looking for mac email client that allows labels to be used on the Gmail model

Dear all

My employers have forced me to relocate my emails from a gmail account to an exchange account, hence I can't access them via the gmail web interface any longer.

Currently I am using Apple Mail but I am particularly missing one thing about Gmail, namely: labels.

I love that in gmail I can label a single email with multiple named labels, that appear at the top of each email. I love that those labels, including sub-labels, appear in a structure on the left-hand side of the window very much like a folder structure, allowing me in effect to have a single email in multiple folders, e.g. "Personal", "Family history", "Emails from mum", "Sent mail" etc.

Two questions:

1. Is there an app that will allow me to do that on my mac with emails stored in my work exchange account? I get the impression that Airmail might. On the other hand, it looks as though Airmail might offer that only for non-exchange accounts. Can anyone shed some light on this, or mention others that offer labelling on the Gmail model?

2. I understand that I might be able to get close to the Gmail model even in Apple Mail by copying emails to more than one folder. Is that true? I tried to do this earlier, to experiment, but it seemed that when I tried to copy to third folder, the email was removed from the second folder. Also, are these copies like aliases or links, if you like, or are they full-blooded emails, meaning (for instance) that if I tried to search they would all show up?

VERY many thanks in advance.

All best

David

Given that gmail is a far better product, in my view (certainly more robust) that exchange I wonder what their reasons are? My wife's employer has made it compulsory that all memory sticks must now be encrypted using Bitlocker for 'security' making it impossible to use them to transfer data to others, give off-site presentations etc. When questioned they suggested sending files by email, Dropbox or transfer using DVD. They failed to see the ridiculousness of their 'security' policy. Is this another example or corporate uselessness?

David

Didn’t you post a similar question recently or am I mixing you up with someone else?

One of our members, Patrick, came up with an app that did most if not all of the things you mentioned including labels. This was in the last seven days or so.

As it didn’t affect me personally, I didn’t keep track of the thread, but if you use the search function with the same header or search under pm-r (that’s Patrick’s sign in name) you should come across the thread.

Ian

IWT said:

David

Didn’t you post a similar question recently or am I mixing you up with someone else?

One of our members, Patrick, came up with an app that did most if not all of the things you mentioned including labels. This was in the last seven days or so.

As it didn’t affect me personally, I didn’t keep track of the thread, but if you use the search function with the same header or search under pm-r (that’s Patrick’s sign in name) you should come across the thread.

Ian

Click to expand...

I believe you are quite correct Ian, and I believe it was dtbain (David) that the earlier discussion was concerned about.

And while I'm here, I don't know if the fact that at least five different colors(labels) can be allocated to incoming emails using a Mail.app Rule in the earlier discussion in case that helps.


EDIT:
It seems the previous somewhat related subject is here, but I thought the problem had been solved or I don't completely understand the new quandary if there actually is one.
http://www.mac-forums.com/macos-ope...mail-move-emails-typing-name-mail-folder.html





- Patrick
======

Yes, it is corporate uselessness, though I think there's also new legislation in the UK which might have something to do with it. In short, if an email with confidential information about a student (I work at a University) is illegally accessed, then if it is not on the university's server, then the university can be fined for something akin to negligence -- apparently I can be too.

Bottom line: I've received my orders!

d

Hi Patrick and Ian

My other post was similar but different!

It was a request for auto-complete rather than drag and drop as a method of moving emails from inbox to folder. The app recommended did indeed provided precisely that, and has transformed my experience of Apple Mail -- so thanks again.

The current request, however, is for a mac app (either a plug-in for Apple Mail or, more likely, an alternative to Apple Mail) that allows one to use labels in pretty much exactly the way they're used in gmail.

In short: in gmail, you can create hundreds of labels and sublabels; they are displayed in something akin to a folder structure; labels attach to conversations rather than indvidual emails; labels are visible at the top of the conversation, etc. The key thing is that one and the same email can be in more than one "folder" at one time, which I find incredibly helpful.

Since posting my latest, I have discovered that one can copy emails to folders in Apple Mail, so I can achieve something like the above, and actually the app you suggested for the other feature is helpful here too, since it allows quick copying as well as quick moving, though it remains clunkier than the gmail interface.

Anyway, in short, I would be interested in the desktop mac app that allowed one to access one's Exchange emails in a way as similar to gmail's as possible!

All best

d

Anyway, in short, I would be interested in the desktop mac app that allowed one to access one's Exchange emails in a way as similar to gmail's as possible!

Click to expand...

I seems like you've almost got things working as you want, especially if you use Mail's Labels, and some special Rules and utilize "Smart Mailboxes" a bit more and you should have things pretty well aced.

Anyway, good luck with it and I don't know of any other magic bullet solution.




- Patrick
======

Have you looked at Microsoft Outlook?

Have you looked at Microsoft Outlook?

Click to expand...

And if so, have you looked here???:
https://www.lifewire.com/outlook-for-mac-download-1170618




- Patrick
======

Yes I have looked at Outlook -- I have it -- but it seems no more label-friendly than Apple Mail, is that right?

d

Thanks Patrick, I think you're right that there's no magic bullet (I've googled a lot and airmail seems the most promising, so I'll try that sometime, but my guess is that it doesn't do quite what I want, esp given my account is an Exchange account). But I don't think rules or smart mailboxes will help, I am afraid. What I want is a hierarchically structured system of multiple labels as in gmail, allowing one email to live in multiple "folders" (i.e. with many labels). It's true I guess that one email can be in more than one smart maibox at one time, but I don't think they can be hieararchically structured (?) and one cannot add emails to them manually (membership requires meeting the criteria in a rule).

All best

d

What I want is a hierarchically structured system of multiple labels as in gmail, allowing one email to live in multiple "folders" (i.e. with many labels). It's true I guess that one email can be in more than one smart maibox at one time, but I don't think they can be hieararchically structured (?) and one cannot add emails to them manually (membership requires meeting the criteria in a rule).

Click to expand...

Well, keep googling with websearches and there may be something that will work for you, but I'm not sure what you mean by "hierarchically structured" but it sounds impressive.

PS: I'm not sure, nor a user of Mail's "Smart Mailboxes", but I'm led to believe that it may be able to do more than you think it can. Especially when Rules are added to your email sorting.




- Patrick
======

I mean master labels/folders with sub-folders/labels, which themselves have sub-folders/labels and so on. Just as with folders in Apple Mail or indeed in Finder.

d