Complex hierarchy of Apple Mail mailboxes

[PaulRanger1]

Hello all,

I had to clean install OS X 10.11.3 recently (plus all other installed software, reregistering programs as necessary) and could not import the Time Machine Mail Mailboxes file. I was guided through the lengthy (and ultimately unsuccessful exercise by an Apple Support Senior Advisor). I had to begin creating new mailboxes from scratch, trying to remember the names pf the newly non existent mailbox list.

I have now been able to import the old mailbox list and mailbox contents and attempted to sort through old emails that are still relevant into the newly created and expanded mailbox list.

However, after having created a new mailbox "On My Mac" with a suitable title (e.g. "Mac Support & Forums") and then drag relevant old emails into that single mailbox, Apple Mail starts creating a complicated hierarchy inside that single, simple newly created mailbox. After dragging the relevant emails into "Mac Support & Forums" mailbox, I find that there are 'countless subordinate mailboxes within that one simple mailbox "Mac Support & Forums".

To illustrate, upon opening the new mailbox "Mac Support & Forums", I find it now has subordinate mailbox "6FCC9812-48A6-47D6-B2A6-B7F08E93FCEF"
which contains sub mailbox "Data"
which contains sub mailboxES "0" (plus SIX other sub mailboxes "1" "2" "4" "7" "8" AND "Messages").

Sub mailbox "0", for example, now contains sub mailbox "5"
Sub mailbox "5" now contains sub mailbox "Messages"

This seeming subordinate mailbox creation insanity continues without respite.

Is there a way I can simply create a new, single entity mailbox without it expanding endlessly when I drag emails from other, perhaps former, mailboxes into the new mailbox, please?

Sobbing softly, PaulRanger1.

 

[chscag]

It sounds like you created a new mailbox hierarchy from the mail data base. Instead of restoring from Time Machine it appears you somehow have the data base folders as actual mailboxes. The Apple support folks should have guided you in restoring your original mailboxes. The key to restoring mail from Time Machine is that Mail has to first be opened and running and then Time Machine activated. Selecting a date from which to restore should have worked unless your Time Machine backups were faulty.

Unless you can get Time Machine to work right in restoring your original mail boxes, you're probably going to have to start over.

Is there a way I can simply create a new, single entity mailbox without it expanding endlessly when I drag emails from other, perhaps former, mailboxes into the new mailbox, please?

As I stated above, you can't do it that way because you're going to wind up with a mess that makes no sense. Mail unfortunately is one of the most difficult things to restore using Time Machine. I no longer rely on TM for mail and other certain items. Rather I use CCC which restores correctly but only from the last backup. So that too may have drawbacks.

Sorry I can't be of more help with this.

 

[MacInWin]

Do these nested mailboxes appear in Mail? Or are you referring to the file structure that actually stores the messages for Mail? IF the latter, that's not changeable as it is how the structure of Mail is set up internally. But those subfolders shouldn't be showing in Mail to you, the user.

 

[PaulRanger1]

Thank you MacInWin for your kind reply. In addition to other non Apple software, Apple Mail had not been working reliably in that emails were "received in the Mail "In Box" but were marked "This message has no content". I knew in many instances that that was not correct so I viewed those emails via the "In Box" at my ISP's web site and, sure enough, the content was there as usual. Consequently, an Apple Support Senior Advisor advised me to reinstall OS X 10.11.3 ( and subsequently all other licenced software I had purchased).

After attempting to resolve other post OS X 10.11.3 reinstallation issues, I started to create a fresh Mailbox hierarchy (from memory of the old structure). These new mailboxes were each a simple, non nested mailbox. When I discovered and executed "File/Import Mailboxes", I now had the old mailbox structure (and the saved emails) imported BUT those imported mailboxes suddenly were nested in structure where they had not been, prior to OS X reinstallation. Attempting to drag those saved emails out of the the exhausting nestings within the imported mailboxes led me to ask advice of the forum.

To illustrate, new, non nested mailbox "Forum Advice"mailbox exists under "southernphone.com.au" is empty. Dragging previously saved emails from imported old mailbox is taxing in the extreme.
Imported, previous mailbox "Apple Support, forums et al" (previously under "Imported" now moved manually to "On My Mac") and containing crucial, saved emails is now nested to 9 sub mailboxes, each of which contain further 10 nested mailboxes in total.

I hope my explanation has not increased your confusion in understanding my problem.

Sincerely, PaulRanger1.

 

[MacInWin]

So the mailboxes are in MAIL and not just the file structure behind Mail? In other words, all of this structure shows in the left hand column of Mail? I'm sorry but I'm still having trouble visualizing what you are saying. The 'This message has no content" comes up when there is no text, just an image, as advertisers and spammer use to get past the filters that screen for certain terms.

What you should have done after reinstalling was to have used TM to restore your mails. As chscag said, to do that you open Mail, then click on the TM icon in the Dock and the TM Window opens with Mail as the focus. From there you can restore your mails.

Trying to recreate the structure manually and then dragging emails the way you seem to be doing will lead to chaos. As you have found.

 

[chscag]

I hope my explanation has not increased your confusion in understanding my problem.

Sorry, but it did. As I originally replied, it appears you have the mailboxes setup as they appear in data base format and not from the original naming convention. I'm not sure how you can recover from all this and at the same time retain all your mail with the correct folder hierarchy.

 

[PaulRanger1]

Hello chscag and MacInWin,

Thank you both for your generous advice. I have indeed achieved chaos!

Yes, MacInWin, all of this mailbox structure, both nested (imported) and non nested (post reinstallation) mailboxes appear on the left hand column of Mail. I will try to create a new mailbox structure (hopefully all will be non nested) under "southernphone.com.au" (my ISP) and laboriously open the nested mailboxes (under "On My Mac", one by one and attempt to drag each imported mailbox's contents manually into my newly created, non nested mailbox. If only I could attach a small screenshot .jpg file, you may better grasp a situation I also find confusing in attempting to describe succinctly the mayhem on my Mail screen.

Thank you both again for my kind help.

Sincerely, PaulRanger1.

 

[MacInWin]

Hello chscag and MacInWin,

Thank you both for your generous advice. I have indeed achieved chaos!

Yes, MacInWin, all of this mailbox structure, both nested (imported) and non nested (post reinstallation) mailboxes appear on the left hand column of Mail. I will try to create a new mailbox structure (hopefully all will be non nested) under "southernphone.com.au" (my ISP) and laboriously open the nested mailboxes (under "On My Mac", one by one and attempt to drag each imported mailbox's contents manually into my newly created, non nested mailbox. If only I could attach a small screenshot .jpg file, you may better grasp a situation I also find confusing in attempting to describe succinctly the mayhem on my Mail screen.

Thank you both again for my kind help.

Sincerely, PaulRanger1.

If you have a valid TM backup of the drive from before when you started all of this (before when you re-installed the OS), then I would highly recommend against doing that. You are gong to add chaos to chaos if you continue down this path. That way lies madness!

If you have a good TM backup as I described, your better bet would be to wipe out everything you have done in Mail so far and start over, doing it the correct way. That is, by opening Mail, then starting TM with Mail as the open window and then restoring from the backup before Apple installed the OS. That should put it back to looking like it was, and the underlying file structure will be restored as it was, leaving you in the exact position you were before the installation by Apple. Then when you check for mail, the system should update to bring in all the mail you've received since then.

I'm not sure what you need to do to wipe out everything you've done to get back to a clean Mail. It may be as easy as deleting all the accounts you have on the system now and if they offer the option to delete the field, do that as well. The object is to get rid of EVERYTHING. Then I'd do a reboot, just to be clean, Open Mail, start TM and restore from the backup.

If there are more steps, or a better way, maybe someone will chime in here, but if you don't hear from anyone, try my suggestion before you take the crazy trail to Chaos Town.