Why does Mail show gmail All Mail rather than Inbox?

[johngpt]

My IMAP gmail accounts all seem to be working fine in Mail 5.2, the same as on my older MBP running Mail 2.1.3.

My question is why does Mail in either old or newest version show the gmail "All Mail" rather than the gmail "Inbox?"

At the bottom of my mailbox list, both in Tiger and Lion, I can see my gmail IMAP accounts. The top box in each account is "All Mail."

Once upon a time back at gmail webmail, the top mailbox had been All Mail. Then sometime in the last year, google revamped the look of gmail, and the top mailbox became "Inbox." "All Mail" is much lower down on that list of mailboxes when looking at gmail in webmail.

Does someone have some insight as to why Mail doesn't show an "Inbox?"

I realize that what I'm asking might be confusing, so here's a photo.




If you look down the left side column to the All Mail just below CABLEONE GMAIL IMAP and the flippy triangle open folder, you'll see that the first mailbox is All Mail. No Inbox as there is back at the gmail webmail. And all of the gmail IMAP accounts look like this.

This isn't really a problem, but I'm wondering if someone might know why those inboxes aren't showing up in Mail.

I wonder if someone is using an email app other than Mail, does it look the same there?

[NaOH]

That's a default mailbox which comes as a result of Gmail taking some uncommon approaches to email. But it's easily removed.

1. Log in to your Gmail account using a web browser.
2. Click the gear-like icon near the top right of the page and select Settings.
3. Go to the Labels section.
4. Find the All Mail listing then uncheck the option for Show In IMAP that's off to the right. While there, consider hiding/showing anything else that's presented as optional.

[NaOH]

Another approach that I meant to note is that for common mailboxes—Drafts would be an example—you don't need to use the Gmail one listed in your Mail sidebar. Personally, I find it easier to visually peruse things if all my commonly seen mailboxes are up top among the ones Apple provides by default.

Using Drafts as an example, it's easy to merge it with what Apple provides. Select the Drafts mailbox under the Gmail heading, then go to the Mailbox menu and select Use This Mailbox For > Drafts. Now your Gmail Drafts will be part of the Drafts listed near the top of the sidebar.

You may also want to repeat this option for the other mailboxes listed in that menu (Sent, Junk, and Trash).

[johngpt]

I followed your approach about unchecking the Show In IMAP for "All Mail," but decided not to do so when I noticed that the option to Show In IMAP for "Inbox" was grayed out and not available. The option was checked, but grayed out.

I kept googling and discovered that I actually am seeing the gmail inboxes. At the top of Mail's left column mailbox list is the Inbox. Under that heading are my four IMAP gmail accounts. Those mirror the gmail webmail inboxes! Because all four inboxes show way up at the top, there is no need for them to show again way down at the bottom in the lists of mailboxes that include All Mail, Drafts, etc.

I just hadn't realized that what I was seeing up at the top were the honest to goodness gmail webmail inboxes.

It's a darn good thing that sharper minds than mine are involved in developing apps.