that no matter what the layout is, classic or default (three vertical columns), this problems persists if I do not use "organize by conversation".

For example, if I highlight a message in a particular conversation, and then highlight a second message in that same conversation, the content of the second message will not appear in the content pane. If I want to see the content of that second message, I would first have to highlight a message (any message) in another conversation and then go back and highlight that second message in the first conversation.

Reply

Answer 7

Mar 1, 2018 2:13 PM in response to thedeerhunter

Can you post a screen shot of your 3-column view?

First trouble shooting is relaunch Mail

second restart your Mac

third Rebuild the Mailbox. Rebuild mailboxes in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 8

Mar 2, 2018 9:21 AM in response to thedeerhunter

You have set “Use Classic Layout” in Mail Preferences, that is why your kayout looks different.

You could try toggling that option off and on in the preferences and see if it helps.

Reply

macOS Mail pane not showing proper content...

Similar questions