ARCHIVED: In Mac OS X, how do I get the Mail application to remove messages I delete?
Trash
folder as usual. However, messages deleted from this folder do not go to the Exchange retention area, and they are
not recoverable. Additionally, mail that is hard-deleted via Option-Delete
skips the Trash
folder and also does not go into the retention area.
For IMAP accounts, Mac OS X Mail has two methods of handling deleted messages: moving them to a designated deleted items folder or marking and hiding them in the message index.
Moving deleted messages to a folder
Note: For accounts accessed in Exchange mode, this is the only option.
To configure OS X Mail to move deleted messages to a folder:
- From the menu, select .
- In the preferences window, click .
- Click the name of the account for which you want to set a deleted messages folder.
- Click the tab, and in the "Trash" section, make sure that and are checked.
- In the pop-up menu underneath "Permanently erase deleted messages when:", select how often Mail will empty your deleted mail folder.
- Close the preferences window and click if prompted.
- Back in the mail viewer window, look for your list of folders. If you don't see it, from the menu, select or . Click the folder you want to use as a deleted messages folder. From the menu, select or and then choose .
If you want to manually empty your deleted mail folder, from the
menu, select or .Hiding deleted messages within the same mailbox
To configure OS X Mail to hide deleted messages within the same mailbox:
- From the menu, select .
- In the Mail preferences window, click .
- Select the account you wish to modify.
- Click the tab and uncheck .
Once you have made these changes, when you delete a message, Mail
assigns a flag that removes it from the message index. It's still
there, just not visible. To show all the messages you have deleted
since you last compacted your mailbox, press
Command-l
(the letter l). To hide the deleted
messages again, press Command-l
.
Removing deleted messages
To completely remove those messages you have deleted, from the
menu, select or . You can configure Mail to automatically compact your IMAP mailboxes when you exit the program by making the following configuration change:- From the menu, select .
- In the Mail preferences window, select .
- Select the account you want to modify.
Note: If you have multiple accounts, you will need to make these changes for each one.
- Click the tab, and check .
- Close the Mail preferences window, and when prompted, click .
This is document ajnk in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 13:14:44.