Mac Mail application/client

EddieC · 14 Jan 2011, 08:38 AM

I'm using the Mac Mail e-mail client (2.1.3 ) on OS X Tiger and have a problem with Sent items. When I send a mail, it isn't put into the "Sent" box/folder.

I have followed the set-up instructions provided by Fastmail and have just lived with this problem. But it would be nice to get it solved as there may be an underlying problem.

I do Synchronize as am using IMAP by Mailbox --> Synchronize "[my account]".

No problems actually sending e-mails (the recipients always receive) and receiving mail in the Inbox.

The problem I think is on the pulldown Mailbox --> Use This Mailbox For where all the options (the folders/boxes) are greyed out. This happens for Inbox, Sent, Trash and Junk.

On the left, where the boxes are iconised, I don't have any subfolders under Inbox; all these 4 folders are at the same level.

A related problem, and maybe a clue, is that about a minute after I start to compose a message, I get an error window pop up saying "Error. The message could not be saved". This I "Ok" to proceed.

Is this a Mail app problem only or could it be how it interacts with the server? Or even server settings?

Thanks.

Ed

n5bb · 14 Jan 2011, 11:37 AM

I don't use that email client, Ed, so I can't give you detailed help. But have you gone through this help file? Especially look at step 14.

Bill

matthewc · 15 Jan 2011, 04:38 AM

Have you tried:

Mail>Preferences>Accounts>Advanced

Set IMAP Path Prefix to "INBOX"

Quit Mail

Open Mail

EddieC · 15 Jan 2011, 06:53 AM

Yes, thanks very much for that advice, it did work.

I originally deliberately left this field blank in line with the advice in the set-up instructions (for OS X up to and including Tiger) step 11 (final paragraph). This suggests leaving it blank if running OS 10.3 or 10.4.

Really grateful; thanks again.

Is there a way of advising the authors of the instructions.advice to amend the instructions accordingly?

Ed

placebo · 15 Jan 2011, 07:11 AM

Hmm, that's weird. The instructions seem to be backwards. In earlier versions of Mail, it worked best if you explicitly set the path prefix to INBOX. Starting with OS X 10.5, Mail got the path prefix from the server and filled the field in for you, so leaving it blank with 10.5 or later was fine.

JRobert · 16 Jan 2011, 10:12 AM

For what it's worth, in Mail 4.4 under OS 10.6, the prefix does not get filled in for you, and everything seems to work. I just tried filling it in manually with INBOX, and Mail would no longer display my Fastmail folders in the folder pane, although sending and receiving continued to work OK. I've set my prefix back to <empty> and my FM folders are displayed again.

In both cases, Mail stores my sent messages in a local sent-folder, not in the FM one.

placebo · 16 Jan 2011, 04:30 PM

That's completely the opposite of what I see with Mail 4.4 on 10.6.6.

matthewc · 17 Jan 2011, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRobert

In both cases, Mail stores my sent messages in a local sent-folder, not in the FM one.

Highlight sent folder.

Go to menu bar>Mailbox>Use this Mailbox for>Sent

Quit Mail. Open Mail.

Quitting and opening may not be necessary. But I usually do to be safe.

placebo · 17 Jan 2011, 01:47 PM

Also, in the account's settings, make sure you have it set so that sent mail is stored on the server. The setting is in the "mailbox behaviors" panel.

JRobert · 18 Jan 2011, 09:13 AM

Thank you, both, for the suggestions. I'll give those a shot as soon as my machine comes back from Apple.

EddieC · 22 Jan 2011, 04:24 AM

Related to/carrying on this discussion on the settings required for Apple's Mail application for working with Fastmail's IMAP service:

(1) In the "Server Settings" for, SMTP I've got the "server port" set to 465.
Is this the value required by Fastmail, or is it the one that most providers require? I've read that 25 or 587 could be used. I have the SSL ticked. Are these 2 dependent?
Is it critical to have this value correct?
Is it required if using IMAP (my thinking is that it is definitely required if POP3'ing, but maybe not if using IMAP)?

(2) In the "Advanced" section, I have "Automatically synchronise changed mailboxes" ticked. Underneath this, I have "Port" set to 993. As with the question above, is this a correct value for Fastmail? Is it critical to get this right? I have read that there may be other values to opt for.

(3) Lastly, it appears that I have solved the initial problem (question whic started this thread), but strangely, when I highlight (by a single mouse-click) the folders on the left of Mail - that is to say "Inbox", "Sent", "Trash" and "Junk" - and then on each, pulling "Mailbox" --> "Use This Mailbox For", none of the options (Drafts, Sent, Trash and Junk) are available as they are all greyed out. Is there any reason for this? Settings dependent?

Thanks for the help as I do sometimes worry that I may have the client set-up incorrectly/unsecurely.

Cheers,

Ed

placebo · 22 Jan 2011, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddieC

Related to/carrying on this discussion on the settings required for Apple's Mail application for working with Fastmail's IMAP service:

(1) In the "Server Settings" for, SMTP I've got the "server port" set to 465.
Is this the value required by Fastmail, or is it the one that most providers require? I've read that 25 or 587 could be used. I have the SSL ticked. Are these 2 dependent?
Is it critical to have this value correct?
Is it required if using IMAP (my thinking is that it is definitely required if POP3'ing, but maybe not if using IMAP)?

The important thing is to have the SSL checkbox ticked so the connection will be secure and your password won't be sent in cleartext. If you use port 25 or 587, the connection starts unencrypted, but Mail will tell the server to switch to an encrypted session. If you use port 465, the connection is encrypted from the start. It doesn't matter if you're using POP3 or IMAP4 for receiving mail; SMTP is always used for sending mail.

Quote:

(2) In the "Advanced" section, I have "Automatically synchronise changed mailboxes" ticked. Underneath this, I have "Port" set to 993. As with the question above, is this a correct value for Fastmail? Is it critical to get this right? I have read that there may be other values to opt for.

Mail and FastMail both use the standard port numbers. The main reason to use non-standard ports is because the standard ports are blocked by a firewall (at work, for instance).

Quote:

(3) Lastly, it appears that I have solved the initial problem (question whic started this thread), but strangely, when I highlight (by a single mouse-click) the folders on the left of Mail - that is to say "Inbox", "Sent", "Trash" and "Junk" - and then on each, pulling "Mailbox" --> "Use This Mailbox For", none of the options (Drafts, Sent, Trash and Junk) are available as they are all greyed out. Is there any reason for this? Settings dependent?

It behaves the same way here. You only get those options when you choose a folder that appears below those.

Quote:

Thanks for the help as I do sometimes worry that I may have the client set-up incorrectly/unsecurely.

Cheers,

Ed

14 Jan 2011, 08:38 AM	#1
EddieC Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 21	Mac Mail application/client I'm using the Mac Mail e-mail client (2.1.3 ) on OS X Tiger and have a problem with Sent items. When I send a mail, it isn't put into the "Sent" box/folder. I have followed the set-up instructions provided by Fastmail and have just lived with this problem. But it would be nice to get it solved as there may be an underlying problem. I do Synchronize as am using IMAP by Mailbox --> Synchronize "[my account]". No problems actually sending e-mails (the recipients always receive) and receiving mail in the Inbox. The problem I think is on the pulldown Mailbox --> Use This Mailbox For where all the options (the folders/boxes) are greyed out. This happens for Inbox, Sent, Trash and Junk. On the left, where the boxes are iconised, I don't have any subfolders under Inbox; all these 4 folders are at the same level. A related problem, and maybe a clue, is that about a minute after I start to compose a message, I get an error window pop up saying "Error. The message could not be saved". This I "Ok" to proceed. Is this a Mail app problem only or could it be how it interacts with the server? Or even server settings? Thanks. Ed

22 Jan 2011, 04:24 AM	#11
EddieC Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 21	A few more questions on required Mail settings for Fastmail IMAP Related to/carrying on this discussion on the settings required for Apple's Mail application for working with Fastmail's IMAP service: (1) In the "Server Settings" for, SMTP I've got the "server port" set to 465. Is this the value required by Fastmail, or is it the one that most providers require? I've read that 25 or 587 could be used. I have the SSL ticked. Are these 2 dependent? Is it critical to have this value correct? Is it required if using IMAP (my thinking is that it is definitely required if POP3'ing, but maybe not if using IMAP)? (2) In the "Advanced" section, I have "Automatically synchronise changed mailboxes" ticked. Underneath this, I have "Port" set to 993. As with the question above, is this a correct value for Fastmail? Is it critical to get this right? I have read that there may be other values to opt for. (3) Lastly, it appears that I have solved the initial problem (question whic started this thread), but strangely, when I highlight (by a single mouse-click) the folders on the left of Mail - that is to say "Inbox", "Sent", "Trash" and "Junk" - and then on each, pulling "Mailbox" --> "Use This Mailbox For", none of the options (Drafts, Sent, Trash and Junk) are available as they are all greyed out. Is there any reason for this? Settings dependent? Thanks for the help as I do sometimes worry that I may have the client set-up incorrectly/unsecurely. Cheers, Ed

14 Jan 2011, 11:37 AM	#2
n5bb Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: May 2004 Location: Irving, Texas Posts: 8,929	I don't use that email client, Ed, so I can't give you detailed help. But have you gone through this help file? Especially look at step 14. Bill

15 Jan 2011, 04:38 AM	#3
matthewc Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gator Country (Florida) Posts: 136	Have you tried: Mail>Preferences>Accounts>Advanced Set IMAP Path Prefix to "INBOX" Quit Mail Open Mail

15 Jan 2011, 06:53 AM	#4
EddieC Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 21	Yes, thanks very much for that advice, it did work. I originally deliberately left this field blank in line with the advice in the set-up instructions (for OS X up to and including Tiger) step 11 (final paragraph). This suggests leaving it blank if running OS 10.3 or 10.4. Really grateful; thanks again. Is there a way of advising the authors of the instructions.advice to amend the instructions accordingly? Ed

15 Jan 2011, 07:11 AM	#5
placebo Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 743	Hmm, that's weird. The instructions seem to be backwards. In earlier versions of Mail, it worked best if you explicitly set the path prefix to INBOX. Starting with OS X 10.5, Mail got the path prefix from the server and filled the field in for you, so leaving it blank with 10.5 or later was fine.

16 Jan 2011, 10:12 AM	#6
JRobert Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 1,561	For what it's worth, in Mail 4.4 under OS 10.6, the prefix does not get filled in for you, and everything seems to work. I just tried filling it in manually with INBOX, and Mail would no longer display my Fastmail folders in the folder pane, although sending and receiving continued to work OK. I've set my prefix back to <empty> and my FM folders are displayed again. In both cases, Mail stores my sent messages in a local sent-folder, not in the FM one.

16 Jan 2011, 04:30 PM	#7
placebo Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 743	That's completely the opposite of what I see with Mail 4.4 on 10.6.6.

17 Jan 2011, 01:47 PM	#9
placebo Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 743	Also, in the account's settings, make sure you have it set so that sent mail is stored on the server. The setting is in the "mailbox behaviors" panel.

18 Jan 2011, 09:13 AM	#10
JRobert Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 1,561	Thank you, both, for the suggestions. I'll give those a shot as soon as my machine comes back from Apple.