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Under Big Sur auto-expand of mailbox folders doesn't work

In previous versions of Apple Mail, I could file an email by dragging it to the mailbox list and hovering over a nested folder. The folders would automagically expand and let me drop the email into one of the subfolders. Then the subfolders would revert, showing only the main folder. It was an efficient thing that saved space and time, now it's apparently gone.

Or, is it?

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Feb 16, 2021 7:06 AM

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8 replies

Feb 18, 2021 12:19 PM in response to VA3MTO

Hi VA3MTO,


It sounds like you're not able to move emails to a folder by dragging and dropping at this time, is that right? We'd like to see how we can help.


What happens when you try to drag an email to a folder now? Do you receive any errors?


Are you able to move emails using the steps outlined under the "Move emails" part of this page? Move or copy emails in Mail on Mac


In the meantime, you can find some great information on orgranizing your emails and Mail folders here: Organize email on your Mac


Thanks!

Feb 18, 2021 1:07 PM in response to VA3MTO

Hi and thanks for replying.

I can move mail items to a folder by dragging and dropping. It's dragging to a folder hierarchy I'm asking about. Let's suppose I have folder 'A' on my Mac, containing sub-folders A1, A2 and A3 (in Apple Mail, the folders are called mailboxes, but let's use the term folder for clarity). In its unexpanded state, I see only folder A in the mailbox list. It has a greater-than character to the left ( > ) indicating there are sub-folders. Prior to Big Sur, I could grab an email from the displayed list and drag it over folder A which, after a few seconds, would auto-expand to show subfolders A1, A2 and A3. I could then position it over folder A3 and drop it there. Then folder A would revert to its original, unexpanded, view in the mail list. With Big Sur, I need to firstly expand mailbox A manually, so the mail list shows the sub-mailboxes, then I drag the email and drop it in A3. This Big Sur method is less efficient.


Is there a way to get back the auto-expand feature described above?

Under Big Sur auto-expand of mailbox folders doesn't work

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