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Organize Your Mac's Mail With Mailboxes

Nest subfolders inside any top-level mailbox

By Tom Nelson Tom Nelson Writer Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on September 11, 2020 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Apple Macs iPad It seems obvious, but one of the easiest ways to keep your email under control is to organize it in folders or, as the Mail app in macOS calls them, mailboxes. Instead of keeping everything in your Inbox, organize your email the same way you organize documents in a file cabinet. Information in this article applies to the Mail app on Macs running macOS 10.12 Sierra through macOS 10.14 Mojave.

Locate the Mail Sidebar

Mailboxes are listed in the Mail app sidebar, which makes them easily accessible with just a click. If you don't see the sidebar, go to View > Show Mailbox List or use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Command+M.

How to Create a New Mailbox

You can create as many mailboxes as you need, including mailboxes for individuals, groups, companies, or categories—anything that makes sense to you. To make a new mailbox: Open the Mail app on your Mac. Select Mailbox > New Mailbox, or right-click on any mailbox in the sidebar and select New Mailbox in the pop-up menu. In the Location field of the New Mailbox window, select the mail provider or account for which you are making the folder. The default is iCloud, but your other mail providers are also on the list, along with On My Mac, which is a local-only mailbox on your computer. You cannot access the On My Mac mailbox from other devices. Type a name for the mailbox in the Name field and click OK. New mailboxes appear in the Mail sidebar.

How to Create Mailboxes Within Mailboxes

You may want to create mailboxes within mailboxes to further organize your email. For example, if you receive a lot of email newsletters, you might create a mailbox called Newsletters and within it create individual mailboxes for each newsletter or newsletter category. Similarly, you could set up a mailbox for Family and create individual mailboxes inside for each family member. Select an existing top-level mailbox or create a new top-level mailbox as you do any single mailbox, adding a name and location. Locate the top-level (parent) mailbox in the Mailboxes sidebar. Right-click on the parent mailbox and select New Mailbox from the menu. Confirm that the Location in the New Mailbox pop-up screen is the name of the parent subfolder. If not, select the parent from the drop-down menu. Add a descriptive name in the Name field and click OK. Repeat the process as needed for additional categories or people. An arrow next to the parent mailbox signifies the mailbox includes subfolders. Click the arrow to open the parent mailbox to access the subfolders.

Move Existing Messages to a New Mailbox

To move existing messages to a new mailbox, click and drag the messages to the target mailbox. You can also move messages by right-clicking on a message or group of messages and selecting Move To from the pop-up menu. Select the appropriate mailbox and release the mouse button. After you create mailboxes, you can use rules to file the incoming email automatically in the appropriate mailboxes to save time and stay organized. You can also create Smart Mailboxes to make it easier to find messages. To put a copy of a message in a new mailbox while leaving the original in place, hold down the Option key as you drag the message or group of messages to the target mailbox. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Save and Use Messages as Templates in Apple Mail How to Use and Rename the Flags in Mac OS X Apple Mail Hide the Preview Pane and Delete Mail Without Opening It How to Send a New Email With iPhone Mail App How to Save an Outlook Email as a PDF How to Indent Text or Decrease Quote Level in iPhone Mail How to Search Mail in iPhone Mail Winamp FAQ: Converting Audio File Formats How to Use Smart Albums in Photos for Mac How to Send a Message From a Different Account in OS X Mail How to Create New Folders to Organize Mail in Outlook How to Group Messages by Thread in Mac Mail Program Find out What the Archive Button Does in OS X Mail Find Messages Faster in Apple Mail With Smart Mailboxes How to Insert Special Characters in Mac Mail How to Sync Your Hotmail Account With macOS Mail Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies