Jan 23, 2019 There are many ways that Messages can break on your Mac. Regardless of the symptoms, the cause is typically the same: a miscommunication between the Messages app and the messaging servers on Apple’s end. With the correct troubleshooting steps, we can straighten this out. Apr 02, 2014 How to keep mail app from downloading all my emails? I just installed 7.06 from iOS 5.01 and the mail app is eating up all my storage. I have a lot of unread emails, in the thousands, but before I updated, IOs 5.01 never tried to download all of my unread.
Add your email account
If you don't have an email account set up, Mail prompts you to add your email account.
- Oct 03, 2015 I have the same question. I have the new El Capitan Mail app and I do not want all of my old messages downloaded to my computer. I do want the old messages to remain on my IMAP mail server. If someone posted a fix to this problem, please direct me to the posting.
- Problems viewing messages and mailboxes. If a mailbox is offline. If searching doesn’t find the right emails. If emails aren’t displayed or look strange. If emails appear to be missing. If you can’t open Mail. If messages are in a Recovered Messages mailbox.
To add another account, choose Mail > Add Account from the menu bar in Mail. Or choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Internet Accounts, then click the type of account to add.
- When adding an account, if you get a message that your account provider requires completing authentication in Safari, click Open Safari and follow the sign-in instructions in the Safari window.
- If necessary, Mail might ask you for additional settings.
Learn more about how to add or remove email accounts.
Send and reply
Learn how to compose, reply to, and forward email.
Send new messages
- Click New Message in the Mail toolbar, or choose File > New Message.
- Enter a name, email address, or group name in the 'To' field. Mail gives suggestions based on your contacts and messages on your Mac and devices signed into iCloud.1
- Enter a subject for your message.
- Write your email in the body of the message.
- To add an attachment, drag an attachment to the body of the message. Or choose File > Attach Files, choose an attachment, then click Choose.
- To change your font and format, use the options at the top of the message window.
- Beginning with macOS Mojave, it's even easier to add emoji to your messages. Just click the Emoji & Symbols button in the toolbar at the top of the message window, then choose emoji or other symbols from the character viewer.
- Send or save your message:
- To send, click the Send button or choose Message > Send.
- To save your message as a draft for later, close the message, then click Save.
Reply and forward
- To reply to a single person, click Reply , type your response, then click Send .
- To reply to everyone on a group email, click Reply All , type your response, then click Send .
- To forward a message to other people, click Forward , type your response, then click Send .
Organize and search
Sort your emails into folders and use multiple search options to find specific messages.
Create folders
You can create Mailboxes to organize your emails into folders.
- Open Mail, then choose Mailbox > New Mailbox from the menu bar.
- In the dialog that appears, choose the location for the Mailbox.
- Choose your email service (like iCloud) to access your Mailbox on your other devices, such as an iPhone signed into the same email account.
- Choose On My Mac to access your Mailbox only on your Mac.
- Name the mailbox and click OK.
If you don't see the mailboxes sidebar, choose View > Show Mailbox List. To show or hide mailboxes from an email account, move your pointer over a section in the sidebar and click Show or Hide.
Sort your emails
To move a message from your Inbox to a mailbox:
- Drag the message onto a mailbox in the sidebar.
- In macOS Mojave, you can select the message, then click Move in the Mail toolbar to file the message into the suggested mailbox. Mail makes mailbox suggestions based on where you've filed similar messages in the past, so suggestions get better the more you file your messages.
To delete a message, select a message, then press the Delete key.
To automatically move messages to specific mailboxes, use rules.
Search
Use the Search field in the Mail window to search by sender, subject, attachments, and more. To narrow your search, choose an option from the menu that appears as you type.
Add and mark up attachments
Attach documents and files to your messages and use Markup to annotate, add your signature, and more.
Attach a file
To attach a file to your message:
- Drag an attachment to the body of the message.
- Choose File > Attach Files, choose an attachment, then click Choose.
Use Markup with your attachments
You can use Markup to draw and type directly on an attachment, like an image or PDF document.2
- Click the Attach button or choose File > Attach Files in the message window.
- Choose an attachment, then click Choose File.
- Click the menu icon that appears in the upper-right corner of the attachment, then choose Markup.
- Use the Sketch tool to create freehand drawings.
- Use the Shapes tool to add shapes like rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows.
- Use the Zoom tool in the Shapes menu to magnify and call attention to a part of an attachment.
- Use the Text tool to add text.
- Use the Sign tool to add your signature.
- Click Done.
Learn more
- Contact Apple Support.
1. All devices signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID share contacts. Contacts addressed in previous messages that were sent and received on those devices are also included. To control this feature, turn Contacts on or off for iCloud. On Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click iCloud. On iOS devices, go to Settings, tap your name at the top of the screen, then tap iCloud.
2. Markup is available in OS X Yosemite and later.
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Mail User Guide
In the Mail app on your Mac, if you’re certain you’re not receiving messages, even after clicking the Get Mail button in the Mail toolbar, try these suggestions.
- Check whether Mail is retrieving a large message or a message with large attachments. See View Mail activity.
- Check if you’re using filters in the message list that are preventing expected messages from being shown.
- Try sorting messages in the message list by Date or another attribute, or searching for messages, to verify if you received them.
- Check whether your account is offline or disabled (inactive).
- If you’re missing emails from a specific person or group, check whether you blocked messages from them.
- Try quitting Mail, then opening it again.
- Choose Window > Connection Doctor, then follow any instructions in the Details column. Check for problems logging in to email accounts or with the incoming mail server, or with firewall software blocking network traffic.Check whether you’re affected by another firewall, such as software installed separately from macOS or built into an internet sharing router, or administered by your email account provider. Contact the appropriate person for information.
- If you’re still having problems, contact your email account provider to verify your user name, password, incoming mail server, and other required information. Then verify the information is entered correctly in Mail account preferences.
Why Is My Mac Mail App Downloading Messages Iphone
If you’re logged in to a network using VPN, also make sure that you entered your VPN password correctly.
Why Does My Mac Mail Say Downloading Messages
See alsoApple Support article: If you can’t send email on your Mac