Right click the account in the folder pane and select subscribe. Make sure the folder is subscribed.

right click again and select settings. In server settings click advanced ensure that the IMAP server directory is set to [Gmail] (that is probably appearing now in your folder pane with sub folders.)

Entering an IMAP directory will remove the sub folders you now have and replace them with the ones form gmail with the same names. Now email in say a local sent folder instead of the [gmail]/sent will be lost if you do not make a backup before the change.

Hi Matt,

Thank you so much for the fast reply. You are right - for some mysterious reason the Spam folder was not subscribed.

I could use a bit more clarification. It sounds like the folders under [gmail] are considered local. Yet it appears that the "Sent Mail" folder (for example) contains the same information as the "Sent Mail" folder in my online gmail account. If the folders are replaced, wouldn't gmail repopulate them with the same information? That is, what is the difference between local and IMAP directories? Hope I am being clear.

no the folders under [gmail] are remote, so are the other folders,sorry if what I said was misleading. With the absence of [gmail] in server directory it is all a bit if a mess really.

I changed my account long ago so have nothing as reference. But things like Sent mail as you mention it.

If I recall things correctly Is had a folder sent and a folder [gmail] sent items. the later reflected gmail. the other was the oddball. If I looked in all mail, I had duplicates as gmail though that the two lots of email were different. What I am saying is drag any mail in the root folder to the [gmail\] folder with the same named intent before you make the change so you loose nothing. You will almost certainly have duplicate sent mail as Thunderbird makes a copy and so does google. right click the account select settings and in copies and folder. Just turn off Thunderbird copy.

I appreciate the explanation but am still a bit unclear.

• If all of the folders are remote, why would I lose information?

• What does "server directory" mean? Clearly the account is already receiving information from gmail. What changes when the server directory is changed to gmail?

• When there are “Drafts” and “Sent” folders in addition to the “Drafts” and “Sent Mail” folders under [Gmail], does making gmail the server directory delete the Drafts and Sent folders outside of [Gmail]?

• Do you know of a resource that explains all of this?

Thanks again!

You would loose information from Thunderbird because those folders no longer exist on Thunderbird. The mails are still in all mail I assume, but I never look there there are probably a hundred thousand mails in that folder.

The server directory directs Thunderbird to use the correct "Root" for your account on Google.

It does delete them in Thunderbird. They may still appear as folder you can subscribe to, but why. just empty them.

See here. It explains some of it. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/thunderbird-and-gmail

So, I did what you suggested. This resulted in a bunch of folders under [gmail] as well as under the root. Assuming that the ones with the same names contain the same information, I went into gmail and chose to hide the [gmail] labels. That seems to work. Is that what you would suggest?

It is puzzling that the article you linked to doesn't explain how this works. In fact, I could not find a useful explanation of these issues anywhere. Given that many people use both gmail and Thunderbird, it is amazing that more detailed information and instructions are not readily available.

The lack of information makes me appreciate your help all the more. Thanks again.

if the information gets there, it will probably be me that puts it there. but this forum is a pig to use behind the scenes.

Hi Matt,

I posted a related question but no one has responded so thought I would try here, hoping that you will see it.

The issue is that some gmail labels don't appear in the folder pane (I can see the labels using gmail). These labels don't appear as options under "subscribe." What do I need to do to make these folders/labels appear?

It is an enormous task to make all of the information available to users. Thank you for all of the work you have done, including thoughtful answers to my questions.

catbill said

Hi Matt, I posted a related question but no one has responded so thought I would try here, hoping that you will see it. The issue is that some gmail labels don't appear in the folder pane (I can see the labels using gmail). These labels don't appear as options under "subscribe." What do I need to do to make these folders/labels appear? It is an enormous task to make all of the information available to users. Thank you for all of the work you have done, including thoughtful answers to my questions.

Not here. One thread one topic so I do not get confused.

Understood.

I see that you just responded to my other post. Perhaps you had the audacity to not be available for a day or two. Thanks again!

catbill said

Understood. I see that you just responded to my other post. Perhaps you had the audacity to not be available for a day or two. Thanks again!

Three days I will never get back,learning about electrical safety tagging.