How to sync gmail between 2 computers

[ReadBavinck]

I currently have 1 gmail account and two computers, a laptop and a desktop. I am running OS X on both and would like to use Mac Mail on both machines to access my one gmail account (which only does POP3).

How can I do this so that when I delete a message from mac mail, it is deleted on the server where my gmail account, and is also removed from the Mac Mail program on the other computer? Make sense? Basically I'd like to be able to sync everything.

Possible? Any ideas for a solution?

Thanks.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

C.J.,

Yes it makes sense. GMail's POP access is unique. As soon as you download POP mail from it, even if you choose to not delete it from the server, it is deleted for POP access.

Is GMail your only e-mail address?
Why do you need a local copy on both if you can access it via the GMail interface?

 

[ReadBavinck]

Gmail is the only address I use but I have access to other addresses. I could even create another gmail address if it would help. I don't want to check two address though.

I like accessing my mail through Mail so I don't have to be logged on to the internet in order to see my mail (once it has been downloaded). This is also an advantage because my email is backed up on gmail if my computer has trouble.

Rich, What do you mean by "it is deleted for POP access"?

 

[fredtgreco]

Here is my advice. Set GMail to forward emails (not POP3) to an email address that you download onto one computer. Then also set the POP3 feature in Gmail to an email address that is ONLY on the second computer. Finally set Gmail to keep (or archive) all emails).

That should get it to all. If it doesn't you can set up a mail alias with double forwarding if you have a web server. Gmail does not like to forward to 2 or more addresses. It is (in my opinion) the greatest weakness of Gmail.

 

[Casey]

What you are looking to do can only truly be done through IMAP, something that GMail doesn't offer, and something only very few e-mail providers ever offer.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Casey,

That's not true. The Post Office Protocol (POP3) allows for the downloading of mail from the server without deleting it. I think GMail, since it's free, didn't want their servers clogged with people not keeping their POP3 mailboxes deleted so they disabled that feature. Now, even if you select "Do not delete from server", it is still deleted from the POP3 server on G-Mail. Most other POP3 accounts will not delete as such. I agree that IMAP would be nice and give more features.

I agree/disagree with Fred. In your case, if you want a local copy on each machine then what he is recommending is best. I would set GMail up for both POP access and for forwarding. Check your GMail POP account from one computer and check the other POP account from the other.

A second option is to manually sync files between the computers with an external hard drive. Buy a 2.5" notebook hard drive from Newegg.com and a USB external enclosure. I love these things and carry them everywhere. You can get 100GB of storage that fits in your pocket for < $150. You could also use a thumb drive. I use sync software between my desktop and my notebook. In my case, I use Outlook 2007 so I synchronize the Documents folders which contain the Outlook PST files (contain all mail and contact information). The trick is that you need to be pretty careful about your syncing process and make sure you're not working on both copies at once or you could lose some work. Your mail program might even have a way to sync better without moving an entire 100MB file like my PST files are but I have about 10 years of mail in mine.

Incidentally, I love G-mail. I used to set up multiple POP accounts on my web servers. Now, even though I have my own dedicated server, I use G-mail exclusively. In fact, I just deleted our last personal POP accounts on the server yesterday.

 

[ReadBavinck]

Thanks for the help guys.

Make sure I've got this right.

A POP3 connection between Gmail Account 1 and Mac mail Account 1 will sync these two.

And a separate POP3 connection between Gmail Account 2 and Mac Mail Account 2 will sync these two.

And a forward from Gmail 1 to Gmail 2 will keep everything that comes into Gmail 1 going to all places.

So what happens to the other three places if I delete something from my Mac Mail Account 2? Or if I send something from Mac Mail Account 2?

Will each Gmail account and the other Mac Mail Account reflect these sorts actions?

 

[Semper Fidelis]

Oy! I thought you only had one GMail account?

Let's assume this:

1. You have 1 G-Mail account. Let's call this [email protected]
2. You have 1 Mac Mail account. Let's call this [email protected]
3. You desire to really only have 1 e-mail address that the world talks to you on - [email protected].

I can't handle too many variations because it's too much typing to give you instructions. If any of the above parameters are different then tell me.

Configuration instructions for the above:

Gmail
1. Log into your G-mail account and allow POP access. I like to retain a copy in G-mail to have a place where I know it will be if I lose a local copy.
2. Set up forwarding to forward mail to [email protected]

Computer 1
Set up Mac Mail to log into [email protected]. If you've never done it before then read the instructions but essentially:
1. POP mail server is pop.gmail.com
2. SMTP mail server is smtp.gmail.com
3. username: [email protected] pw: yours
4. Go to advanced options and set up secure POP login - port 995
set up secure SMTP login on port 465 and set it up to use the same login settings as the POP settings.

Instructions for setup are in G-mail if the above is confusing.

Computer 2
1. Set up Mac Mail to login and download [email protected]
1a. Make sure incoming (POP) server settings are for your MAC mail account
2. Set your "Reply To" address as [email protected]
3. You should also be able to use the same SMTP options as computer 1 above. Set the SMTP server to smtp.gmail.com and use your username and password for your gmail account along with the same outgoing server setting.

Thus, computer 2 is getting incoming mail from [email protected] but all outgoing mail is being represented to the world as [email protected]

 

[Casey]

Casey,

That's not true. The Post Office Protocol (POP3) allows for the downloading of mail from the server without deleting it.

Well -- maybe I wasn't clear. With IMAP your e-mail client will automatically sync with the e-mail server. If you delete a message, it will sync. If you create a new directory and move messages into it, it will sync. It's all automatic, and you could connect as many e-mail clients as you want to it. There might be a way to get a POP account to act similar, but it's technically not the same. I used an e-mail account with IMAP for a few years . . it was great! (Except the yearly fee of $18!)

Incidentally, I love G-mail.

As do I.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I like IMAP too. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. My server supports IMAP but I just prefer to use G-mail.