I have saved an email into a folder in the "ON MY MAC" section of my computer - is it safe from being lost?

[suer]

I just found out that I am about to lose access to my sympatico.ca email address. I AM PANICKING!!  I have a MAC computer, and that is how I have been viewing and organizing my emails for years. Did I say years ... it's more like decades. I have placed a lot of the emails into various folders in the "ON MY MAC" section of my computer. Once I place an email into a specific folder in "ON MY MAC", they do not show up on any of my other devices and they do not show up on my BELL server. (I can't see them if I log in ... which I rarely do.) I also have some folders in the "SYMPATICO" section of the  MACmail so that I can see them when I am not near my computer ie I can still see them on my iphone for example and I can also see those folders on the BELL server. 

I can not lose my emails. Is there anyone else using a MAC who is familiar with macmail? Do you know if I have saved an email into a folder in the "ON MY MAC" section of my computer is it safe?? If i make sure that all of the emails that I absolutely want to save are in the "ON MY MAC" section of my computer, those emails will be safe?

Is there a way to determine what emails are still on the BELL SERVER (and therefore will potentially be lost and what emails are no longer on the server because they are in one of my folders? 

[Vanadiel]

While I do not have a MAC, I found this guide that might be helpful to you.

[suer]

thank you. I have used the export function before when I changed from one macbook to another and I was able to import them into my macmail app and put them into my ON MY MAC section. I thought they were secure there ... forever, but the BELL agent said that she didn't know if they are still on the BELL server. That is why i wondered if anyone knows if they are still on the server, if i save them to my Mac?

[dks · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your question. I can appreciate your anxiety. 

You actually answered your own question. You said, "Once I place an email into a specific folder in "ON MY MAC", they do not show up on any of my other devices and they do not show up on my BELL server. "

Without a deep technical explanation, you downloaded the e-mails to your local computer. They were marked as read and deleted on the Sympatico server. 

You can easily test this by not connecting your computer to the internet, opening your mail app and checking the folder where you have been saving your e-mail. They should be there. 

Try that and let us know the result. 

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

Good Day.

You mentioned that you downloaded your email to your MAC & subsequently moved them to another folder. I will try to give you the condensed version of a long list of technical detail

1. Are you using Apple iCloud to link your email account between devices? If so, what you do on one device is propagated on to any other device that is linked to your Apple iCloud account. I.E. If you delete a message in one device, it is deleted in the other devices.
2. If you lose your sympatico.ca email account & it is deleted from Bell webmail, & the account is removed on MAC computer, the folders will disappear. It will also disappear on iCloud. iCloud does maintain a series of archives for services & apps such as Mail if they are Saved to iCloud that you can restore to Mail.
3. You can Export MAC Mail. Save emails as files or PDFs in Mail on Mac - Apple Support (CA)
4. You can Export a mailbox. Import or export mailboxes in Mail on Mac - Apple Support (CA)

Please check out the following Apple weblink for further assistance.

Mail - Official Apple Support

You can view the email messages that are remaining on the Bell webmail server while the account is stil active by:

1. To sign in to your Bell email account from the web:

   1. Go to www.bell.net or bell.ca/webmail.
   2. Enter your Bell email address and password.
   3. Click Log in.
   4. You are now logged in to your account. All of your folders & stored messages will appear on the left side of the panel. Select the folder & message.

Take care.

[suer]

i think i followed the link that you provided. I chose to save the emails as files. I highlighted the emails that I wanted saved. I went to file>save as > confirmed rich text format > the folder in my documents folder that I wanted it to end up in >save. I did it twice; however, I can't see them anywhere. What am I doing wrong?

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

Good Day.

Did you follow these instructions that were include in the previous link I provide? If so, did you save them as a PDF file in a specific location on your MAC or on iCloud?

1. Go to the Mail app on your Mac

2. Select one or more messages or email conversations.

3. Choose how you want to save the messages.

   • Save messages as files: Choose File > Save As, then choose a format.

     Rich Text Format retains formatting (such as bold and italics), but Plain Text does not. Raw Message Source saves a single message in .eml format.

   • Save messages as PDFs: Choose File > Export as PDF.

I wish i could assist you further, but I cannot as I do not have access to your Apple MAC. As an alternative, Apple Canada offers free tech support. They will be able to access your Apple MAC & assist you further in this matter.

Please give Apple Canada Tech support a call at: 1-800-263-3394

Take care.