As stated previously, GMail has not adopted some of the more
usual IMAP practices. In particular, GMail does not have
separate folders on its servers. Everything remains in one big
folder 'in the clouds'. However, users can label or designate
individual messages as 'Inbox', 'Sent Mail', etc. The GMail
system does not play nicely with WLMail, unless you make some
changes to the standard configuration.
The following recommendations involve re-configuring GMail via
the web interface. Then, you need to change a few settings in
WLMail.
Close WLMail
Use your browser to sign into your GMail account
Click on Settings (top of page), followed by Labels
The list of Labels comprises two parts. Let us deal firstly with
the System Labels.
Check the IMAP boxes for those Labels that you want to see, when
you run WLMail. ( Inbox is checked by default.) I have checked
the boxes for Sent Mail, Spam and Bin.
Uncheck the boxes for any Labels that you DON'T to appear as
folders in WLMail. TIP. To prevent duplication in WLMail,
uncheck the IMAP box for the 'All Mail' Label.
The second part of the list contains Labels for your personal
folders (if any). WLMail has almost certainly created some
additional labels (or special folders) in that section. You
do not need them, so you can safely delete any labels in this
section that you have not created yourself. (Don't worry. They
are only labels, so you will not lose any messages.)
Sign out from the webmail interface.
Open WLMail and click on Tools / Accounts.
Select your GMail account and click on Properties.
Select the IMAP tab and delete anything in the Root folder field.
Check the box marked 'Check for new messages in all folders'.
Uncheck the box marked 'Store special folders on IMAP server'.
Click on 'Apply' (if visible), followed by OK.
If there is a 'Tools' option at the top of the WLMail page, click
on 'Tools'.
If the 'Tool' option is hidden, press 'Alt' to reveal the option.
Then, click on 'Tools'.
Click on 'IMAP folders ...' and select your GMail account
Click on 'Reset List', followed by OK.
The folder list in WLMail will now look like:
Inbox
[GMail]
Bin
Sent Mail
Spam
(plus any personal folders you might have created)
These folders will correspond exactly to the Labels on the
webmail interface. You can right click on each folder name, to
personalise your synchronisation preferences (Choose from Don't
synchronise; All messages; New Messages only; or Headers only).
I have opted for Headers only, because WLMail synchronises much
more quickly.
When you want to delete a message, do not select Delete or press
the Delete key. If you do, the message will disappear from
WLMail, but will remain on the web interface.
Instead, you should move the message (or drag and drop it) into
the 'Bin' folder. Once a message is in the Bin, you can delete
it from WLMail in the normal way. Alternatively, Google will
delete it automatically after it has been in the Bin for 30 days.
Hope this helps.