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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > Is there any way to get Mail/etc to stop trying to download my entire Gmail inbox?

Is there any way to get Mail/etc to stop trying to download my entire Gmail inbox?
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Lateralus
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Oct 8, 2010, 04:37 PM
 
A year or so ago, something went wonky with my Mail settings and the app suddenly insisted on downloading my entire 20k+ Gmail inbox. And if I would let it download the mails and then try to delete them in the application, it would then move them to the trash at Gmail as well... something it had never done before.

Unable to figure out how to fix the issue, I simply started using Gmail's web interface.

But I miss using an app. So I decided to try a number of other ones, all of which are pulling the same shit on me.

I just want the old way back; Use the app, have it download NEW mail only on first launch, use it as normal (reading, responding to and deleting e-mails) while having everything always remain on the Gmail server.

How do I make fix?
I like chicken
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Please de-liv-er
     
ghporter
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Oct 8, 2010, 05:23 PM
 
Can I assume you've followed Gmail's rather thorough instructions for Mail? They worked fine for me. But the behavior you're describing makes it sound like the server end thinks you're set up for IMAP instead of POP.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Oct 8, 2010, 07:02 PM
 
Well, Gmail sayeth I've both IMAP and POP enabled?
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
     
ghporter
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Oct 8, 2010, 07:32 PM
 
Turn off IMAP at the server and see what happens. I bet you'll get POP-like performance with Mail.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
besson3c
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Oct 8, 2010, 08:55 PM
 
If you do that though, the messages that are downloaded to the email client will only exist there in a POP3 configuration, unless you instruct it to leave your messages on the server.

Why is having your folder structure between your email client and the web interface mirrored a bad idea? If you really want a separate folder used for your client/web-based trash, you could configure your client to use a local trash folder, that should do the trick...

As you probably know from my sheer repetition, I definitely would recommend IMAP over POP for accessing your mailbox from multiple places. I'd actually be doing the reverse of what ghporter is recommending, disable POP3 on the server end.

Hopefully what I've written here will help, but I'm not clear on why what you've described is problematic...
     
besson3c
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Oct 8, 2010, 08:56 PM
 
If the downloading of your mailbox is what is problematic to you, what is being downloaded is an offline cache. Most clients support disabling this.

I also recommend using Postbox rather than OS X Mail, OS X Mail is a really poor performing client for large mailboxes in particular.
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Oct 9, 2010, 07:38 AM
 
Basically - I don't want my mail client downloading 20k e-mails the first time I open it, and then moving them to the Gmail trash when I delete them in the client.

I'm used to my client having a disconnect with the server in the way that communication between the two ends at the new message showing up in my client. I prefer that.

I don't want my entire 7 year Inbox downloaded, especially when I've already marked every message as read from Gmail, and I don't want them all moved to the trash when I try to delete them from my Inbox in the client.

And I've already tried restoring them to the Inbox in Gmail after letting my client download my entire history - it only results in the client trying to download them all again.
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
     
Cold Warrior
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Oct 9, 2010, 10:59 AM
 
If you use Thunderbird, it offers some age-based sync options. This should give you only the most current messages (read or unread) with the advantages of gmail IMAP: syncing of status read/unread and push notification (using IMAP-IDLE), and received, sent, and drafts stored in gmail online regardless of client (webmail, thunderbird, iphone).

     
besson3c
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Oct 9, 2010, 01:02 PM
 
Yeah, I don't know why your client is wanting to download your entire mailbox every time. It shouldn't be. I use Postbox and it doesn't do that with my GMail account. If you are using OS X Mail, try something less retarded.
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Oct 11, 2010, 12:55 PM
 
Eh, I give up. With both POP3 and IMAP, the client(s) try to download all several thousand e-mails and then trash them on the server when I delete them in the client, only to try to download them all over again when I move them out of the trash and back into the inbox at the client end.

I hate software.

Web mail for me.

Thanks guys.
I like chicken
I like liver
Meow Mix, Meow Mix
Please de-liv-er
     
ghporter
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Oct 11, 2010, 12:59 PM
 
It sounds like Gmail just isn't cooperating with you. Since you're going to be sticking with web mail for at least a while, I'd disable BOTH IMAP and POP access on the Gmail server and leave it that way for a while. I suspect that there's something goofed up in your account's profile, and this is why you're getting the behavior you're seeing.

On a regular mail server, you could get tech support help to clean out and reset your account's configuration, but Gmail doesn't work that way. Instead, you'll probably have to wait a while and let Gmail's own system clean itself out. I don't have any specifics on how it actually works, but I suspect that their data security approach includes backing up both mail and settings pretty regularly. A few backups with only web mail enabled could possibly un-goober the goobered-up setting(s).

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
   
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