Apple Mail no longer suggesting folders in the "Move" field

[nacinla]

I no longer get suggestions for folders to move my emails on my MacBook Pro; it does work on my iPhone. To clarify: The list is there in the drop menu, but in the past, Apple Mail "learned" which folders to suggest in the Move field itself and all I had to do was click on the tab. I went through a few suggested solutions on the Apple forums — including restarting, rebuilding accounts, and TWO wrenching complete erase and installs of Monterey (so yes, I have the latest OS). After the first attempt, it worked for a day, then it stopped. It does not work after the second erase and install. I've searched preferences and menus for a setting I might have disabled/enabled. No luck. Anyone else experience this? I spoke with Apple and the issue was "escalated" to specialists, but they never got back to me.

 

[Artiste212]

I have noticed the SAME issue on my M1 mini with Monterey 12.2 (happened on 12.1). That is really unfortunate.

HOWEVER! There is something new I discovered in 12.1 - was it there before, but I missed it? There is now the ability to run rules against one or several selected emails with a keyboard shortcut! Cmd-Opt-L . This runs all the rules against only the selected emails, so I use this with rules to move my emails. It's quicker than clickig on "Move to" on the Menu Bar. But I would like to have both.

 

[nacinla]

Thanks for the nifty "move" workaround!
Meanwhile, last night I spoke with the Apple agent working on this issue and he says they've seen it on their end. They don't have an explanation — yet. I sent him screen grabs of my issue, which he's forwarding to the team working on this. So we may see some action on this bug. I also showed him how my subfolders might have 20+ emails from someone, but if I search for those using the search field in the Apple Mail window, only two or three show up. So that's been added to the list.

 

[Artiste212]

duplicate

 

[Artiste212]

Thanks for the nifty "move" workaround!
Meanwhile, last night I spoke with the Apple agent working on this issue and he says they've seen it on their end. They don't have an explanation — yet. I sent him screen grabs of my issue, which he's forwarding to the team working on this. So we may see some action on this bug. I also showed him how my subfolders might have 20+ emails from someone, but if I search for those using the search field in the Apple Mail window, only two or three show up. So that's been added to the list.

In MacOS 12.3, Apple has worsened Mail's "Move to" command. The caret for the dropdown was romoved, and now there is no pretense of remembering the folder the email should be moved to.

I hope they plan to redinstate this feature in the future, because it exists in iOS 15.3 Mail and it works fairly well.

 

[MikeDr206]

I’m a big fan of this utility for moving messages in the Mail app:

MsgFiler

Decluttering inboxes since 2006

msgfiler.com

 

[nacinla]

In MacOS 12.3, Apple has worsened Mail's "Move to" command. The caret for the dropdown was romoved, and now there is no pretense of remembering the folder the email should be moved to.

I hope they plan to redinstate this feature in the future, because it exists in iOS 15.3 Mail and it works fairly well.

I spoke with an Apple rep yesterday and so far no resolution on this issue. For a moment I thought I had solved the problem after doing MULTIPLE erase and installs of Monterey and even re-setting my iPhone; the Move prompt worked for a while, but when I signed on the next morning, the function had disappeared. I can no longer waste time doing re-installs and will just live with it till Apple gets its act together. BTW, someone on a forum said they weren't seeing this bug and suggested I create a second account and see if it worked for the new user. I did and it did work. But then I couldn't delete the original administrator ....

 

[Artiste212]

I’m a big fan of this utility for moving messages in the Mail app:

MsgFiler

Decluttering inboxes since 2006

msgfiler.com

Looks good -- think I'll give this one a try. Thanks.

 

[nacinla]

Looks good -- think I'll give this one a try. Thanks.

Thanks. I like the utility Apple once had: you select an email in the list or have it open, and the Move button prompts the previously used folder and you click that.
BTW, I created another account on my MacBook and as of last night Apple Mail was working correctly.

 

[nacinla]

Well, I spoke too soon. As of this morning, the Move function is NOT working in Apple Mail with the new user account on my Mac as it was last night. I also noticed that it wasn't syncing with the account on may iPhone. I'm supposed to talk with the Apple rep again today; will update if that happens and there's news.

 

[Artiste212]

Well, I spoke too soon. As of this morning, the Move function is NOT working in Apple Mail with the new user account on my Mac as it was last night. I also noticed that it wasn't syncing with the account on may iPhone. I'm supposed to talk with the Apple rep again today; will update if that happens and there's news.

Thanks for sharing this info — there are a lot of us in the same situation.

 

[nacinla]

Just an update: it's been over a year since I reported this issue to Apple and not having heard from them since last August as promised, I called yesterday. I managed to get connected to the guy who had been helping me out, but he had no solution. We tried setting up an alternative user on my Mac and a new Apple ID, and that didn't work. As I've mentioned, this is a huge annoyance because I have several folders/labels I keep to organize emails, and having to click on the Move menu, scroll to the entry, then click on the label and then close the email itself adds lots of key strokes. Not good for someone who already has a bit of arthritis in his mouse hand. Also: This works on my iPhone; it doesn't work on my MacBook Pro only for my Gmail. It works, partially, for two university mail accounts I have. I've checked all the settings in Gmail and haven't been able to pinpoint anything. I've tried creating a new gmail account; it doesn't work there either.

 

[katbel]

Just an update: it's been over a year since I reported this issue to Apple and not having heard from them since last August as promised, I called yesterday. I managed to get connected to the guy who had been helping me out, but he had no solution. We tried setting up an alternative user on my Mac and a new Apple ID, and that didn't work. As I've mentioned, this is a huge annoyance because I have several folders/labels I keep to organize emails, and having to click on the Move menu, scroll to the entry, then click on the label and then close the email itself adds lots of key strokes. Not good for someone who already has a bit of arthritis in his mouse hand. Also: This works on my iPhone; it doesn't work on my MacBook Pro only for my Gmail. It works, partially, for two university mail accounts I have. I've checked all the settings in Gmail and haven't been able to pinpoint anything. I've tried creating a new gmail account; it doesn't work there either.

Very sad that nobody cares at Apple : Mail is a disaster most of the time .
Too bad that MailHub doesn't work after Mojave. It was fantastic. I tried MsgFiler but it's not working like MailHub and having to remember and typing all the onMyMac mailboxes is not was I looking for.
I'm not giving up for a solution, I will post it here

 

[Rocketwire]

I have noticed the SAME issue on my M1 mini with Monterey 12.2 (happened on 12.1). That is really unfortunate.

HOWEVER! There is something new I discovered in 12.1 - was it there before, but I missed it? There is now the ability to run rules against one or several selected emails with a keyboard shortcut! Cmd-Opt-L . This runs all the rules against only the selected emails, so I use this with rules to move my emails. It's quicker than clickig on "Move to" on the Menu Bar. But I would like to have both.

I love this suggestion, but here's the problem I am running into. The only way to do this is to have the rule set as "active." If I do that, then these emails get moved when they land in my inbox. What I want is to file the emails manually. Am I missing something?

 

[nacinla]

Sorry to be sarcastic, but what you're missing is Apple Mail as it used to run: remembering folders and conveniently prompting with those folder names in the Move To drop menu button when a message is selected in your inbox.

You don't have to be a software genius to know that this is a coding issue, and the code that once performed this operation has been corrupted. Having that function as it should means users don't have to create rules for every incoming sender and then use a shortcut to move them.

Meanwhile, I was told by the Apple guy who's been on my issue that he had an update, but we haven't been able to connect. I will post any relevant info I get when I can.

 

[Rocketwire]

Sorry to be sarcastic, but what you're missing is Apple Mail as it used to run: remembering folders and conveniently prompting with those folder names in the Move To drop menu button when a message is selected in your inbox.

You don't have to be a software genius to know that this is a coding issue, and the code that once performed this operation has been corrupted. Having that function as it should means users don't have to create rules for every incoming sender and then use a shortcut to move them.

Meanwhile, I was told by the Apple guy who's been on my issue that he had an update, but we haven't been able to connect. I will post any relevant info I get when I can.

Agreed. Clearly a bug that nobody is attending to.

 

[ivan_rr8]

I no longer get suggestions for folders to move my emails on my MacBook Pro; it does work on my iPhone. To clarify: The list is there in the drop menu, but in the past, Apple Mail "learned" which folders to suggest in the Move field itself and all I had to do was click on the tab. I went through a few suggested solutions on the Apple forums — including restarting, rebuilding accounts, and TWO wrenching complete erase and installs of Monterey (so yes, I have the latest OS). After the first attempt, it worked for a day, then it stopped. It does not work after the second erase and install. I've searched preferences and menus for a setting I might have disabled/enabled. No luck. Anyone else experience this? I spoke with Apple and the issue was "escalated" to specialists, but they never got back to me.

I've had the same problem for over a year now! But I think I have found a solution to this problem. I do not know which mail server you use, I use Gmail. Gmail is analyze your messages and marked most of them as “important". In fact, Gmail adds messages to the "important" folder. That's why Apple's algorithm propose this folder by default.

How I solved it. I'm opened a Google account in safari. Go to the Mail, in Setting > See all settings. Click the “Inbox” tab. In the "Importance markers" section, select “Show markers”. I selected also “Don't use my past actions to predict which messages are important” and save. Open the “Important” folder and unmark all (yellow label) messages. Folder should be empty after that. Then I open the mail on my iPad, go to the “important” folder and refresh it. Now I can select folders for the "Move to" function.

update: it is work good for old messages. For new disable the smart functions in Gmail.

 

[Rocketwire]

I've had the same problem for over a year now! But I think I have found a solution to this problem. I do not know which mail server you use, I use Gmail. Gmail is analyze your messages and marked most of them as “important". In fact, Gmail adds messages to the "important" folder. That's why Apple's algorithm propose this folder by default.

How I solved it. I'm opened a Google account in safari. Go to the Mail, in Setting > See all settings. Click the “Inbox” tab. In the "Importance markers" section, select “Show markers”. I selected also “Don't use my past actions to predict which messages are important” and save. Open the “Important” folder and unmark all (yellow label) messages. Folder should be empty after that. Then I open the mail on my iPad, go to the “important” folder and refresh it. Now I can select folders for the "Move to" function.

update: it is work good for old messages. For new disable the smart functions in Gmail.

Thank you! I have just set it up the way you recommended! Excited to see if this will finally work.

 

[nacinla]

I've had the same problem for over a year now! But I think I have found a solution to this problem. I do not know which mail server you use, I use Gmail. Gmail is analyze your messages and marked most of them as “important". In fact, Gmail adds messages to the "important" folder. That's why Apple's algorithm propose this folder by default.

How I solved it. I'm opened a Google account in safari. Go to the Mail, in Setting > See all settings. Click the “Inbox” tab. In the "Importance markers" section, select “Show markers”. I selected also “Don't use my past actions to predict which messages are important” and save. Open the “Important” folder and unmark all (yellow label) messages. Folder should be empty after that. Then I open the mail on my iPad, go to the “important” folder and refresh it. Now I can select folders for the "Move to" function.

update: it is work good for old messages. For new disable the smart functions in Gmail.

Thanks. I spent half a day unmarking 15,000+ "Important" messages to remove them from the Important folder in Chrome, and then I set a filter to not mark any emails as Important, as was suggested elsewhere. While that has eliminated the marking of emails, it did not restore the "Move to" functionality I once had, and I still have to open the drop menu, scroll to the folder and select it, instead of Apple Mail remembering the folder that was previously used and prompting that in the Move to button, requiring only a click to move the ermail. I'm going to try contacting Apple one more time about this then I may issue a press release on its failure to resolve this to various tech media.

 

[ivan_rr8]

Thanks. I spent half a day unmarking 15,000+ "Important" messages to remove them from the Important folder in Chrome, and then I set a filter to not mark any emails as Important, as was suggested elsewhere. While that has eliminated the marking of emails, it did not restore the "Move to" functionality I once had, and I still have to open the drop menu, scroll to the folder and select it, instead of Apple Mail remembering the folder that was previously used and prompting that in the Move to button, requiring only a click to move the ermail. I'm going to try contacting Apple one more time about this then I may issue a press release on its failure to resolve this to various tech media.

Hi, read my update. It resolved all problems. Disable the smart functions in Gmail.

 

[nacinla]

Hi, read my update. It resolved all problems. Disable the smart functions in Gmail.

Thanks. I read it and did what you said, as I explained above. My Apple Mail no longer automatically prompts with the last used folder in the "Move to" tab. I still have to click on the tab and scroll down to find the folder. I'm hoping it will re-learn the folders in time after following your instructions; so far it hasn't. I was on the phone with Apple Support for 45 minutes earlier today and their engineers report that they have seen this issue with other users but as yet have no solution.

 

[ivan_rr8]

Thanks. I read it and did what you said, as I explained above. My Apple Mail no longer automatically prompts with the last used folder in the "Move to" tab. I still have to click on the tab and scroll down to find the folder. I'm hoping it will re-learn the folders in time after following your instructions; so far it hasn't. I was on the phone with Apple Support for 45 minutes earlier today and their engineers report that they have seen this issue with other users but as yet have no solution.

It is correct. Apple mail will re-learn. In my iPhone everything works properly.

Please send my suggestion to support team. Hope they will find solution.

 

[nacinla]

It is correct. Apple mail will re-learn. In my iPhone everything works properly.

Please send my suggestion to support team. Hope they will find solution.

Thanks. Yes. It never stopped working on my iPhone; not sure what happened in OS.

 

[nacinla]

Monthly update: Latest Apple support person promising to take my issue under her oversight has ghosted me; I get no responses to my messages. Meanwhile, I created a new Gmail account and am phasing out the old one. My Mac Book still isn't learning the folders, despite the techniques posted here. Works on my iPhone, so clearly has nothing to do with Gmail setup.

 

[berryc123]

@nacinla - I created an account here at MacRumors, just to reply to you.

Thank you for all of your efforts in trying to resolve this.

I have been a Mac user for 30+ years. I have many many gigs of email across multiple Gmail/iCloud accounts, spanning almost 15 years.

That predictive mailbox feature was INCREDIBLE–when it worked. It worked for me for maybe the first 6-12 months after they rolled it out. Then it broke–I have no idea why–and it has never worked again. So, for the past 3-4 (or more?) years I keep checking the web to see if anyone has figured it out.

Rules are not the answer for me. I would need 100+ rules to tame my mailboxes.

So, I keep using the dropdown or right-click "move to" command and scroll through my hundreds of mailboxes/folders. Time consuming and painful for a guy in his mid-fifties.

At this point, I'm assuming it'll never get resolved. Too few people saw the benefit to cause enough outrcy to get it attention.

But, thank you again for sticking to it.

Peace and Blessings