[dabigkahuna]

Okay, I have a @me.com email address with iCloud to sync between my computer and iPhone, but I just found out I can make up to three aliases. Never done that before so I have some questions about how alias addresses work, at least with Apple's system.

What I would hope it would do is this:

1. I send someone an email using an alias.

2. When they get it, it not only shows it came from the alias address but also that they can't examine it in some way to get my real address.

3. Next, when they reply to my email, it still shows at my receiving end, the alias, not my real address.

4. Finally, if I reply to them again, it still shows it as my alias address. I think I saw someone else using an alias long ago and when they did a reply, the return address defaulted to their real address. They could manually change it to the alias, but sooner or later I'd probably forget - defeating the purpose of the alias.

So, how does this work with the Apple iCloud address aliases?

[crazy4laptops]

When one has multiple email addresses (like me) we usually tend to use a mail client like Apple Mail or Outlook, so you're right with the accidental reply with the wrong email address. I've done it before too.

If you want to be able to test for an alias address, you would need to set up your own email server and block SMTP Authenticated Relay and then have a friend send to you from an alias address. This works when sending from one mail server (Gmail) while looking like you are coming from (me.com or at&t) Otherwise, you will not be able to tell if the email address is an alias. Why? Because the email address is legit for sending and receiving, it's just sharing a pooled mailbox.

With aliases, its akin to having a home mailbox, a work mailbox, and a P.O. Box but all the mail is delivered to a central location.
home for bills
work for work
P.O. for spam/web signups


Just set your default address to your alias, and go from there! Are you Mac or PC?

[dabigkahuna]

crazy4laptops, on 01 November 2011 - 11:24 AM, said:

When one has multiple email addresses (like me) we usually tend to use a mail client like Apple Mail or Outlook, so you're right with the accidental reply with the wrong email address. I've done it before too.

If you want to be able to test for an alias address, you would need to set up your own email server and block SMTP Authenticated Relay and then have a friend send to you from an alias address. This works when sending from one mail server (Gmail) while looking like you are coming from (me.com or at&t) Otherwise, you will not be able to tell if the email address is an alias. Why? Because the email address is legit for sending and receiving, it's just sharing a pooled mailbox.

With aliases, its akin to having a home mailbox, a work mailbox, and a P.O. Box but all the mail is delivered to a central location.
home for bills
work for work
P.O. for spam/web signups

Just set your default address to your alias, and go from there! Are you Mac or PC?

Mac.

Not sure I follow all you wrote (anything beyond basic email has always been a weak area for me). I have been messing a little with an alias the past couple days without getting the result I want.

But, assuming I can set the default address to the alias (haven't checked yet), that doesn't really solve the problem completely. I think I'd want to use all three aliases - one for family, one for work, and probably another for friends.

A single default alias address wouldn't solve that situation. It would only work if I was just using one email alias, if I understand you correctly.

[dabigkahuna]

crazy4laptops:

I may have completely screwed up. I just ran another test today, using an alias. First I sent from my alias to another email address I have that isn't a me.com address. Then I did a standard reply. I went back and forth a total of 4 times and the "reply" address was always the alias - exactly what I want to have happen. Yet I know when I tested before, I quickly ended up with the real address being the "reply" one. I'm not sure, but I think my mistake was I may have done the back and forth replies between my alias and my real me.com address. Of course, that would never normally be done.

At least I hope that's what happened because it would me this alias thing may work just fine. I'm going to exchange some emails with a friend of mine to be sure.

Keeping my fingers crossed - thanks for the help.

[dabigkahuna]

Well, I could use some more help.

It seems my aliases are working - giving the alias address in all the responses like I want.

But I'm running into another issue - must less critical, but still, I'd like to avoid it.

With my other addresses, I have the iPhone accounts set to NEVER delete from the server. But when I get the message on the computer and delete it, I want it gone from the server. The computer is my main storage for mail so it controls these things.

But it seems, with these iCloud addresses - main and alias - if I delete the message from the computer OR the iPhone, I lose it instantly from both! I can keep the version on the computer only if I first drag it to another folder, but that won't solve the problem of accidentally deleting from the phone and having it deleted from both. I can't find a setting on the iPhone for the iCloud addresses to get around this.

Any ideas?

[smax013]

dabigkahuna, on 03 November 2011 - 09:40 PM, said:

Well, I could use some more help.

It seems my aliases are working - giving the alias address in all the responses like I want.

But I'm running into another issue - must less critical, but still, I'd like to avoid it.

With my other addresses, I have the iPhone accounts set to NEVER delete from the server. But when I get the message on the computer and delete it, I want it gone from the server. The computer is my main storage for mail so it controls these things.

But it seems, with these iCloud addresses - main and alias - if I delete the message from the computer OR the iPhone, I lose it instantly from both! I can keep the version on the computer only if I first drag it to another folder, but that won't solve the problem of accidentally deleting from the phone and having it deleted from both. I can't find a setting on the iPhone for the iCloud addresses to get around this.

Any ideas?

First, as you noted, email aliases will work such that once you send an email with the alias or someone sends a message to the alias, as long as you reply and they reply, the email alias will be all that they see. The only time that might change would be if you PHYSICALLY change what address you are using to send, which requires a conscious effort on your part...and will depend on what you use to access your email. The only other way that something could get screwed up would be if you send the message initially from the wrong email address. An email alias for MobileMe and iCloud (I assume iCloud's email aliases work the same as MobileMe) is basically like another email address just like getting a separate email address through Gmail or such except that it uses the same "mailbox"/account as your primary iCloud email address. So, as long as you select that alias initially as the email address you want to send a message from, THAT is the email address everyone will see when they get the message and when they reply to you.

Now, as to the deleting, ALL MobileMe/iCloud email accounts are IMAP email accounts. This means that when you delete a message from one device, it will be removed from the server and from all other devices that access that email account. When you delete a message, it will usually get moved to some "deleted" or "trash" mailbox on your account (kind of like how when you delete a file on the Mac or in Windows it goes to the "Trash" or "Recycle Bin" until you "empty" the "Trash" or "Recycle Bin"). And it will sit there until the first device that accesses the account tells the system to "permanently" delete that message. Assuming you use the built-in Mail client to access your email on a Mac, both the Mac and iPhone have the ability to choose when you want the message permanently deleted...never, 1 day old messages, 1 week old messages, 1 month old messages, and for the Mac Mail client only when you quit Mail. So, if you are using the Mac OS Mail client, then you can set the iPhone to permanently delete messages either never or when they are 1 month old to make sure that you have enough time to deal with them on your Mac at a later time. But, that is only the temporary solution.

If you want those messages to ONLY be on the Mac but deleted off the iPhone, then you will need to create "local" folders in Mail on the Mac and move any messages you want gone from the iPhone to those local folders and delete those messages from the Inbox. Once you do that, all messages in the "local" folders will ONLY be on the Mac...and won't be on the server or your iPhone.

[dabigkahuna]

I've been doing some experimenting. I'm no doubt behind the times, but I looked at "Rules" - first tried "Moving" to a special folder, but then I lost the sync if I deleted from the computer. So, I tried "Copy" instead. Haven't tested, but I think that will let me delete from the normal inbox - thus remove from the iPhone too - and then still have them all in the other folder where deleting only affects what is in that folder.

At least that's what I'm hoping. Does make me delete things twice so not ideal.

Oh, btw, since you mentioned iMap, some time ago the Apple folks had me change gmail from a Pop account to iMap. But near as I can tell, the only way to permanently get rid of a message is to go to the gmail website and delete it there. I don't use gmail normally, so I may not recall this correctly, but I think if I deleted something, it would come back if done on the computer. Rather annoying.

[smax013]

dabigkahuna, on 05 November 2011 - 10:36 AM, said:

I've been doing some experimenting. I'm no doubt behind the times, but I looked at "Rules" - first tried "Moving" to a special folder, but then I lost the sync if I deleted from the computer. So, I tried "Copy" instead. Haven't tested, but I think that will let me delete from the normal inbox - thus remove from the iPhone too - and then still have them all in the other folder where deleting only affects what is in that folder.

I am assuming you are talking about using the right-click popup menu on Mail for Mac. If so, then the "Move To" command will literally MOVE the email message to the new location, while "Copy To" will copy it. If that new location is a LOCAL folder (i.e. a "Mailbox" that you create under the "On Your Mac" section as Mail calls them "mailboxes" instead of "folders"), then using the "Move To" command will put a copy of the message in that local folder that will ONLY be on your Mac and REMOVE it from the "Inbox" of the iCloud account and thus remove it from the server and all other connected devices such as your iPhone, but it will remain in a "Trash" folder until you have something (whether Mail on the Mac or Mail on your iPhone) set to remove it from the "Trash" folder. If you use the "Copy To" command, then it will place a copy in the local folder but leave original where it is.

Basically, the idea is that if you want it to ONLY be on the Mac, then you need to MOVE the email message to a local folder. If you leave it in the Inbox or move it to some other "online" folder (you can create OTHER folders for your iCloud account that will sync with the server...this allows you to get it OUT of the Inbox, but still have it accessible on all devices if you want), then it WILL sync with the server and all devices that access that email account.

Now, rules are for setting up automated actions. You can use them to automatically do things to messages when they arrive. For example, I have a rule setup that sends all messages that I get from a particular email list that I participate on to a particular folder. That rule will automatically MOVE all those messages to the other folder (which happens to be another "online" folder for an IMAP, not MobileMe or iCloud, account that I have. But, you can rules delete messages, flag messages, move or copy messages, reply or forward the message, and a bunch of other options. FWIW, MobileMe accounts (and I would assume iCloud accounts as well) also have "server based" rules. There are rules that will be performed on the SERVER before you access the messages on your Mac or any other device. You setup those rules by way of the webmail interface. If you want automated actions and don't tend to leave your Mac running with Mail open all the time, then you might want to do server based rules instead.

It might help if you give a more specific/detailed explanation of what you are specifically trying to do. And also confirm whether you are using Mail on the Mac to access your email or if you are purely using the webmail interface.

Quote

At least that's what I'm hoping. Does make me delete things twice so not ideal.

Oh, btw, since you mentioned iMap, some time ago the Apple folks had me change gmail from a Pop account to iMap. But near as I can tell, the only way to permanently get rid of a message is to go to the gmail website and delete it there. I don't use gmail normally, so I may not recall this correctly, but I think if I deleted something, it would come back if done on the computer. Rather annoying.

Gmail is a little strange. They have an archive functions that makes permanently getting rid of any message when using an IMAP email client a little bit of pain in the rear.

[dabigkahuna]

I'm talking about the "rules" in the preferences. I set one of my addresses (for experimenting) to COPY the me.com mail to another folder - thus it is there twice. One in the regular inbox where, I hope, if I delete it on the computer, it also is deleted from the phone. And if I delete from the phone, the one in the normal inbox on the computer will be deleted. But I'll still have all of them in the other folder. Not ideal, but I think it will at least work - haven't had time for serious testing and I want to adjust the rule a little - I think I can set it to just look at all me.com addresses rather than set one up for each one (and aliases).

> If you leave it in the Inbox or move it to some other "online" folder (you can create OTHER folders for your iCloud account that will sync with the server...this allows you to get it OUT of the Inbox, but still have it accessible on all devices if you want), then it WILL sync with the server and all devices that access that email account. <

Wait a minute - you mean rather than creating a folder under the "On My Mac" heading, I can do the same thing, but put it under the "Inbox" heading, have the rule MOVE it there, and it will still sync between the iphone and computer? But does that mean if I delete from the phone, it would still delete from the computer? If so, it doesn't help.

> It might help if you give a more specific/detailed explanation of what you are specifically trying to do. And also confirm whether you are using Mail on the Mac to access your email or if you are purely using the webmail interface. <

Normally I would not be using the webmail interface. I get mail on my computer and iphone (all the same accounts). If I get an iPad, that would get the mail too. I use the Apple Mail app.

I want to get all the me.com mail on all devices.

If I read mail on the iphone and delete it, I want it to still be on the computer when I get home.

If I delete from the computer, I'd like it deleted from everything.

Stuff I save on the computer will still be deleted from the iphone either the same day or, in rare cases, a week later if I need the specific email's info available.

[smax013]

dabigkahuna, on 05 November 2011 - 07:43 PM, said:

Wait a minute - you mean rather than creating a folder under the "On My Mac" heading, I can do the same thing, but put it under the "Inbox" heading, have the rule MOVE it there, and it will still sync between the iphone and computer? But does that mean if I delete from the phone, it would still delete from the computer? If so, it doesn't help.

When you create a new "mailbox" in Mail on the Mac by selecting "New Mailbox..." from the Mailbox menu, you get a dialog box that will open up and have pulldown menu labeled "Location" that looks like this:



If you click on the pulldown menu, you will have a list of "sections" that includes "On My Mac" (which will be "local" folders that are ONLY on that Mac) and any IMAP accounts that you have. If you select anything under the "On My Mac" section, then it will be a local folder and anything stored in that local folder will ONLY be on that Mac. If you select any of the other sections (which are your various IMAP based accounts), then it will be an IMAP folder and anything in that folder will be synced to the server and all other devices that access that email account.

Now, keep in mind that generally only your Inbox will automatically be synced on all devices. So, if you create an IMAP folder for you iCloud account that you move stuff to, those messages will not automatically sync to your iPhone. You will ONLY see those messages (i.e. have them sync to your iPhone) if you switch to that folder. IMAP clients are designed so that most IMAP folders will not actively sync with the server unless you actually open up that folder. So, to go back to my example of that folder for my email list service, those messages are not downloaded to my iPhone unless I actively switch to that email list folder that I have my Mac move those messages to.

Quote

> It might help if you give a more specific/detailed explanation of what you are specifically trying to do. And also confirm whether you are using Mail on the Mac to access your email or if you are purely using the webmail interface. <

Normally I would not be using the webmail interface. I get mail on my computer and iphone (all the same accounts). If I get an iPad, that would get the mail too. I use the Apple Mail app.

I want to get all the me.com mail on all devices.

If I read mail on the iphone and delete it, I want it to still be on the computer when I get home.

If I delete from the computer, I'd like it deleted from everything.

Stuff I save on the computer will still be deleted from the iphone either the same day or, in rare cases, a week later if I need the specific email's info available.

To a large degree, an IMAP account will not work they way you want. IMAP is designed such that you have the same thing on all devices. The idea is that if you are out and about, it would give you the ability to find some message from Bob from marketing that he sent 1 week ago if you wanted to.

Basically, the closest way to do what you want is to create a local folder(s) on your Mac that you will store anything that you want to keep on the computer but want to remove from the iPhone. When you get a message and read it on the iPhone and want to keep it on the Mac but remove it from the iPhone, then you will need to NOT delete it when you read it on the iPhone. When you get home, you then MOVE the file from the Inbox to the local folder and delete it from the Inbox. This will then remove it from the iPhone completely (immediately or later depending on your settings...but it will be gone from the Inbox right away) and from the Inbox on the Mac, but it will still be stored in the local folder on the Mac. This is the best you are going to be able to do to my knowledge with an IMAP account.

[dabigkahuna]

My first attempt at adding the mailbox (folder to me) was with the "On my Mac" option.

Looking over it just now, I noticed a "smart mailbox option". Selected it and then created the settings so it would show all the mail to my various me.com addresses.

Then I selected one of those messages on my iphone and deleted it - it vanished from the regular inbox as well as the smart mailbox so that isn't going to work for me since it has the same problem as just leaving things in the inbox.

Oh well, I think I'll try the approach I was experimenting with - created a folder "On My Mac" and set rules to COPY all the email to a me.com address there. Yeah, I'll have the same mail - until I read it - in two places on my computer, but it eliminates the accidental deleting from the phone and the computer.

Yeah, I could try to dig things out of the trash in such cases, but I could forget what messages I needed to retrieve.

As I said, I rarely keep messages on the phone. Maybe I should rethink that!

Well, at least I understand more about this mail stuff! Thanks.