Macintosh OS X Mail 1.3.9 (v619) Tutorial




OS X Mail: Deleting and Undeleting Messages

 

Deleting A Message Stored in a Local Folder

You can delete messages from any local folder. You should periodically delete messages from your mail folders to keep them manageable. When you delete an item from a folder (any folder), it no longer appears in view and is typically sent to the Trash folder. Therefore, the message is deleted from your personal folder list, however it is not yet permanently deleted from OS X Mail.

You can delete an entire conversation in the In box by clicking on View on the Menu bar and then clicking on Organize by Thread. You would then delete the head message.


Menu Bar

Deleting A Message Stored in an IMAP Folder

Deleting messages from an IMAP folder is much like the process of deleting mail locally. When you delete a message from an IMAP folder (any folder), it is permanently deleted from OS X Mail and the IMAP server. IMAP messages bypass the local Trash folder all together.

Undelete a Message

If you delete an item by mistake, you can restore the item by opening the Trash folder and then from the main window, drag the message to the In box or to the folder/mailbox where you would like the message to appear. You may also be able to go to Edit and then Undo from the menu bar as seen in the example below where the user could "Undo Delete 3 Messages."



Emptying the Trash Folder

As you delete messages, they are typically sent to the Trash folder. Deleted messages remain in this folder until it is emptied by the user or automatically emptied as set by Mail>Preferences>Accounts>Special Mailboxes. Under these preferences, you can determine the storage of deleted messages and when deleted messages are permanently erased. These preferences are shown below.


Accessed by clicking Mail>Preferences>Accounts>Special Mailboxes

You should empty this folder on a regular basis to make it easier to use and to conserve disk space. You should not use this folder as a long-term storage space.

You should be careful when emptying the Trash folder as messages removed from this folder cannot be recovered.
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