Default email reader

The email app to use for your email. Mail is set by default.

Check for new messages

When Mail gets new messages from the mail server. By default, the option is set to Automatically (Mail varies how often it gets messages based on whether your Mac is plugged into an electrical outlet).

If you change the option to Manually, click the Get Mail button in the Mail toolbar to check for messages. (Whenever you click an IMAP or Exchange mailbox in the Mail sidebar, it syncs with the server, and shows new messages.)

New messages sound

The sound to play when you receive messages. To sample a sound, click the pop-up menu, then choose a sound.

To hear sounds for other events in Mail, select the “Play sounds for other mail actions” checkbox.

Dock unread count

The mailboxes to include in the count of unread messages (the red circle, called a badge, that’s shown on the Mail icon in the Dock).

The count appears only if “Badge app icon” is selected for Mail in Notifications preferences. To open Notifications preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Notifications.

New message notifications

Display notifications when a message arrives in the selected mailbox.

To be displayed, the alert style must be set to Banners or Alerts for Mail in Notifications preferences. To open Notifications preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Notifications.

Downloads folder

The folder where attachments you save are stored.

Remove unedited downloads

When to delete attachments temporarily saved in the Mail Downloads folder (in the Library folder of your home folder). By default, an attachment that you haven’t edited or saved is deleted when you delete the message that contains it.

Archive or delete muted messages

Move the messages in muted conversations to an archive or trash mailbox, depending on which mailboxes are available for the email account to which the message was sent.

If you don’t select this option, the messages in muted conversations remain in your Inbox.

Automatically try sending later if outgoing server is unavailable

When the SMTP server is unavailable, Mail stores your messages in the Outbox and tries sending them again later.

To have Mail show other servers that are available to send messages, deselect the checkbox.

Prefer opening messages in split view when in full screen

When Mail is full screen, open messages side-by-side with the message list. (If you’re working with Mail and another app in Split View, messages open by sliding up from the bottom of the screen.)

To always have messages slide up from the bottom of the screen, deselect the checkbox.

When searching all mailboxes, include results from

Include messages from the Trash or Junk mailboxes, or encrypted messages, in search results.

Drafts Mailbox

Select a mailbox on the mail server or on your Mac to store draft messages.

This option is available only for IMAP accounts.

Sent Mailbox

Select a mailbox on the mail server or on your Mac to store sent messages.

This option is available only for IMAP accounts.

Junk Mailbox

Select a mailbox on the mail server or on your Mac to store junk messages.

This option is available only for IMAP accounts.

Erase junk messages

Mail automatically deletes junk messages at the specified time. Select a setting other than Never to avoid exceeding storage limits set by your email account provider.

Trash Mailbox

Select a mailbox on the mail server or on your Mac to store deleted messages, or choose None (deleted messages are removed and aren’t available in the Trash mailbox).

This option is available only for IMAP accounts.

Erase deleted messages

Mail erases deleted messages at the specified time. Select a setting other than Never to avoid exceeding storage limits set by your email account provider.

If you selected None for Trash Mailbox, you can have Mail permanently delete messages automatically.

If your email account provider sets up the server to delete older messages, the messages are deleted regardless of how you change this option.

Archive Mailbox

Select a mailbox on the mail server to store archived messages.