How do smart mailboxes work in mac mail

Smart Mailboxes in macOS Mail are a powerful feature that allows you to create custom views of your email messages based on specific criteria. Here's how they work:

What is a Smart Mailbox?

A Smart Mailbox is a virtual folder that automatically updates with emails that match specific criteria you set. You can think of it as a dynamic filter that helps you quickly find and organize your emails.

How to create a Smart Mailbox in macOS Mail

1. Open Mail on your Mac.
2. Click on the "Mailboxes" menu and select "New Smart Mailbox" (or use the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + M).
3. In the "Create Smart Mailbox" window, choose a name for your Smart Mailbox.
4. Click on the "Add Criteria" button.
5. Select the criteria you want to use to filter your emails. You can choose from various options, such as:
   • From: sender's email address
   • To: recipient's email address
   • Subject: contains specific text
   • Has Attachment: includes attachments
   • Is Unread: shows only unread emails
   • Is Flagged: shows only flagged emails
   • Has Priority: shows only emails with a specific priority level
   • And/Or: combine multiple criteria using logical operators
6. Click "OK" to save your Smart Mailbox.

How Smart Mailboxes work

Once you create a Smart Mailbox, Mail will automatically update it with emails that match the criteria you set. Here's what happens behind the scenes:

1. Mail periodically checks your email accounts for new messages.
2. When a new email arrives, Mail evaluates the email against the criteria you set for your Smart Mailbox.
3. If the email matches the criteria, it is added to the Smart Mailbox.
4. If the email does not match the criteria, it is not added to the Smart Mailbox.
5. When you open the Smart Mailbox, Mail displays only the emails that match the criteria.

Tips and Tricks

• You can create multiple Smart Mailboxes with different criteria to organize your emails in various ways.
• You can also use Smart Mailboxes to create custom views of your emails, such as a "To-Do" list or a "Waiting for Response" list.
• Smart Mailboxes are not limited to a single email account. You can create Smart Mailboxes that combine emails from multiple accounts.
• You can drag and drop emails from a Smart Mailbox into a regular mailbox or folder to move them out of the Smart Mailbox.

I hope this helps you understand how Smart Mailboxes work in macOS Mail!