Spurious IMAP folders keep appearing, can't delete
I've just been clearing my inbox. In the process I have deleted several subfolders, added others, moved others. But when I restart Thunderbird, duplicate folders - which often have content that I thought I had moved - keep appearing. They have the same name but with an integer following - so I think I have a folder named Mike, and on restart I have that, and another called Mike 2 And if I move content into Mike from Mike 2, then delete Mike 2, then next time I get a Mike 2 and a Mike 5. Or even a Mike 674. No matter how many times I move and remove, the things keep coming back. Here's a snip of my folder tree. Any ideas? Mail is IMAP.
All Replies (5)
Instead of deleting them, try unsubscribing (right-click the account in the Folder Pane, Subscribe, uncheck the unwanted folders). You might have to delete folders through webmail.
Doesn't really fix the problem, as the account I am accessing via IMAP is a Gmail account, and Gmail, when you access it directly, doesn't have the folders at all - they use a different metaphor. You only see them properly through an IMAP mail client. But I'll have a go!
Gmail IMAP accounts are unlike most other providers' IMAP. You may want to set 'Just mark it as deleted' in Server Settings, 'When I delete...', according to the Labels section here.
I notice that even after I have deleted a folder or subfolder, it still appears ticked in the list of folders to retain when offline. As I have a fast, permanently connected broadband connection, do I need any of the folders ticked for offline copies at all?
You only need to keep offline folders if, as the name implies, you want access to downloaded messages when you're offline. Or, the connection to the IMAP server is slow or intermittent. Note that keeping folders for offline access is separate from whether or not they are subscribed.