Mail App File For One Account Missing - But The Account Works

[PGB1]

Hi All,
A few days ago, the smtp list on my MacBook Pro running 10.11.6 disappeared. When I had trouble adding one account's smtp back, thanks to a suggestion from Rod, I deleted and re-added the Apple Mail accounts. (Thank You Again Rod!) It wasn't the one discussed below.

After all the mail accounts were working-
I looked at User Name - Library - Mail -V3 one of the accounts was not there. I looked in my backups on Time Machine & a clone. The account is not there. I looked in Keychain Access and the account is not there either. (It is an IMAP gmail account. I have two other IMAP gmail & some POP not gmail which are in the lists.)

What is weird is that the account works!

I'm just curious where the files for these messages is located on the Mac, if at all.
If they are not on the Mac, how does the account still work ?

Thanks For Educating Me!
Paul

[ferrarr]

You may have to look in the gmail settings for that account online. Maybe there is a setting, in that account, that is different from your other gmail accounts? Since macOS Mail is working properly for your other accounts, I would think the issue is with gmail.

[PGB1]

Hello Bob & Thank You for taking time to reply with a good suggestion. I appreciate your help!

In Safari, while logged in to Google I opened Settings for the G-Mail account which is not in User Name - Library - Mail - V3
In a different browser, I opened another G-Mail account & compared settings for each tab. (Google would not let me open two mail accounts at the same time in Safari.)

Everything matches. Next, I repeated for every G-Mail account. All match exactly.

For fun (torture?) I looked in Users Name - Library - Mail - V3 again. Now there are two G-Mail addresses which are not in Library. (Huh?)

Just to verify that the mail box messages are actually on the computer somewhere (versus being downloaded each time Mail is opened), I turned off the network and opened Apple Mail. All messages received, sent & trash are present.

I sure am curious about where the data that is normally in Users Name - Library - Mail - V3 is located on this computer.
Crazy Isn't It?

Thanks Again For Helping!
Paul

[MacInWin]

Paul, under V3 should be a lot of folders with long numeric name. Something like CC9F8071-3E0D-4E4D-8A40-94CDEB6D9858, or similar. Under that folder is a structure of a subfolder named Data with subfolders with numbers as names. The depth varies. Eventually you get to folders named "Attachments" and "Messages" where the actual email messages (and attachments) are stored. Also under the V3 should be a folder named "Mailboxes" that has mailboxes created from either the mail server information or from your imports of previous email messages. Under this is a similar numeric structure of folders and subfolders until eventually you get to "Attachments" and "Messages" again. In my system, where V3 is now V6, there is no reference at all to my current email provider. I suspect that information is buried in a plist somewhere and the email messages are stored in one of the numbered folders. Where? I have no idea. But all of that is to say that your current messages are probably in one or more of the numerically named subfolders. And without your name appearing on it. How does it work? Again, I have no idea.

[PGB1]

Thanks Jake for taking time to explain in detail.
I explored around and, sure enough, eventually I found the folder for the mystery account.

From your explanation, it seems that one cannot simply save a single folder to have a backup of a account's mail. The idea behind me finding this was, if one mail account gets wrecked, to be able to go to either Time Machine or my offsite backup and restore only one mail account. It seems a wise person would restore the entire Mail folder.

Thanks Again Jake & Bob. I sure appreciate your help!
Enjoy This Day!
Paul