Folders in your mailbox: Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk and Archive

Your mailbox always has a few standard folders: Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk and often Archive as well. On your phone they're sometimes named differently than on your computer, and sometimes a folder shows up twice. In this article you'll learn how mail apps know which folder is for what, how this works at WebOké and how to fix the most common problems.

The standard: special folders with a fixed label

Your mail app talks to our mail server via IMAP. There's a worldwide agreement for the standard folders, the IMAP extension SPECIAL-USE (RFC 6154). The server gives each standard folder a label that says what it's for:

Inbox doesn't need a label: in IMAP it's always called INBOX. \All and \Flagged aren't real folders but overviews, like ‘All Mail’ in Gmail. Want to see your flagged mail together? Your mail app does that itself, for example with a smart folder.

A mail app that follows the standard looks at the label, not the name. It then shows the folder with a name in your language. That's why you see Junk on your iPhone, Junk Email in Outlook and Junk in the webmail, while on the server it's one and the same folder, Junk. So whatever you do in that folder shows up everywhere.

Which name do you see in which app?

The names below are those of the English versions. They may differ slightly between versions.

Classic Outlook doesn't always follow the standard. It may then create extra folders itself, such as Junk Email or Deleted Items, alongside the folders that already exist on the server. You'll find out how to fix that further on.

The folders one by one

Inbox. All new mail arrives here, except spam and mail you send to another folder with your own filter. This is the only folder that's retrieved with POP3.

Sent. When you send an email, your mail app saves a copy in Sent on the server. That way you can also see your sent mail on your phone and in the webmail. In most apps you can choose whether and where that copy is saved. Always choose the folder on the server, not a folder on your own computer.

Drafts. An email you haven't sent yet goes to Drafts. That way you can start on your computer and finish on your phone.

Trash. When you delete an email, your mail app moves it to Trash. It's only really gone once you empty the trash. Until then it counts towards your mailbox storage.

Junk. Spam that our server recognises ends up here. It's also the folder where you put spam yourself. To learn how the spam filter works and how strict it is, read Spam: how WebOké blocks it, and how to train and test the spam filter.

Archive. With the Archive button you remove mail from your Inbox without deleting it. The folder is on the server, so you'll find the mail on all your devices. It does count towards your storage. If you'd rather get old mail off the server, read Storing mail locally to save space on the mail server.

How it works at WebOké

• All standard folders follow the standard. Sent, Drafts, Trash and Junk exist in every mailbox and are always visible. Your mail program creates Archive as soon as you archive something for the first time.
• Spam goes to Junk. Spam caught by the server ends up in the same folder where you mark spam yourself. There is no longer a separate spam folder under Inbox.
• The spam filter learns from you. If you drag a message to Junk, or use the junk mail button, the filter learns that it's spam. If you drag a good message from Junk back to Inbox, the filter learns that it isn't spam. More tips in Spam: how WebOké stops it, and how to train and test the spam filter
• The webmail uses the same folders. What you see in the webmail is exactly what's on the server. See Going to the webmail and what to do if you can't log in.
• Use IMAP, not POP3. With POP3 your program only fetches the Inbox. You then won't see Junk, sent mail from other devices or any other folders. Read IMAP or POP3: what's the difference?

Showing or hiding folders: subscribing

A mail program only shows the folders you are subscribed to. A folder you're not subscribed to still exists, with all the mail in it, but doesn't appear in your folder list. If you can see a folder in the webmail but not in your program, or the other way around, that's almost always the cause.

• Webmail: Settings, Folders, and then the toggle next to the folder.
• Thunderbird: right-click your email address, Subscribe.
• Classic Outlook: right-click your email address, IMAP Folders.

You don't need to turn on Junk and the other standard folders yourself: they're always visible in every mailbox.

Common problems

I have two folders for sent mail, such as Sent and Sent Items. Then one of your programs is using its own folder instead of Sent. In each program, set the sent mail folder to the folder with the label, drag the mail from the extra folder into it and delete the empty extra folder. The same goes for Trash and Deleted Items. If there are also folders such as Sent Messages or Sent Items on the server, for example from an old device, our server gives those the \Sent label as well. In that case, pick one, preferably Sent.

Classic Outlook creates its own Junk Email folder. Outlook has its own spam filter, separate from ours. Turn it off so all spam stays in one place: click Home, Junk, Junk E-mail Options, and choose No Automatic Filtering. Then move whatever is in Junk Email to Junk and delete the empty folder if Outlook allows it.

Classic Outlook doesn't store sent or deleted mail on the server. Open File, Account Settings, choose your address and click Change and then More Settings. If your version offers it, choose the folder on the server (Sent and Trash) for sent and deleted items there. Leave the root folder path field empty. If that doesn't work, remove the account and add it again as IMAP. See Outlook for Windows (new and classic).

My sent mail doesn't show up on my phone or in the webmail. First check whether you're using IMAP. With POP3, sent mail is only stored on the device you send it from. If you are using IMAP, check which folder your program uses for sent mail. In Thunderbird that's Account Settings, Copies & Folders. On the iPhone, go to your account, Advanced, and under Mailbox Behaviors choose the folders on the server. See also Thunderbird and iPhone and iPad.

I can't see the spam. Check whether you're using IMAP, and look in the folder your program calls Junk, Junk Email or Spam. How strict the filter is, and whether spam with a very high score is deleted right away, is something you set in Setting up SpamAssassin.

I deleted a message, but it's still there (struck through or greyed out). With IMAP, a deleted message normally goes to the Trash. Some mail programs only mark the message as "deleted" on the server. You'll then still see it, often struck through, and it also remains on your other devices. Only when the folder is cleaned up (expunge or purge) is it really gone. Until then, it counts towards your storage. In the webmail you remove such messages with Compact in the folder's menu. Then set up your mail program so that deleted messages go to the Trash. In Thunderbird, under Server Settings, choose the Trash folder at When I delete a message:, see Creating folders and choosing the right folder for Sent, Drafts and Trash. For Outlook, read Folders, sent mail and a full mailbox in the Outlook guide.

How long are Trash and spam kept?

Our server doesn't automatically delete anything from the Trash or from Junk. Mail stays there until you or your mail program empties the folder, and it counts towards your mailbox storage for as long as it's there. So empty both folders every now and then. To find out how full your mailbox is allowed to get, read Storage per mailbox and what happens when it's full.

Want it to happen automatically? Set it up in your mail program. On the iPhone, go to your account, Advanced, and choose after how long deleted messages may be removed. In Thunderbird, turn on Empty Trash on Exit under Server Settings. You can also remove old mail in one go in DirectAdmin: read Cleaning up a mailbox to free up space in DirectAdmin.

Switching to WebOké or migrating

If you migrate your mail with the email migration tool or with IMAPSync in DirectAdmin, all your folders come along, with the names they had at your old provider. As a result, after the migration you may sometimes have a folder like Sent Items or Deleted Items alongside Sent and Trash. That's no problem: nothing gets lost. Want everything in one place? Drag the mail to the standard folder and then delete the empty old folder. Also set up your devices again, so they use the standard folders on our server.

Want to learn more? Take the free course Using webmail, lesson 5.1 Folders and special folders.