Archive, delete, and report spam

When you are done with a message, you can keep it out of the way without losing it, throw it away, or flag it as junk. This page covers all three: Archive, Delete, and Report Spam.

Each action has two ways in. Open a message and use the buttons in the toolbar above it, or right-click a message in the list and pick the action from the menu. The same actions also live in the More actions menu (the ⋮ button) above an open message.

Archive a message

Archiving moves a message out of your Inbox and into the Archive mailbox. It stays there for as long as you want, so this is the way to keep something without leaving it in your Inbox.

1. Open the message, or right-click it in the list.
2. Click the Archive button in the toolbar, or choose Archive from the menu.

The message leaves the list straight away and appears under Archive in the sidebar. The Archive button is hidden when you are already looking at a message in the Archive, since there is nowhere left to move it.

To bring an archived message back, open Archive in the sidebar and move the message to another mailbox. See Move email between folders.

Report spam

If a message is junk, report it. Report Spam moves it to your Spam mailbox and takes it out of the Inbox.

1. Open the message, or right-click it in the list.
2. Click the Report Spam button in the toolbar, or choose Report Spam from the menu.

The Report Spam button is hidden when you are already in the Spam mailbox. If a real message ends up in Spam by mistake, open Spam in the sidebar and move it back to your Inbox.

Delete a message

Deleting a message sends it to the Trash.

1. Open the message, or right-click it in the list.
2. Click the Delete button in the toolbar, or choose Delete from the menu.

A deleted message is not gone for good. It sits in Trash, where you can still read it or move it back to another mailbox if you deleted it by mistake.

Delete a message for good

To remove a message permanently, open Trash in the sidebar and delete it from there. Because this can't be undone, Mail asks you to confirm first.

1. Open Trash in the sidebar.
2. Open or right-click the message, then choose Delete.
3. In the Delete Email dialog, check the subject, then click Delete to confirm.

Act on several messages at once

To archive, delete, or report several messages together, select them in the list first, then right-click any one of them and choose the action. The menu shows the count, for example Archive 3 emails. See Work with several emails at once.