Constantly have to Rebuild Apple Mail inbox

mrp777 · 30 Dec 2009, 02:46 AM

I use Apple Mail ver. 3.6 (Mac OSX 10.5.8 Leopard):

The Inbox will show a new "unread" count and the new messages will be visible in bold. I then click the new message to read it. A problem arises when I subsequently go to a different mailbox or folder, then go back to the Inbox, the new message, that I previously read, will now be missing. The only way to get it back is to "Rebuild" the mailbox.

A variation of this problem occurs when the Unread Count shows a new message, but no new message is visible unless I Rebuild the mailbox.

I have been using Apple Mail for several years, numerous times during the day, but this problem started several months ago for no apparent reason. And the problem is sporadic, it might happen randomly ever few days.

n5bb · 30 Dec 2009, 02:49 AM

This sounds to me like a problem with the Apple Mail client, not related to Fastmail. Have you tried looking for a more recent version of the client, or posting on an Apple Mail support site, or contacting Apple support?

Bill

mrp777 · 30 Dec 2009, 09:39 AM

I am using the most recent version of the client, but I will take your advice and post on the Apple website as well.

ChinaLamb · 30 Dec 2009, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrp777

I am using the most recent version of the client, but I will take your advice and post on the Apple website as well.

Hmmm. Try a Vista or Win 7 pc. It just works.

/cl

placebo · 30 Dec 2009, 12:53 PM

Try this:

1. Quit Mail.
2. Drag ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index to the desktop.
3. Launch Mail.

Envelope Index is a database that keeps track of messages, and if it gets corrupted, Mail may behave strangely. If you delete it, Mail will rebuild it from scratch.

I read about this on this guy's blog:

http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/02/08/...ed-up-mailapp/

If you follow the "What's in your Mail folder?" link, you'll see he is (or was) a FastMail user.

jgoldberg · 2 Jan 2010, 01:46 PM

I've had the identical problem. I called Apple support on this (you might still have free support after an upgrade to Snow Leopard). I didn't expect a resolution, but I wanted this logged as a real problem.

Eventually the problem seemed to go away (seemingly on its own) on one of my machines, but on my MacBook (same OS, same configuration, same version of Mail.app) it persists.

Basically, I've decided that Mail.app is a crappy IMAP client. But it does enough other things that I really like that I haven't given up on it yet. Anyway, Thunderbird 3 is out and is usable. And of course when I really need IMAP power tools, I use alpine in a Terminal window.

Mystakill · 4 Jan 2010, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinaLamb

Hmmm. Try a Vista or Win 7 pc. It just works.

/cl

I'll go one better: Use Thunderbird, it works better than Outlook, Windows Live Mail, *and* Apple Mail, and it works on most OSes. If you multiboot OSes, you can also share the same Thunderbird and Firefox profiles (mail, extensions, accounts, bookmarks, etc.) between them

All you need is a FAT32 partition or a network/cloud drive to store them on.

jgoldberg · 5 Jan 2010, 02:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystakill

I'll go one better: Use Thunderbird

Every time I get too frustrated with Mail.app, I switch to Thunderbird for a while, but I find myself returning to Mail.app because (when it's working and not annoying the crap out of me for other reasons) it really "feels" right. I also love its date and phone number detection in message bodies for quick additions to iCal or Addressbook.

When I switched from (al)pine to a GUI I found that Mail.app was the only GUI I could tolerate. I do use Thunderbird for Usenet, but that is largely because I want a Usenet client that can also do IMAP (so I can copy messages to and from IMAP folders).

Mystakill · 5 Jan 2010, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgoldberg

...I find myself returning to Mail.app because (when it's working and not annoying the crap out of me for other reasons) it really "feels" right.

Regardless of "feel", I can't use Mail.app because it doesn't support on-the-fly virtual identities. The Virtual Identity extension for Thunderbird does, and works seamlessly for original emails and replies.

jgoldberg · 5 Jan 2010, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystakill

Regardless of "feel", I can't use Mail.app because it doesn't support on-the-fly virtual identities. The Virtual Identity extension for Thunderbird does, and works seamlessly for original emails and replies.

That looks like a very interesting add-on. It's not something that I need, but I can definitely see how it could be useful if you have a catch-all "alias."

30 Dec 2009, 02:46 AM	#1
mrp777 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 4	Constantly have to Rebuild Apple Mail inbox I use Apple Mail ver. 3.6 (Mac OSX 10.5.8 Leopard): The Inbox will show a new "unread" count and the new messages will be visible in bold. I then click the new message to read it. A problem arises when I subsequently go to a different mailbox or folder, then go back to the Inbox, the new message, that I previously read, will now be missing. The only way to get it back is to "Rebuild" the mailbox. A variation of this problem occurs when the Unread Count shows a new message, but no new message is visible unless I Rebuild the mailbox. I have been using Apple Mail for several years, numerous times during the day, but this problem started several months ago for no apparent reason. And the problem is sporadic, it might happen randomly ever few days.

2 Jan 2010, 01:46 PM	#6
jgoldberg Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Plano, Texas Posts: 88	I've had the identical problem I've had the identical problem. I called Apple support on this (you might still have free support after an upgrade to Snow Leopard). I didn't expect a resolution, but I wanted this logged as a real problem. Eventually the problem seemed to go away (seemingly on its own) on one of my machines, but on my MacBook (same OS, same configuration, same version of Mail.app) it persists. Basically, I've decided that Mail.app is a crappy IMAP client. But it does enough other things that I really like that I haven't given up on it yet. Anyway, Thunderbird 3 is out and is usable. And of course when I really need IMAP power tools, I use alpine in a Terminal window.

30 Dec 2009, 02:49 AM	#2
n5bb Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: May 2004 Location: Irving, Texas Posts: 8,929	This sounds to me like a problem with the Apple Mail client, not related to Fastmail. Have you tried looking for a more recent version of the client, or posting on an Apple Mail support site, or contacting Apple support? Bill

30 Dec 2009, 09:39 AM	#3
mrp777 Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 4	I am using the most recent version of the client, but I will take your advice and post on the Apple website as well.

30 Dec 2009, 12:53 PM	#5
placebo Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 743	Try this: 1. Quit Mail. 2. Drag ~/Library/Mail/Envelope Index to the desktop. 3. Launch Mail. Envelope Index is a database that keeps track of messages, and if it gets corrupted, Mail may behave strangely. If you delete it, Mail will rebuild it from scratch. I read about this on this guy's blog: http://www.hawkwings.net/2006/02/08/...ed-up-mailapp/ If you follow the "What's in your Mail folder?" link, you'll see he is (or was) a FastMail user.