Feeling Like An Idiot How The... Do You Empty The Junk Mail Folder In Mail

[t.allyn]

I've clicked erase deleted items when the Junk folder is selected and the junk is still there. What am I doing wrong?

Secondly "Mail" is the ugliest piece of mail email software I've ever seen and not very intuitive IMO.

 

[Slydude]

Try this and see if it clears things up. I'm assuming that you have the Mail program in the typical three pane view which has panes for the mailboxes, lost of messages in a given box, and message content in the last pane.

1. Right Click the mailbox you want to empty.
2. About half way down the list of items in the context menu that appears is an option to erase the box.

Alternate method that I use when I forget to right click:

1. Click the mailbox to empty from the first pane.
2. Click in the second pane and press command A to select all messages.
3. Press Delete

 

[t.allyn]

Try this and see if it clears things up. I'm assuming that you have the Mail program in the typical three pane view which has panes for the mailboxes, lost of messages in a given box, and message content in the last pane.

1. Right Click the mailbox you want to empty.
2. About half way down the list of items in the context menu that appears is an option to erase the box.

Alternate method that I use when I forget to right click:

1. Click the mailbox to empty from the first pane.
2. Click in the second pane and press command A to select all messages.
3. Press Delete

When I select the box and right click the only option that could work is "Erase Deleted Items." When I click on that nothing happens when the box selected is the Junk. I works when I am in the Trash box, but not in Junk.

Command + A works though so I guess I'll just use that.

 

[MacInWin]

The reason that "Erase Delete items" doesn't do anything is that they are NOT deleted, just marked as junk. Junk is not the Trash, it's just a folder called Junk. So you have to delete them, then Erase Deleted Items will empty the Trash folder. I use the CMD-A and Delete, then Erase Deleted Items empties the trash for me.

 

[dtravis7]

You are not looking close. Right click on either junk or Deleted. There is a selection ERASE Junk Mail. Click that. here is a pic.

If anyone tries to say that option is not there, I have been using it since 10.3 Panther and every OSX since then.

 

[MacInWin]

Heh! "None so blind...." Never saw that before! Glad it wasn't a poisonous snake...

 

[harryb2448]

Junk Mail is what you mark as Junk and from then Mail moves that and similar mail to the Junk file without you needing to read it. Then go to the tool bar Mailbox > Erase Junk mail and a little window will pop up to get your okay. This of course assumes you are using a reasonably new operating system which you did not share with us. Mail is great and it may pay to learn how it operates.


https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204093