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Mail display of flags in list of emails doesn't work anymore in Big Sur

Mail allows you to set a flag (in various colors) on individual emails. But the display of the mailbox in general doesn't show those flags, you have to open up the individual email to see it.


In past versions, you could look down the list of emails in the box and quickly see which ones were flagged. How can I turn that column back on?

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 1, 2021 1:27 PM

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10 replies

Sep 1, 2021 5:54 PM in response to PRP_53

Apple Mail. In the past, with Catalina, when you looked at a mailbox, the flags for flagged emails was in the far left,most column. That column has vanished in Big Sur.


For example I flagged the message from Apple Support about this topic -- but you can't see the flag in teh standard display.



Sep 5, 2021 12:01 PM in response to Mikael

There is a "Flags" column in my version of Mail on Big Sur 11.5.2 (Column Layout). It wasn't there by default so I had to manually add it by right clicking on the column header, which pops up a menu with a list of columns.


On the other hand I don't see any column called "Importance" so I am a bit puzzled. What version of Big Sur are you using?

Sep 2, 2021 1:51 PM in response to PRP_53

Yes, that's true -- I was using Column view as I have always done for many years now. Apple has apparently removed the ability to select which columns are to appear, although they do let you reorganize the order of the columns.


The effect of this change is to render flags essentially useless. What I want is what I've always had, which is the ability to see my entire list of messages with the flagged ones shown as well. I understand that I can use the Flagged "smart mailbox" option to display only/all flagged messages, but that has no value for me.


The work-around is to use Importance as a flag, for that column does appear in the general list. I've moved it to the far left so that it mimics what I used to have with flags.


Dumb move, Apple. How hard would it have been to make Flagged as a column?


Sep 5, 2021 12:07 PM in response to TBlarm

Bingo!! That did it, thank you very much.


For your question, if you don't see Importance in your column line up, go into Mail, select the View option from the banner menu, and then select Importance to be displayed. It may appear in the far right column, but you can drag it to the left if you like. (Oddly, when I added the Flags column, it appeared in the far left immediately.)

Mail display of flags in list of emails doesn't work anymore in Big Sur

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