Introduction

Saving means copying or moving messages from folders on the server (remote folders) into local folders on your computer. Once they are in your local folders, you then delete them from the server. This procedure, called archiving, also reduces the amount of data stored in your account, making room for new messages to be delivered. Please be aware that ESC cannot help you recover locally stored email if your computer crashes.

Instructions

There are three steps to save archive messages:

1. Create local folders in OS X Mail.
   
   1. Select New Mailbox from the Mailbox menu.
   2. Beside Location: select On My Mac.
   3. Beside Name: type in a meaningful name (e.g. “Academic Email” or “Family Email”).
   4. Click OK.
2. Move / Copy the messages to your computer. If you need to keep a copy of the message in the remote folder, use Copy To instead of Move To.
   
   1. Select the remote folder.
   2. Highlight a message or multiple messages.
   3. From the Message menu select Copy To or Move To, then choose On My Mac → Destination folder.
   4. Verify that your messages are in the local folder.
   5. If you selected Copy To but you need to delete those messages, select those messages in the remote folder again and click Delete in the Toolbar. The deleted message is moved into a Trash folder or is displayed in dimmed text.
3. Remove the deleted messages from the server.
   
   • If you are using a Trash folder:
     
     • Go to the Mailbox menu and select Erase Deleted Messages → Your email account (where “Your email account” is whatever you named the account when you set it up) to permanently delete your messages. Click OK in the confirmation window.
   • Alternate method:
     
     • If you only have one account, from the Mailbox menu select Erase Deleted Messages. Otherwise, select Erase Deleted Messages → In Selected Mailbox to permanently delete your messages. You need to do this for each folder.