A previous request suggested using the Help Menu vs. the Search function. Maybe that worked in an earlier version of MacOS but not in 15.3.2.
Any other ideas about how to find the fold an email is hidden in ?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.3
Okay, so there are many mailboxes / folders here, and you are seeking a mail message, without knowing which mailbox / folder contains that message. The mailbox / folder isn’t known, and isn’t hidden. The mailbox / folder might not be revealed by a ≻ disclosure icon within the list of mailboxes / folders.
The usual way to find that mail message is with the Mac Mail app Search function, and you can select the from or two or subject or other details in the search box in Mail app.
Here is how Mac Mail app search works: Search for emails in Mail on Mac - Apple Support
Mac Mail app “smart” mailboxes / folders are effectively saved searches, and those mailboxes / folders can be used to collect together related mail messages, as well.
At the top of the search results window where it says From, subject, etc you can right-click and add a column "Mailbox"
Note that you can also toggle the From/To in your search to make sure you get all the mails you sent and received.
In the List of mailboxes at the LHS of the app you can also click the + symbol next to Smart Mailboxes and create a new smart mailbox like below to show all the messages.
Your best bet is to search in the ~/Library/mail folder for the message by date. It's a pain if you've got a lot of mailboxes, but the file structure has a folder for each mailbox, so you can find the top level one by adding a mailbox with a unique name. You still have to go through it though and the filenames are numbered to make it hard.
Why do you want to do this?
I have hundreds of mail folders, one for each client going back years, and I need to find the email whether it's in my Inbox, Sent, Drafts, or if I mis-filed it someplace because I let go of the mouse too soon.
I also have suspicions that I've sent replies to various emails, either from my Macbook Pro or my iPhone, but MacMail isn't handling those properly - but maybe it's me and I've mis-filed the email in the wrong folder.
I misunderstood you question - or maybe it's been re-worded.
What hidden folder? Mail doesn't have folders, it has mailboxes. As far as I know you can't hide mailboxes in the Mail app. Why do you want to find the folder? Why don't you just find the mail?
Thanks, I think that answers my question. I use Search and get a list of 30+ emails but have to look at each one of them to find the one I'm looking for - but I still don't know which folder it's stored in (in case it's not where it should be).
I'm used to the PC/Outlook world where Outlook would tell me which folder each "Jennifer" email is located in, but it seems MacMail isn't that sophisticated yet
YES! That's what I was looking for, and as I hoped, it's even easier on a Mac than a PC. Googling didn't tell me that so I appreciate a real human being on the other end!
As with most things, "it's perfectly clear to those who understand such things..."
Thanks
Screenshot of what I call folders in MacMail. The folders aren't hidden, but I'd just like Search (or Help or something) to tell me where all my emails to "Jennifer" are in case I misfiled them
So what happens when you search for jennifer's email address?
I get a list of 30+ emails that I can look at one at a time, but I still don't know where it is stored if I misplaced it
How can I find hidden folder in Mail app?
