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Mail.app and selected sending account Apps
I had just recently added a Gmail account to Mail.app (using Gmail's POP3 support) and suddenly found that all of my newly composed e-mails were being sent, by default, from the Gmail account. After searching the web, finding and trying various hints (about dragging and dropping accounts in the Preferences window to set the default order, making changes to com.apple.mail.plist, etc.) and still not having any success, I found the very simple solution to the problem.

It turns out that Mail.app was trying to be "helpful." When composing new messages, the selected message in my Inbox had been sent to my Gmail account, so Mail.app was automatically selecting the Gmail account for any new messages created while that message was selected. As soon as I selected a message sent to a different account and composed a new message, the sending account immediately changed to reflect that. I tested this with all three accounts (two IMAP, one POP3) that I currently use with Mail.app. I found in each and every instance, Mail.app sets the sending account based on the message currently selected in the message viewer window.

Hopefully, this will help keep someone else from going crazy trying to figure out why Mail.app is doing what it is doing.

[robg adds: I thought we had documented this here before, but all I can find a reference to is that if you have a certain email account folder selected in your inbox, that will set the sending account. I couldn't find any reference to the sender also being sent when you have a given message selected within a multiple-account inbox. If someone finds the reference, please let me know, and I'll remove this duplicate.]
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Mail.app and selected sending account | 14 comments | Create New Account
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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: taxi on Jan 17, '05 11:07:09AM

Now all we need is Gmail to have IMAP support…



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: moliu on Jan 17, '05 12:04:23PM

you mean this one?
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040226092709515



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Even with multiple addresses in same account
Authored by: gerti on Jan 17, '05 12:26:53PM

It is possible to have several (comma separated) email addresses listed in the 'Email Address' field in the Account Information section (Preferences -> Accounts). Mail will then also try and pick the appropriate address from those when responding.



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: StarvArt on Jan 17, '05 01:35:49PM

Seems like this is operating as it was intended. Although I don't use the message preview pane at the bottom of the viewer window, I'd imagine this 'feature' was specifically intended for those who read their mail in this manner. It would be nice if it only worked that way if the preview pane was showing.

When multiple messages are selected, it will use the default account (the first one in the Preferences->Accounts window) as the sender, even when the selected messages are from different and/or varying account(s).



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: vdubya on Jan 17, '05 02:41:18PM

Also, if no email is selected (when composing an email), Mail will default to the account that is at the top of the list in the Accounts preferences pane.



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: ubu on Jan 17, '05 04:50:24PM

>> Hopefully, this will help keep someone else from going crazy trying to figure out why Mail.app is doing what it is doing.

I'm going crazy trying to get Mail.app to display a "Sent" mailbox for my gmail account. Sent messages simply disappear, but where to? Please help. I'm so stupid you wouldn't believe it. Thank you.



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: maddys_daddy on Jan 18, '05 12:56:18AM
I have a Sent Mail folder for GMail. Have you sent an e-mail from your GMail account in Mail.app? Mine didn't appear when the account was created, but it did as soon as I sent an e-mail. Come to think of it, the same thing happened with the Trash or Junk folders for this account (as if I need a Junk folder for GMail). HTH.

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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: ubu on Jan 18, '05 09:39:00AM

>> Have you sent an e-mail from your GMail account in Mail.app?

Well, sort of. I have sent mail from my GMail account, but this was only possibly by means of applescripting the outgoing message (the mail was successfully sent, I think, but didn't end up in any Sent mail folder, it just vanished). When I compose a new message in Mail.app, however, I only get to choose from two out of three active accounts. The GMail account is not an option.



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: mag on Jan 18, '05 05:55:53PM

Maybe you should try unchecking "Store sent messages on the server" in the "Special Mailboxes" tab of the "Accounts" preference pane ?
Normally this should create a new mailbox in "sent".



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: ubu on Jan 19, '05 05:38:58AM

Makes sense, if only I could see this option in the preferences (Mail.app 1.3.9). "Special Mailboxes" only allows me to choose when to erase copies of sent messages, junk and trash. Nothing else. There's a similar option under "Advanced" in my Hotmail account, though, which uses "Daniel's HTTPMail Plugin", but apparently none for regular POP accounts. Or am I missing something?



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Mail.app and selected sending account
Authored by: chrisleuty on Jan 17, '05 05:20:07PM

One thing I have noted is that if you use Gmail's SMTP server, your outgoing email will be sent with your gmail address, no matter what address you are sending from. It does not even change it to the Reply-To address that can be set and used when sending from the gmail web interface.



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Sending account Drop Down Box?
Authored by: silicontrip on Jan 17, '05 06:06:19PM

I haven't seen this mentioned. Maybe I've just misread, but whenever I compose a new email, I have a dropdown box allowing me to select which from address that I want to use.

I thought it may've been enabled in a preference somewhere but I cannot find any option to enable/disable it.



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Sending account Drop Down Box?
Authored by: vdubya on Jan 18, '05 01:15:42AM

You're correct, but the hints above refer to the default account used. :)



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Sending account Drop Down Box?
Authored by: moliu on Jan 18, '05 05:16:53AM

The drop down box only appears if you have multiple accounts in your preference.



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