Subscribing to IMAP Email folders in Mac Mail

If you create additional email folders outside of Mac Mail (and you use an IMAP connection) your new folders may not automatically show up in Mac Mail. Fortunately, you can subscribe to those folders (known as mailboxes in Mac Mail) so that you can view them in your Mac Mail email client. This tutorial will walk you through the necessary steps for subscribing to email folders in Mac Mail.

If you need instructions for a different email client, please see our list of tutorials on how to subscribe to an email folder in various email clients.

1. Begin by opening Mac Mail.
2. From the Mac Mail menu, click on Preferences, then Accounts.
3. Select your email account and click the Advanced tab.
4. Select the check box next to Automatically synchronize changed mailboxes.
5. Close the Preferences window and when prompted, save your changes.
6. Close Mac Mail and restart the program.
7. If you have any trouble seeing your folders, select View from the menu bar and choose Show Mailbox List (Show Mailboxes in versions prior to 5).
8. Click on the triangle beside your email account in the Mailboxes sidebar to show your IMAP folders.

You should now be able to view and work with your IMAP folders in Mac Mail.