Quick Tip: Apple Mail “Unread” Smart Mailbox


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If you’re like me you get a TON of email, and sometimes the stuff that you haven’t replied to can get missed because it floats down to the bottom of the screen – then off the screen – where I will never scroll down to see just what it is. For some reason I am an organization nut when it comes to my email, and I really like to see JUST my unread messages sometimes. Well, there is a very easy way to do that in Apple Mail.

All you have to do is go to Mailbox>New Smart Mailbox. There is a drop down box under the “contains” text. Select it and select “Message is unreplied”. You can change the name of the Smart mailbox to whatever you want (I chose “Unread Mail”) and BOOM – done.

You can get more complicated with it if you want, and even begin to sort it by person or subject that is unread.

This simple tip, that I should have noticed a long time ago, is really going to make things simple.

Special thanks to Richard Stevens of “Diesel Sweeties” for the tip.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

5 Comments

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  1. I use this as well as a “flagged” setting. That way I can flag the items i want to come back to to either respond to or read again because once you click out of the Unread Messages smart mailbox, all the read messages go away. With the messages flagged, I can come back to them without searching through my entire email filing system (folders for bills, family, church, misc, school, consulting, then filtered even further beyond that), which can be a frustrating to have to go through.

  2. you do know what the tiny red number on the mail icon in the dock is for, right michael? a tip: it has something to do with your unread mail… 😉

    nevertheless i too appreciate smart folders. i use filters and separate folders more than smart folders though, sorting my mail by senders, topics and the likes. i do have a smart box for flagged mail though.

  3. Is there a way so that I can see if I have received new messages. Like a visible, rather than audio, new mail notifyer?

  4. That’s amazing!!! I am so glad I found this post…. this was one thing that really bothered me about Mac Mail and I kept searching for alternatives such as Thunderbird. But now that I found this post and can have a unread folder, I’m totally keeping this program. Now everything I need is there. Thank you so much!!!

  5. Is it just me or does this not just create a folder that will show everything you haven’t replied to? therefore bring up everything that i like to keep but have no need to reply to and not mail marked unread?