What does archive mean in apple mail

In Apple Mail, the "Archive" feature allows you to move messages from your inbox to a designated "Archive" folder, which is essentially a storage location for messages that you've already dealt with or don't need to access frequently.

When you archive a message, it's removed from your inbox and moved to the Archive folder, but it's not deleted permanently. This means you can still access the archived message later if needed.

Archiving messages can be useful for several reasons:

  1. Organize your inbox: By archiving messages, you can keep your inbox clutter-free and focused on new, unread messages.
  2. Free up space: Archiving messages can help free up storage space on your device, as they're no longer taking up space in your inbox.
  3. Keep a record: Archiving messages can be a way to keep a record of important conversations or transactions, even if you don't need to access them frequently.

To archive a message in Apple Mail:

  1. Select the message(s) you want to archive.
  2. Right-click (or control-click) on the selected message(s) and choose "Archive" from the context menu.
  3. Alternatively, you can also use the keyboard shortcut "Command + Shift + A" to archive the selected message(s).

Note that archiving a message is different from deleting it. If you want to permanently delete a message, you'll need to use the "Delete" option instead.