Deleting from All mail folder deletes the same message in the folder where it was previously placed
I am having an issue with the All mail folder. Maybe it is by design or maybe I do not understand how it is meant to function. I apologise for the length of this message but I wanted to explain my issue as clearly and accurately
as possible
I am using TB 91.10 64-bit to manage my Gmail account. I have set up various folders for different friends and relatives, and for suppliers as well for other personal stuff (Dental, Medical, Pensions etc). When I send or receive messages I always move them (from my Inbox or Sent Mail) to the appropriate folder.
Looking at the TB online help suggests that messages end up in the All mail when they are manually archived, but my All mail folder is full of messages that I have not put there. I wanted to try to clear out messages from the All mail folder that have been saved elsewhere (e.g. in a folder named "Jonathan"). When I search for a particular mail to or from Jonathan, the search results show the message in the folder "Jonathan" and in the All mail folder. If I delete the message from the All mail folder, it is also deleted from the "Jonathan" folder. I find this very confusing. I don't want the search results to show two messages when in fact only one message exists.
Also, how would I tell if a particular message in the All mail folder is NOT also in a folder elsewhere?
Many thanks
Paul Newton
All Replies (2)
Your issue is you apparently do not understand how Google store mail.
Google store all mail on this huge folder called "All mail" and because they are a search copmpant everything else is created uysing serach.
You have an inbox. So does the IMAP protocol. But gmail does not. Sure they have this handy web interface with labels down the right for carious categories of mail. But they do not have folders as such.
Gmail has emails in "all mail" with a label that says it is inbox. That same email might also have a label for important, business, friends or whatever. There is however in googles world only one email.
In the world of IMAP (and mail client relying on it like Thunderbird, mailbird outlook etc) mail exists in folders so that is how Google provides them, based on the labels attached in all mail.
Google also "archives mail" to all mail depending on your setting on their web site. Fundamentally all mail in all mail is with possessing a folder label or is archived. What you choose for setting here is most important for how your all mail "folder" works
My personal suggestion is unsubscribe from the all mail folder in the Thunderbird interface (right click the account in the folder pane and select subscribe) it really is only there to confuse issues for those not familiar with the unique way gmail works. As you put it in your question, you are trying to clean it up and in doing so you will loose most of your mail because you do not understand that in gmail all mail is in there. Ignoring it's existence it a better approach.
Hi Matt
Many thanks, very helpful - I have now unsubscribed from the All mail folder as you suggested. You said Your issue is you apparently do not understand how Google store mail and to be fair I did say that "maybe I do not understand how it [All mail] is meant to function".
I have a supplementary question. Amongst the folders I created for my account there is one named "My sent mail". Under Gmail there is "Sent Mail" and under Local Folders there is "Outbox". There are messages in "My sent mail" as well as in "Sent Mail". Ideally I would like everything in "Outbox", and then I could remove "My sent mail" and unsubscribe from "Sent Mail". However, I cannot seem to get my sent messages into "Outbox" and nor can I delete "Outbox". So I am stuck with an Outbox folder that I cannot use and which I cannot remove or hide.
Similarly, I have "Bin" under Gmail and "Deleted" under Local folders but I cannot direct my deleted messages to the "Deleted" folder and neither can I remove or hide it. So it just sits there annoying me!