I just got a new computer that runs Windows 10. My ISP also just moved to an IMAP mail server. I downloaded Thunderbird email and now when I delete a message on any mobile device, it deletes it from my desktop in box. My last desktop was Windows 7, and once I downloaded messages to my desktop inbox, deleting them from a mobile device had no effect. I know the inbox sync feature is how IMAP works, but I was on the IMAP server for several months with the old Win 7 system, and this issue didn't start until I put the Win 10 computer on line and downloaded Thunderbird to the new system. Ideas?

I don't run Windows, but I do use t-bird on several other operating systems.

Under your account settings, in the sub-category, there is an item "Keep messages in all folders for this account on this computer." Make sure this is checked, after doing so, each time t-bird checks for new messages on the IMAP server, it will download them and keep a local copy. If they are deleted on the server, I don't know if t-bird will delete the local copy too, but I suspect so. In this case, you can create a filter to copy them to another local folder. I also don't know if a message marked "seen" is a candidate for downloading (see below).

You should also have the option, in your other clients to just mark messages as deleted rather than moving them to trash or similar. IMAP servers do not actually remove deleted messages until they are "expunged," so just showing them as deleted reflects actual reality. Some clients auto-expunge either periodically or on application exit.

The "seen database" is actually maintained on the server so this message status should be the same across clients.

I run t-bird and other mail clients on multiple devices on the same set of inboxes so I should know more about the gory details, it has simply never been a problem for me.

"Ideas?" - don't delete messages on your mobile device if you don't want them deleted.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
... now when I delete a message on any mobile device, it deletes it from my desktop in box. ... I know the inbox sync feature is how IMAP works, but ...

I'm curious: Why would you not want it to work that way? To me that was one of the reasons I was so pleased to finally launch IMAP at work, years ago. When I delete a piece of email that means I want it gone.

Btw: It's not really an "inbox sync feature." With IMAP the primary mail store is on the server. Clients may keep a local cache, but that's a client feature.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
... now when I delete a message on any mobile device, it deletes it from my desktop in box. ... I know the inbox sync feature is how IMAP works, but ...

I'm curious: Why would you not want it to work that way? To me that was one of the reasons I was so pleased to finally launch IMAP at work, years ago. When I delete a piece of email that means I want it gone.

Btw: It's not really an "inbox sync feature." With IMAP the primary mail store is on the server. Clients may keep a local cache, but that's a client feature.

I don't feel the need to have every email I need to save on both my phone and tablet. The way it was, all the email I wanted to save resided on my desktop, and only my desktop.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
... now when I delete a message on any mobile device, it deletes it from my desktop in box. ... I know the inbox sync feature is how IMAP works, but ...

I'm curious: Why would you not want it to work that way? To me that was one of the reasons I was so pleased to finally launch IMAP at work, years ago. When I delete a piece of email that means I want it gone.

Btw: It's not really an "inbox sync feature." With IMAP the primary mail store is on the server. Clients may keep a local cache, but that's a client feature.

I don't feel the need to have every email I need to save on both my phone and tablet. The way it was, all the email I wanted to save resided on my desktop, and only my desktop.

Use the folders, Luke StgGold.

One of the worst things you can do is use your inbox as a mail store. I can't tell you the number of times my end-users at work screwed themselves doing that. Keep your inbox as an inbox, and file the stuff away in folders for archival purposes.

It's a new paradigm for many people, but there's nobody I didn't finally convince to give it a try for a while that didn't end up thanking me.

To further complicate matters, when I delete from my desktop inbox the emails disappear on my phone, but stay on my tablet. Isn't the deletion supposed to be synchronized between devices? It's a Samsung tablet running Android, so why is it holding onto the emails?

I have my desktop, laptop, and android phone all set up to be able to read emails. the first two use Thunderbird whereas the phone uses the native android email client. Only the desktop, and not the laptop or smartphone, is set to delete emails after downloading from the ISP. I set that to one day after downloading as my desktop is always ON and automatically downloads mail. I still want to be able to see mail on my phone or laptop in the interim.

For Thunderbird, go to Account Settings, and then Server Settings. You'll find one that allows you to leave messages on the server for x amount of time or until you manually delete them. This is the key to doing what I've done above.

my home pc is pop-3, all other devices, cell phones + laptops are imap for reasons mentioned above.

if traveling, i can delete junk/items i don't want, off the cell phone + laptop & what i want will be on the pc when i get home.

One of my problems is my email stopped working a while back. When I called Comcast they told me the problem was they switched from a POP3 server to an IMAP setup. I didn't have much of a choice.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
To further complicate matters, when I delete from my desktop inbox the emails disappear on my phone, but stay on my tablet. Isn't the deletion supposed to be synchronized between devices?

Again: I think you misunderstand how IMAP works.

With POP3 all email is usually downloaded from the server, and removed from the server, every time an email client retrieves new email.

Often clients can be configured to tell servers not to remove from the server when they fetch it, thus leaving it available for other POP3 clients. (I recommend not doing this in the strongest possible terms, mainly because what can then happen is email, once read and deleted by all clients, does not appear on any, any more, but is still taking space on the server. Next thing you know you can't receive email any more because you've used up your server space.)

With IMAP email is usually left on the server, and read from the server. That's why the same email is usually available to all clients. That's why when one client says "delete this," it disappears for all, and why when one client moves an email to a folder, it's moved for all.

However, email clients may, and often do, cache local copies. I suppose it's possible some email clients can be configured to give those local copies "precedence," such that copies removed from the server cause them to remain on the client. That strikes me as a singularly bad idea, but the software application universe is riddled with bad ideas.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
It's a Samsung tablet running Android, so why is it holding onto the emails?

I can't help you with that. I dumped Android a couple years ago. But anybody that could possibly help you would need to know what email client software you're using. There are dozens-upon-dozens of them for Android, last I knew, incl. Google's own email clients and, IIRC, Samsung's own.

I'm using Samsung Android 6.0.04.6. It came with the tablet. I can't find any way to change server deletion settings.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
I'm using Samsung Android 6.0.04.6. It came with the tablet. I can't find any way to change server deletion settings.

Does the email client application have an "About" thing? Lacking that: Can you post an image of its icon?

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:
I'm using Samsung Android 6.0.04.6. It came with the tablet. I can't find any way to change server deletion settings.

Does the email client application have an "About" thing? Lacking that: Can you post an image of its icon?

I'll post some screen shots tomorrow.

The email 'about' info:


My email icon:

Which one's the email client app icon? The one in the middle of the lower row? If so: I don't believe that's the stock Android mail app. Nor is it the Gmail app. I suspect it's Samsung's app.

If it is Samsung's app I would suggest the solution to your problem is stop using it. I cannot make a recommendation on what to use, because I've been off Android for a couple years, but the most widely-recommended app used to be K-9 Mail. That's what I used to use.

If you have local copies of email in the Samsung (assumed) app you wish to keep you may have a problem, because to stop using it you'll have to deconfigure or disable it. Otherwise it'll probably sit there fetching email.

Personally, I would not use Samsung apps for anything. Either the stock Android apps or one of the highly-rated ones off the Play Store that suits your needs.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Which one's the email client app icon? The one in the middle of the lower row? If so: I don't believe that's the stock Android mail app. Nor is it the Gmail app. I suspect it's Samsung's app.

If it is Samsung's app I would suggest the solution to your problem is stop using it. I cannot make a recommendation on what to use, because I've been off Android for a couple years, but the most widely-recommended app used to be K-9 Mail. That's what I used to use.

If you have local copies of email in the Samsung (assumed) app you wish to keep you may have a problem, because to stop using it you'll have to deconfigure or disable it. Otherwise it'll probably sit there fetching email.

Personally, I would not use Samsung apps for anything. Either the stock Android apps or one of the highly-rated ones off the Play Store that suits your needs.

It's the Samsung app and it's the white envelope on the red square. I'll look into using something different.

Wondering if & how this was resolved.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Wondering if & how this was resolved.

After some tweaking all the e-mail programs are syncd. I'll just have to learn to live with IMAP.

quote:

Originally posted by SgtGold:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Wondering if & how this was resolved.

After some tweaking all the e-mail programs are syncd. I'll just have to learn to live with IMAP.

Like I wrote, earlier: Learn to create and use folders. Don't use your INBOX as a long-term mail store.

Trust me: Once you get used to the new paradigm you'll look back on the way you used to use email as primitive.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Like I wrote, earlier: Learn to create and use folders.
Don't use your INBOX as a long-term mail store.

I've had clients that would store their files in "Deleted" folder but not permanently delete or clear them out.