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I'm using thunderbird with an IMAP account. What I want is for Thunderbird to connect, download and then delete the downloaded emails from the IMAP server. I'm not entirely sure how to do this.

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2 Answers 2

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This is how IMAP works. If you want the messages downloaded and deleted then you should be using POP instead.

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I thought this was a Thunderbird setting..? –  Doc Oct 7 '11 at 1:22
Thunderbird may allow you to download and cache IMAP messages on the local system, but in the end the messages exist on the IMAP server. –  Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Oct 7 '11 at 1:23
Bah, I could write a mail client that'd download messages locally and immediately delete them from the server. Thunderbird is a mail client.. Someone wrote it.. ... COGNITION ERROR. SKYNET SHUTTING DOWN. –  Doc Oct 7 '11 at 1:30
Of course you could. But why would you, when POP exists for that. –  Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Oct 7 '11 at 1:31
Create a mailbox on your local system and move messages there. –  Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Oct 7 '11 at 1:46

Move the email from your Thunderbird IMAP Folder to one of your Thunderbird Local Folders and then it will be on your hard drive and no longer on the IMAP server. Here's how: http://en.flossmanuals.net/thunderbird/reading-and-organising-mail/ and scroll to Move emails from the Inbox to another folder and make sure you move the email to a sub-folder of Local Folders and not to a subfolder of your IMAP account.

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