How to find Gmail Important folder?

[Marti]

I just switched from the Gmail app to AquaMail. I can find the other Gmail folders (sent, deleted, etc.) but not the "[Gmail] Important" folder. I keep emails there that are important to me but that I don't want in the Inbox. I Don;t think the Smart Folder has anything to do with this.

Also, I have Gmail folders that I always want to see on the left. I would like these folders to be there forever, not just for 2 months. I can see how to move an email into a folder using the three dots at the bottom of the message.

Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks, Marti

[StR]

FAQ:
http://www.aqua-mail.com/?page_id=227
How do I access server side folders?

[Marti]

StR, I had looked at this FAQ, but since my account setup says imap.gmail.com for incoming server, I thought I was using IMAP...

[StR]

You are using IMAP, and that Answer is for both IMAP and EWS types of connections. So, it is applicable for your case.

[mikeone]

StR, I had looked at this FAQ, but since my account setup says imap.gmail.com for incoming server, I thought I was using IMAP...

FAQ:
http://www.aqua-mail.com/?page_id=227

How do I access server side folders?

This is only possible with IMAP or EWS (POP3 does not support access to individual folders).

 

[Marti]

I have read the server side FAQ again and have set up my folders to sync. However, I still cannot find my Gmail Important folder,  which appears in web-based Gmail and in the Gmail app but not in Aqua-Mail. Please help!

[Davey126]

It may be deselected on the server side:
- access Gmail account via desktop browser (can't do it from app or many mobile browsers)
- from gear icon (upper right) select 'settings'
- navigate to the 'labels' tab
- verify 'Show in IMAP' is checked for the Important label (see attachment)

[Marti]

Davey126, that did it - perfect! Then I went to Other Folders in AquaMail and selected it and sync'd. Now I have 154 messages in that folder in AquaMail vs 18 in Gmail on the web, but I'll figure that out. Thank you so much!

[Davey126]

Now I have 154 messages in that folder in AquaMail vs 18 in Gmail on the web, but I'll figure that out.

Likely related to the way Gmail auto-populates the Important 'super' label and the sometimes awkward translation between 'labels' and 'folders'.

Aquamail observes IMAP standards which knows nothing of labels. If an item is tagged with multiple labels it *may* be duplicated in multiple folders depending on sync settings. Also check the Conversation setting in AquaMail along with Sync and Cache settings. For Gmail I suggest starting with a 30-day minimum for sync to insure conversations are fully populated within the sync horizon (so they look roughly the same in Gmail and AquaMail clients). If you sync by message count older items will mysteriously fall-out of conversations on AquaMail as the sync max is reached. Suggest setting these parameters at the account level vs under Settings->Mail Receiving as the former takes precedence.

See these threads for further discussion:
  https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=4382.0
  https://www.aqua-mail.com/forum/index.php?topic=4381.0 (last two posts)

The above is pretty 'dense' detail for a new user. Feel free to post follow-up clarifications/questions. Did not want to bore you with a rambling post about stuff you may already know (or don't care about!).

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Yes (sigh) it's true -- AquaMail isn't really aware of Gmail's "we don't have folders, we have labels" -- so it will show your messages the way Gmail "maps" them to IMAP folders, which may include duplicates (for things like All Mail, Important, Starred).

Not good, but I don't have a fix or even in a position to start thinking about it.

Another thing about message counters -- Gmail app and Gmail web mail are built around "conversations" and so their counters reflect the number of conversations, too, not messages.

AquaMail's counters everywhere (total, unread, in notifications, widgets) are *message* counts, not conversation counts.

[Marti]

I'm good for now - I think I lost a few emails due to the labels vs folders thing, but I'm much happier with folders and with AquaMail's support for non-conversation mode. Thank you, Kostya!

Davey126, I'll be back if I have more questions.

Thanks to all for the help.

[Marti]

Oops - need more help. Incoming messages from people I frequently exchange mail with are being put in the AquaMail Important folder. They still show in Inbox, but when I delete them from Important, they are also gone from Inbox. I changed Gmail web settings to "Don;t use my past actions to predict which messages are important", but it's still happening. It doesn;t happen in web Gmail, only in AquaMail.

I need a folder in which to retain important emails, but I really Don;t care what it's called. Should I move the messages I want to a new folder and remove Gmail Important?

Thanks.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

You can select those messages and "Delete immediately" in AquaMail -- Gmail treats this as "remove the label which corresponds to the folder".

By default, I guess right now you're deleting by "move to deleted", and that (again by Gmail's nature) removes all labels, including All Mail even.

---

And yes, you can set up a folder and move messages there -- it's up to you.

You can even set it up as "archive" in Aqua and assign a swipe action.

( and there are different ways to look at "archiving" -- to some people, this means "meh I've already seen it, or it wasn't important to begin with", while to others archive means "my most precious emails"... )

[Davey126]

Oops - need more help. Incoming messages from people I frequently exchange mail with are being put in the AquaMail Important folder. They still show in Inbox, but when I delete them from Important, they are also gone from Inbox. I changed Gmail web settings to "Don;t use my past actions to predict which messages are important", but it's still happening. It doesn;t happen in web Gmail, only in AquaMail.

I need a folder in which to retain important emails, but I really Don;t care what it's called. Should I move the messages I want to a new folder and remove Gmail Important?

Thanks.

Building on Kostya's response ...

The "special" labels assigned by Gmail work well if you only use Google branded clients. Once outside that ecosystem things get a little funky. Best practice (imho) is to stick with system folders (inbox, sent, etc) for their primary function and use your own labels/folders for everything else. Also be cognizant of the consequences of moving items in a 3rd party client such as AquaMail which works differently than native Gmail which assumes copy. Best to experiment a bit with some benign content so you don't get surprised later. There are a few things that can only be done conveniently with a Gmail client such assigning multiple labels (folders) to a single item. Also know the search function in AquaMail is a thing of beauty merging simplicity with speed and relevant results. Best way to find a 'lost' email is to search!

[Marti]

Thanks, Kostya and Davey126. I decided to ditch the Gmail Important folder and created one on the web Gmail site called Keep. I have set it up to sync with web, so it will be backed up. I think this will work fine for me. Education appreciated!