Work with several emails at once

When you have a stack of messages to tidy, you don't have to handle them one at a time. Select several in the message list, then act on all of them together. This page shows how to pick the messages and what you can do with them.

Select more than one message

The message list in the middle column is where you choose messages. The way you select depends on whether they sit next to each other.

• A single message: click it. It opens, and only that message is selected.
• A run of messages: click the first one, then hold Shift and click the last. Everything between the two, including both ends, is selected.
• A scattered set: hold Cmd (on a Mac) or Ctrl (on Windows) and click each message you want. Click a selected message again the same way to take it back out.

Selected messages are highlighted, so you can see at a glance what's in the set.

To select every message in the list, press Cmd+A (Mac) or Ctrl+A (Windows). Press Escape to clear the selection and start over. These keys work while the message list has focus, so click a message first if nothing happens.

Act on the selection

Right-click any message in the selection to open a menu of actions. Each one applies to every message you've selected, not the one you clicked.

• Archive moves the whole set to the Archive. The item reads Archive 4 emails when four are selected, so you can check the count before you commit.
• Report Spam moves the set to Spam.
• Delete sends the set to the Trash. The item shows the count, like Delete 4 emails.
• Move to folder opens a list of your other mailboxes. Pick one to move the whole set there.

Reply, Reply All, Forward, and Download only make sense for one message, so those appear in the menu only when a single message is selected.

Move several messages by dragging

You can also move a set without the menu. Select the messages, then drag them onto a mailbox in the sidebar on the left. While you drag, a small badge shows how many you're carrying, and the mailbox you're pointing at lights up. Let go to drop them in.

This is a quick way to clear the Inbox: select what you've finished with and drag it to Archive.

Permanently delete from Trash

Deleting a message moves it to the Trash, where you can still get it back. Deleting messages that are already in the Trash removes them for good, so Mail asks you to confirm first. The confirmation names how many you're about to remove, for example Delete 4 Emails.

For more on these actions one message at a time, see Archive, delete, and report spam and Move email between folders.