How to Switch from Swiping to Archive to Swiping to Delete in Mail on macOS

Hey, you! Ever wondered how to change the way you swipe in Mail on your macOS device? Well, look no further! Today, I’m going to show you how you can switch from swiping to archive to swiping to delete. It’s a small tweak that can make a big difference in your email management.

So, let’s get started. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Open the Mail App

First things first, open up the Mail app on your macOS device. Make sure you’re in the right place to make this change.

Step 2: Go to Preferences

Once you have the Mail app open, navigate to the top-left corner of your screen and click on “Mail” in the menu bar. A drop-down menu will appear. From there, select “Preferences.”

Step 3: Select the “Mailbox Behaviors” Tab

After clicking on “Preferences,” a new window will pop up. In this window, you’ll see different tabs at the top. Look for the one labeled “Mailbox Behaviors” and click on it.

Step 4: Customize Your Swipe Options

Awesome! We’re almost there. Now, you’ll see a list of options related to swiping. Here, you can customize the behavior of your swipes.

Step 5: Change Swipe to Archive to Swipe to Delete

Finally, it’s time to make the change you’ve been waiting for. In the list of options, locate the setting that says “Swipe left to archive.” What you want to do is switch this to “Swipe left to delete.” Just select the drop-down menu next to it and make the switch.

Step 6: Save Your Changes

Don’t forget to save your changes! Look for the “Save” button at the bottom of the window and click on it. This will ensure your new swipe behavior is applied.

And there you have it! You’ve successfully switched from swiping to archive to swiping to delete in Mail on your macOS device. Now you can manage your emails with ease and efficiency. No more accidentally archiving important messages!

Remember, this small tweak can make a big difference in your email workflow. So go ahead and give it a try. Good luck, and happy emailing!

In the latest versions of macOS, Apple has made efforts to make the Mac’s built-in Mail app more similar to its iOS counterpart. As part of these changes, swipe gestures have been added to email messages in the Mail app. For instance, swiping from right to left across an email in the message list gives you the option to delete or archive it, depending on your settings. Conversely, swiping from left to right allows you to mark the message as unread or read. While these changes bridge the gap between the Mac and iOS versions of the Mail app, not everyone wants to use this swipe method, and it can be easy to accidentally trigger. Unfortunately, disabling swipe to delete without reverting to the classic layout is not an available option, which is frustrating.

The relatively good news is that although we can’t disable swiping in Mail for macOS, we can modify the swiping behavior to better suit our preferences. To do this, open the Mail app on your Mac and select “Mail > Preferences” from the menu bar.

In the Preferences window, choose the “Viewing” tab. Then, find the option labeled “Move discarded messages into”:

You have two options here: “Trash” or “Archive”:

If your email provider supports it, selecting “Archive” will remove the message from your inbox but keep a copy stored in case you need it later. On the other hand, choosing “Delete” permanently gets rid of the email, although it might spend some time in your email Trash folder based on your account settings.

Changing this option also alters the swipe action in the default Mail layout, as shown in the screenshot above. However, it also affects the behavior when you hover your cursor over an email notification (you can adjust your Mail notifications in “System Preferences > Notifications”).

One thing that won’t change is the behavior of the “Delete” icon in Mail’s toolbar.

Regardless of whether you have swiping set to “Trash” or “Archive,” that button will still delete the selected emails. You may consider swiping to archive and using the button to delete messages, which is a great way to ensure that you don’t accidentally lose important information. However, I must mention how fantastic it would be to have the option to disable swiping altogether. I can’t be the only one who accidentally triggers the swipe gesture ten times more often than intentionally, right?