[MlMt] newbie question about folders

[Glenn Parker]

On 30 Jan 2020, at 18:45, Jo wrote:

> On 28 Jan 2020, at 7:53, Glenn Parker wrote:
>
> So what you’re saying is all of these little things that look like 
> folders to me are the IMAP mailboxes?

Yes, a folder icon signifies what MailMate calls an “IMAP Mailbox”, 
but what is commonly called a “folder”.

> Are you also saying that I can MOVE messages into these mailboxes and 
> they (the messages) will no longer appear in any main inbox area? And 
> I can do that by using the move command, AND by filtering?

Correct, each message lives in exactly one folder, and messages can be 
moved from one folder to another. When you receive new messages, they 
initially land in the INBOX folder for the account. You can define rules 
for the INBOX that automatically move certain messages to other folders 
immediately on arrival, or you can use the Move to Mailbox… command, 
or you can manually drag and drop messages from one folder to another.

In the Messages Outline window, click and drag anywhere on the line 
showing a message, then drop it on a folder (but not a smart mailbox) in 
the column at the left with the list of folders.

> What I’m trying to do is MOSTLY keep anything that’s a receipt for 
> stuff I’ve purchased online in one place, and a couple of other 
> categories of emails, both stuff I’ve sent and stuff I’ve received 
> (to & from certain people). These are the messages I don’t want to 
> lose, so I would really prefer if I could sorta tuck them away in the 
> corner where I won’t stumble on them accidentally some night and 
> delete something by mistake.

Organizing messages with folders is one way to do this. There are other 
ways, but I won’t delve into the various philosophies of email 
maintenance.

> And the smart mailboxes don’t really STORE anything? They just sort. 
> Anything in a smart mailbox will also show up in whatever inbox 
> they’re associated with under sources, right?

Right. A smart mailbox is a persistent search/filter on the messages 
contained by one or more folders. It’s a virtual folder, in that the 
IMAP server knows nothing about it. It only exists on your local 
computer, and it’s just another way to browse and search the messages 
that live in the (real) folders.

> So I’m better off not putting the stuff I want to keep, like 
> ‘thank you for your order’ emails from vendors, in a smart 
> mailbox, I should ONLY direct these to an IMAP mailbox down at the 
> bottom under sources?

Technically, you don’t directly “put” anything into a smart 
mailbox because a smart mailbox is only showing you the results of a 
search. For a message to appear in a smart mailbox, it must satisfy the 
criteria defined in the Conditions tab.

That’s the theory anyway. The reality is a little bit messier, but 
don’t worry about it for now.

Just make a folder and get used to the way things work. Drag messages 
around manually and see if you like the results. As long as you don’t 
delete anything, you can always put it all back the way it was.

When you’re ready to try creating a rule, come back and ask.

Glenn P. Parker
glenn.parker at comcast.net
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