Auto IMAP Purge??

joseph_liu · 7th January 2009, 01:37 AM

Hi all,

I think I am just missing a setting for this, but I would like to setup my fastmail account to automatically purge the emails I moved or deleted with my email client.

Is there a way to do that?

Thanks!

Joe

n5bb · 7th January 2009, 11:41 AM

I assume you mean that you want to automatically expunge (permanently delete) messages which are marked for deletion (with a line through them in the web interface). This is normally a function set up in the options of your email client. Which client are you using?

In Thunderbird, use the Tools>Account Settings>Server Settings>Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit setting. Those messages will be marked for deletion until you exit Thunderbird, which causes them to be expunged.

An IMAP move is actually a copy followed by marking the original message for deletion.

The Fastmail web interface handles this differently than most clients. When you move a message, it is copied to the new folder (causing the old message to be marked for deletion), then the old message is immediately expunged (permanently deleted). When you delete a message, it is moved to the Trash folder, then the old message is immediately expunged (permanently deleted).

Bill

joseph_liu · 7th January 2009, 10:16 PM

Thanks for the info...thats interesting.

I'm using the Apple Mail client....is there an option I am missing for expunging messages marked for deletion?

Thanks!
Joe

jfinlayson · 8th January 2009, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n5bb

In Thunderbird, use the Tools>Account Settings>Server Settings>Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit setting. Those messages will be marked for deletion until you exit Thunderbird, which causes them to be expunged.

That works for the Inbox. Doesn't seem to auto-expunge other folders, though. If there's a setting for that, I'd like to know about it.

n5bb · 8th January 2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph_liu

... I'm using the Apple Mail client....is there an option I am missing for expunging messages marked for deletion?

Sorry, Joe -- I don't know about Apple Mail. I don't see any posts about this on the Fastmail forums. Google usually gives a lot of hits on such items. I just searched for "Apple Mail expunge" and got these good hits among some not-so-good ones:
first
second
And I think that this client needs to be configured to "compact" when exiting:
screen image
But an Apple Mail IMAP user can probably clear this up.

Bill

Engin · 24th March 2009, 05:43 AM

[QUOTE Quote:
Originally Posted by n5bb
In Thunderbird, use the Tools>Account Settings>Server Settings>Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit setting. Those messages will be marked for deletion until you exit Thunderbird, which causes them to be expunged.
jfinlayson
That works for the Inbox. Doesn't seem to auto-expunge other folders, though. If there's a setting for that, I'd like to know about it.[/quote]

I'd also like to know if it's possible to auto expunge folders other than the INBOX.
Thanks for your help!

Fabaus · 24th March 2009, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engin

I'd also like to know if it's possible to auto expunge folders other than the INBOX.

To Expunge folders other than the inbox in thunderbird is:

Tools::Options::Advanced_Tab::Config_Editor.
Search for expunge.
Change mail.imap.expunge_after_delete to TRUE.
Hope for the best

Hope that helps.

Fabaus

emoore · 24th March 2009, 09:20 PM

You might want to read Deleting messages in IMAP accounts which mentions several other auto-expunge settings in Thunderbird.

fahrner · 3rd June 2010, 07:57 PM

Is there no solution for Apple Mail?
In Tiger that worked perfectly, but since Leopard they changed something.
What I want is the same behaviour than in Webmail: move deleted messages to the trash folder and purge them from the original folder.
I tried several combinations of flags in Apple Mail settings, but all without success.

Mystakill · 4th June 2010, 01:19 AM

My solution for Apple Mail was to switch to Thunderbird. It's too simplistic to handle on-the-fly aliasing and subdomains, which I rely on extensively. It has quirks with IMAP as well, which is why FM had to implement a specific IMAP port just for Apple Mail so that it would map folders correctly.

I'll give Outlook a look in the fall when it releases as part of Office 2011, but in the meantime, I'm sticking with Tbird and the Virtual Identity extension.

I like OS X, but not everything it comes with works as I need it to. Hence, I've replaced Mail with Thunderbird, Finder with Path Finder, and iPhoto with Picasa.

fahrner · 4th June 2010, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystakill

I like OS X, but not everything it comes with works as I need it to. Hence, I've replaced Mail with Thunderbird, Finder with Path Finder, and iPhoto with Picasa.

Mystakill, you are right.
I just replaced Mail with Thunderbird, and all is working as it should.
And I just installed Pathfinder, looks also very good. Apples Finder is really a shame. It's very buggy and often blocks the whole system when accessing network drives.

djshack · 5th June 2010, 03:40 AM

In Snow Leopard, I know Apple Mail purges all messages that have been marked for deletion when you quit the program. It may due it at other times also (I'm not sure). If you delete an email through Mail, see it struck out on the Fastmail site, then quit Mail and refresh Fastmail, it's gone.

fahrner · 5th June 2010, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djshack

In Snow Leopard, I know Apple Mail purges all messages that have been marked for deletion when you quit the program. It may due it at other times also (I'm not sure). If you delete an email through Mail, see it struck out on the Fastmail site, then quit Mail and refresh Fastmail, it's gone.

This was the behaviour as in Tiger. If they changed it back in Snow Leopard, I'm wondering why they don't eliminate this bug in Leopard.

Mystakill · 6th June 2010, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fahrner

I just replaced Mail with Thunderbird, and all is working as it should.
And I just installed Pathfinder, looks also very good. Apples Finder is really a shame. It's very buggy and often blocks the whole system when accessing network drives.

Glad to hear that Thunderbird is working for you. Might I recommend some additional extensions? Adblock Plus (it's not just for Firefox), Display Quota, and Image Zoom are all worthwhile extensions.

To be honest, when I switched to Mac last year, I was very surprised at how functionally-challenged Finder was. No cut & paste and no quick rename, just to name a couple fight off the bat. Windows' Explorer, for all it's own faults, does have what most consider basic functionality that even Finder is missing. Why are OS X users not demanding more from Apple?

davet · 15th June 2010, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fahrner

This was the behaviour as in Tiger. If they changed it back in Snow Leopard, I'm wondering why they don't eliminate this bug in Leopard.

I'm not currently in from of my Mac so I can't double-check this, but I use Mail with Leopard, and I believe you still have the option to expunge deleted messages from the server when you quit Mail.

7th January 2009, 01:37 AM	#1
joseph_liu Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 42	Auto IMAP Purge?? Hi all, I think I am just missing a setting for this, but I would like to setup my fastmail account to automatically purge the emails I moved or deleted with my email client. Is there a way to do that? Thanks! Joe

24th March 2009, 05:43 AM	#6
Engin Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 8	auto expunge folders other than INBOX? [QUOTE Quote: Originally Posted by n5bb In Thunderbird, use the Tools>Account Settings>Server Settings>Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit setting. Those messages will be marked for deletion until you exit Thunderbird, which causes them to be expunged. jfinlayson That works for the Inbox. Doesn't seem to auto-expunge other folders, though. If there's a setting for that, I'd like to know about it.[/quote] I'd also like to know if it's possible to auto expunge folders other than the INBOX. Thanks for your help!

7th January 2009, 11:41 AM	#2
n5bb The "e" in e-mail Join Date: May 2004 Location: Irving, Texas Posts: 4,370	I assume you mean that you want to automatically expunge (permanently delete) messages which are marked for deletion (with a line through them in the web interface). This is normally a function set up in the options of your email client. Which client are you using? In Thunderbird, use the Tools>Account Settings>Server Settings>Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit setting. Those messages will be marked for deletion until you exit Thunderbird, which causes them to be expunged. An IMAP move is actually a copy followed by marking the original message for deletion. The Fastmail web interface handles this differently than most clients. When you move a message, it is copied to the new folder (causing the old message to be marked for deletion), then the old message is immediately expunged (permanently deleted). When you delete a message, it is moved to the Trash folder, then the old message is immediately expunged (permanently deleted). Bill

7th January 2009, 10:16 PM	#3
joseph_liu Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 42	Thanks for the info...thats interesting. I'm using the Apple Mail client....is there an option I am missing for expunging messages marked for deletion? Thanks! Joe

24th March 2009, 09:20 PM	#8
emoore Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 131	You might want to read Deleting messages in IMAP accounts which mentions several other auto-expunge settings in Thunderbird.

3rd June 2010, 07:57 PM	#9
fahrner Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Munic, DE Posts: 117	Is there no solution for Apple Mail? In Tiger that worked perfectly, but since Leopard they changed something. What I want is the same behaviour than in Webmail: move deleted messages to the trash folder and purge them from the original folder. I tried several combinations of flags in Apple Mail settings, but all without success.

4th June 2010, 01:19 AM	#10
Mystakill Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Baltimore, MD (USA) Posts: 509	My solution for Apple Mail was to switch to Thunderbird. It's too simplistic to handle on-the-fly aliasing and subdomains, which I rely on extensively. It has quirks with IMAP as well, which is why FM had to implement a specific IMAP port just for Apple Mail so that it would map folders correctly. I'll give Outlook a look in the fall when it releases as part of Office 2011, but in the meantime, I'm sticking with Tbird and the Virtual Identity extension. I like OS X, but not everything it comes with works as I need it to. Hence, I've replaced Mail with Thunderbird, Finder with Path Finder, and iPhoto with Picasa.

5th June 2010, 03:40 AM	#12
djshack Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 9	In Snow Leopard, I know Apple Mail purges all messages that have been marked for deletion when you quit the program. It may due it at other times also (I'm not sure). If you delete an email through Mail, see it struck out on the Fastmail site, then quit Mail and refresh Fastmail, it's gone.