Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting and known issues with MsgFiler 4.

Known Issues

When I try to file multiple messages, I get an error saying that MsgFiler can't file to multiple accounts.

This is a limitation of MsgFiler 4. It is unable to file messages that belong to Gmail accounts and non-Gmail accounts. This is because of a bug in Apple Mail wherein messages filed to Gmail accounts must first be archived before they are moved.

Since MsgFiler is processing all of the currently selected messages at once in Mail, it cannot archive the Gmail messages and not archive the non-Gmail messages before moving them.

The solution is to file messages belonging to both Gmail and non-Gmail accounts separately.

You can file messages belong to multiple Gmail accounts at the same time with MsgFiler 4.

I am using the MsgFiler Filing Script with my Gmail accounts. I have Archive messages before filing enabled. When I try to move or copy emails, I get an error similar to: Can't set message id 1234567890 of mailbox "SOURCE_MAILBOX" of account id "ACCOUNT_ID" to mailbox "DESTINATION_MAILBOX"

Some Gmail accounts do not handle MsgFiler's Archive then File method of filing messages. Configure your account to use the Direct Filing method in Filing Settings.

Copying Gmail messages within the same account doesn't seem to work.

When copying a Gmail message to a mailbox on the same Gmail account, note that the copied message will have the same message ID as the original message. Thus, deleting the message, whether it's in the source mailbox or the destination mailbox will have the effect of deleting all messages with the same ID.

This does not happen when copying messages from a Gmail account to another email account, and it does not happen when copying messages from other email services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is MsgFiler 4 a new app on the Mac App Store?

MsgFiler has had a long history of running on Mac OS X and macOS. The original version of the plugin and application were written in Objective-C using Cocoa and Interface Builder. Since then, development tools have evolved. MsgFiler 4 has been rewritten from the ground up as a native Swift and SwiftUI. It has been built expressly to support macOS Sonoma and subsequent versions of macOS.

MsgFiler 4 also supports macOS Ventura (macOS 13.0)

Furthermore, MsgFiler 3 continues to work on macOS Ventura and before, so it will remain on the Mac App Store for those customers to use, along with the MsgFiler Engine Mail Plug-In, which is required for use with MsgFiler 3.

I bought MsgFiler Classic or MsgFiler 3 and want to upgrade to MsgFiler 4 for free

Purchases of MsgFiler Classic and MsgFiler 3 are not transferrable to MsgFiler 4. You will have to purchase MsgFiler 4 again on the App Store. If you recently purchased MsgFiler 3, you can submit a refund request to Apple.

Why do I need to install the MsgFiler Filing Script in order to file Gmail messages? Or to move the selection up or down in Mail?

In order to file Gmail messages, MsgFiler needs to first archive the messages before moving them. This two step process is not possible straight from MsgFiler because there is no archive command in AppleScript. MsgFiler needs to programatically instruct Mail to archive the messages using the Archive menu item under the Message menu. To do this, MsgFiler needs access to the System Events application to access the menu item.

Due to App Sandbox restrictions, MsgFiler cannot directly access System Events. It can access it, however, by running a user-installed script in MsgFiler's Application Scripts directory.

The answer is similar with moving the selection up or down in Mail after filing. When MsgFiler instructs Mail to move messages from one mailbox to another, Mail does not automatically move the selection up or down. As a result, MsgFiler has to send the key up or key down command to Mail, and it cannot do that with using System Events.

Undo support seems to be inconsistent.

Supported Actions

The following operations performed by MsgFiler have undo support in Mail:

• Archive

• Toggle Flag

• Toggle Read Status

Unsupported Actions

The following operations performed by MsgFiler do not have undo support in Mail:

• Flagging messages

• Labeling messages

• Creating new mailboxes

Inconsistent Support

MsgFiler uses AppleScript to file messages. Unfortunately, there is limited support for undo since references to the selected messages are lost after filing.

The workaround is to open the mailbox that you just filed to and re-file the messages.

What happens when you invoke undo in Mail after filing using MsgFiler depends on what kind of message was filed:

• Gmail: Undo will move the messages back to the source mailbox, but they might still reside in the destination mailbox. Mail is undoing the Archive operation, not the move operation.

• Non-Gmail: Undo will not work. Mail cannot undo the move operation performed by AppleScript.

Trying to retrieve the contents of the currently selected email messages via Shortcuts takes a long time.

The Get Selected Email action in Shortcuts can optionally return the message body and raw source from the current selection in Mail. It does this by accessing the contents property of the message using AppleScript. This operation sometimes takes Mail a long time for certain types of messages.

It is recommended that you do not run the Get Selected Email action with the Include Message Body enabled on a large selection of emails, as this may result in slow performance or a timeout.

Why doesn't MsgFiler support marking messages as junk or deleting messages?

This is a deliberate decision to not make available the keyboard shortcuts to mark messages and junk or to delete messages. If you want to do this, move focus away from MsgFiler and manually perform these operations.

MsgFiler aims to perform non-destructive operations on your email messages, including moving, copying, labeling, flagging, or marking as read/unread.

Will you make an iOS version of MsgFiler?

tl;dr: No.

Mail on iOS and iPadOS does not offer the same level of extension that macOS Mail provides. As a result, it is currently impossible to integrate MsgFiler filing capability in the mobile version of Mail. It is beyond the scope, nor it is the long-term plan, of MsgFiler to become a full-fledged email client focused on email and mailbox management.