OSX Yosemite Mail app settings for GMail accounts

Getting Gmail accounts to integrate nicely with Apple Mail has always had some difficulties as Gmail does not use a standard IMAP system and uses labels instead of folders and messages can have two labels. The concept of the All Mail label is effectively an archive and has caused confusion between a delete and an archive. Apple has been improving this interaction with Gmail (e.g. in iOS8) and in OSX it has steadily improved as OSX has evolved from Mountain Lion to Mavericks and now Yosemite. Unfortunately many of the settings and tips that were described for earlier version and are still easily found via search engines are no longer relevant in Yosemite and in some situation make the situation worse. Below are settings (click figures for enlarged view) which seem to work reliably both for @gmail.com and Google App @mydomain.com accounts.

1. In web interface for Gmail under the account settings > labels tab all the labels need to be exposed to IMAP by ticking the right hand column check boxes. (For previous version of OSX it was suggested not to select certain ones e.g. Bin or All Mail but this makes Yosemite worse).

2. In web interface for Gmail under the account settings >  Forwarding -POP/IMAP tab set the auto-expunge settings as below, to be controlled by client. In the figure it shows messages moved to the bin and they will be deleted after 30 days - you can choose to delete them immediately if required. The settings on this tab need to be saved with button at the bottom of page unlike the settings for labels.

3. This assumes that a Gmail account has already been added in usual manner to Mail app on the Mac. With Mail app open on the Mac you need to open Preferences from the drop down menu of the Mail item in the menu bar at top of screen and then choose Accounts tab and from within Accounts select the Gmail account on left side (the second one in the screenshot) and choose Mailbox Behaviours tab. Set all the option boxes to be ticked as shown below. When set select another account and this will give you option to save the new settings. It is all pretty much done now but it is worth closing mail (Quitting with CMD-Q not just minimising) and then reopening. IT may take a little time to resynchronise the account. Sometimes it is worth selecting a mailbox and choosing to "Rebuild" from the Mailbox menu in the menu bar at the top.

[Addendum 18 Dec 2014: Some have described issues with GMail and saving drafts multiple copies of drafts as emails written in Mail app, perhaps every minute. This does not seem universal to everybody and seems to only affect Gmail accounts. It has been suggested it relates to the timing of the send command and updating the last draft. In practice the only solution seems to untick the Save Drafts on Server settings shown above - although this does mean that drafts started on one machine will not be able to be accessed on another unless they are first moved to a user defined folder/label. If drafts are not saved on server then the layout described below will differ and drafts will be displayed in seperate folder at bottom of sidebar]

4.  After reopening Mail on the left hand side bar will now display as in the screenshot below. In this example there are four accounts and each has an entry in the submenu for Inbox, Drafts, Sent, Junk, Trash and Archive . Deleted messages from Gmail account will show in the relevant mailbox under Trash and under Archive it will show the Gmail "All Mail" label/folder mapped to the Archive as it should. However beware when working with the All Mail Archive folder as all GMail items will be present but may well exist in other folders if they have user labels and best to deal with this folder via Gmail web interface where all the labels for each message in the All Mail folder can be seen.

All the user defined labels/folders as opposed to these system labels can be seen uinder the individual accounts lower in the sidebar (providing the labels have been exposed to IMAP in settings)

Turning on Two Factor (Step) Authentication for Outlook.com - some practical experinces

Having just gone through the process of turning on Two factor (step) authentication (2FA) for one individual for Microsoft Outlook.com (and hence the services associated with the Microsoft login) these are some observations and comments on practicalities and implications which some may find useful. It is not intended as a guide to basic process that has already being covered in detail by many others. 

If you are not going to read detail below just take one concept away. Turning on 2FA and getting it sorted on all your apps on all physical devices is not a 5 minute job like changing a password, although it is not very complicated. Allow time and plan what will need to be done.

2FA is increasingly being encouraged as something all users should adopt as standard to improve security with good reason. It is about the two factors - something you know and something you have. It is also sold as being very easy and in principle is but the need for understanding of what is happening and the potential on-going use may well be relatively small but is not insignificant for the 95% of users who are non-technical. This is particularly true in guidance with use of the term "trusted device" which may not equate to how many non-technical users may use this term. It should also be noted that different organisations implement 2AF in slightly different ways.

In the example the user already had a very strong "main" password for Outlook.com (this was not changed during this process) but wished to turn on 2FA for a system that consisted of various devices:

• iMac desktop using Apple Mail, Safari and Chrome, OneDrive
• MacBook Pro using Airmail, Safari and Chrome, OneDrive
• iPad using iOS Mail, Safari and Chrome, OneDrive
• Android (4.4.) smartphone using Chrome, Outlook.com app, OneDrive

These devices seem representative of many a user's situation

• After logging into Microsoft account on the web and turning on 2FA in the Password and more security section of the account settings there are a number of choices that need to be made. The main one is how you are going to get a 6 digit authentication code when required. This code can be sent from Microsoft by text to a mobile phone but if you were in a location of no signal this would not work and the best option seems to install an authenticator application on the smartphone which once setup correctly will generate the code for you without any phone signal.
• Microsoft seems to default to suggesting installing the Microsoft authenticator but there are other options and the most widely used is Google Authenticator (GA). This simple app generates a 6-digit code every 20 seconds once installed and connected to an account. You can download and install Google Authenticator for iOS or Android before you enable 2FA at Microsoft and then when choosing authenticator application choose other device and this will show a QR barcode on screen. To link the Microsoft account to the Google Authenticator on that smartphone just use Google Authenticator to scan the QR code (from the screen works) and this will set it up for that account. Other accounts e.g. Gmail can be added into same app later.
• In theory people have described it is possible to have Google Authenticator on two devices e.g. iPad and Smartphone with the same account linked but it seems not easy and they have to be linked from the same QR code at the same time ( as once QR code not displayed on screen you cannot get the same one back). I am not sure there is much advantage as if the phone is stolen or lost all authenticator apps have to be revoked, you cannot specify one device to revoke.
• Most versions of 2FA describe how if a device is frequently used when authenticating it with a code on first occasion it can be marked as "trusted" or a frequently login to this device. There are a few important aspects to understand about this and avoid potential confusion.

1. Most would think of a device as being an iPad, iMac desktop etc. i.e. a physical device and once authenticated everything (browsers, apps) on that physical device would be trusted- this is NOT the case.
2. It may be better to think of the device as an application e.g. a browser and this means that in case of having both Safari and Chrome browsers if you login to Outlook.com with Safari and validate it with a code and mark it as trusted when you login to Oultook.com with Chrome you will have to validate that browser separately as well. This may relate to cookies and if these are cleared the browser will have to be revalidated.
3. Most systems have time outs for their trusted "devices" e.g. 90 days and this means that if you do not login to web interface of Microsoft with Chrome it will become untrusted and you will have to enter a GA code even if in that time you have logged in with e.g. Apple Mail or with the Safari browser. This only adds one step and in is not a major issue but does mean you need to have the GA app on the smartphone handy. However this is the same situation as if you were logging in from another non-trusted computer.
4. Even if a “device” is trusted from within a browser this does not pass on to applications on same “physical device” regardless whether they support 2FA (e.g. OneDrive) or not. On the iMac, MacBook, Smartphone and iPad all the browsers (7 instances) had to be trusted independently using a GA code. Even after that OneDrive on same physical device which supports 2FA had to be trusted separately with GA code. This only worked by closing OneDrive and reopening it and it did not just accept it but forced me to choose again my local OneDrive folder. As OneDrive starts at each login it will presumably not timeout but it looks as though if I did not logon to a computer within 90 days and have OneDrive login then I would have to revalidate again and may have to choose my OneDrive folder again etc.

• Not only is “trusted device” located at the application level e.g. Safari and OneDrive on the MacBook with each having seemingly its own time out (only time will tell) but the majority of applications e.g. Apple Mail, Airmail etc. do NOT support 2FA directly and this means that these will need to use “ an application specific password”.
• Application specific password are easily generated after logging in to the Microsoft account settings Password Security section and choosing new application password. This 16 digit code can be used for an application such as Apple Mail or Airmail on the Macs or Mail app on iPad. However each app requires its own password, each password can only be used for one application on one physical device. This means even for the same Outlook.com account in Apple Mail on the iMac and MacBook it will require different passwords. However an Outlook.com account in Apple Mail on one physical device e.g. iMac will require the same application specific password for both the IMAP incoming server and SMTP outgoing server (the latter is not obvious in Apple Mail > SMTP dropdown> Edit Advanced). It has been suggested that on Apple OSX devices using iCloud that it may need to be entered in a third not obvious place – the iCloud account settings for the account using Contacts – something not yet explored as this user did not use the Outlook.com contact facilities.
• Once you have created the application specific password in Microsoft accounts and you click “Done” it disappears off screen and there is no way to get it back; it is still valid. If you think you are going to have to enter it elsewhere as described in the iCloud example above make a temporary note of it somewhere. You cannot revoke a single application specific password you can only revoke all application specific from the Microsoft account settings and this would mean all applications setup on all physical devices would have to be reconfigured with new passwords; a significant piece of work. However in the above Apple Mail example, if you have not made a note and find you do need to enter it in a third place, you could generate a new application password and then re-enter it in the appropriate all the appropriate fields (incoming and outgoing) and this time in the third place  
• The good news about application specific passwords is they do not expire in same way that trusted devices do.
• The Android Outlook.com app was not as straightforward as I would have expected, given that it is a Microsoft app to only support a Microsoft service. The app does not seem to have 2FA built in (surprisingly) which means it needs an application specific password – just like Apple apps. The instructions on the Microsoft help on 2FA describe opening it, choosing settings and then server and adjusting the user passwords. I could find no way t access serve settings for the Outlook.com app and as such could not get to anywhere to adjust password. It did ask for a password at one point in a pop up but no indication of what was required a GA 6 digit code for 2FA or a password and when an incorrect code was entered and no further options appeared. In the end I deleted the whole app, reinstalled on phone and reconfigured with a new app specific password.  This did mean that all the email settings needed setting up as before (email to sync in time and size, signatures,, folders to sync) and then all email had to sync. Others may not have had problems but be aware that all may not be smooth or it may go smoothly if you enter an app specific password (not GA code) when first asked after turning on 2FA

So in summary 2FA is worth turning on but you need to allocate appropriate time to do this – it is not just like changing a single password. It certainly is not as simple as “just turning on 2FA” as some writers imply. The terminology may be somewhat misleading (e.g what is meant by a device) and the majority of applications do not have 2FA built in and will need application specific passwords and you need to understand how these work. There are other methods such as USB hardware keys to implement 2FA but as yet are certainly not main stream for the general population. It is disappointing that more applications do not have 2FA built in but it may be that biometrics such as on Apple iOS devices may aid ease of use for the non technical average user.

Why was iOS Mail app archiving GMail messages even though was set to delete?

iOS 8 and Gmail was behaving oddly with regard to a delete action  and was still only archiving them. The preferences in account setup was set to to the delete option  not archive and the delete folder target was set as Bin on Server.

What happened in iOS 8 Mail app

In iOS8 Mail app in GMail account, a long swipe left (=delete) or short swipe left then choose Trash all had the same effect on message. The message disappeared from inbox and if you looked in the trash folder for the gmail account you may momentarily see message as it syncs with server then the message disappears from Trash folder. Checking directly on server via browser confirmed the message was not in Trash (Bin), however looking at the "All mail" GMail folder (the GMail archive folder) showed message STILL present there.

Compared to how it should have worked as in iOS GMail app

In the iOS Gmail app Deleting a message from Inbox and it appeared in Trash (Bin) folder and remained there; at this time it was also still present in the All Mail folder. However choose then to delete forever option (from within Trash (Bin)) and disappears from both Trash AND the All Mail folder.

Summary of problem

iOS Mail app with Gmail accounts appeared with the TRASH option only to move emails to trash locally but then as soon as sync with server it disappeared from the Trash folder with no further action but remained in the All Folder. This is in effect an Archive.  It should work as as the Gmail iOS app - messages deleted or trashed are moved to Trash (from where they can be restored ) and remain there till deleted permanently manually or the Trash can is automatically purged after set time on server.

Solution

Others did not seem to have this problem but took some time to realise the issue was with the type of account configured to connect to the Gmail account, not the settings of that account.

The account was originally setup  on iOS 6, upgraded to iOS 7 and then iOS 8. Due to syncing problems with previous versions of iOS and Google many had recommended using the Exchange interface to Google and this is what  had done. When the connection was originally established the type of account chosen was "Exchange". 

For the GMail account in settings I deleted the Exchange type connection and made new account setup using the Gmail type account option in iOS8. It now all seems to work correctly , so solution was to use correct type account. I cannot remember whether I tested the Exchange version thoroughly in previous iOS versions so cannot say if this is a new problem or also existed in iOS 7. Since identifying the problem and looking at the contents of my All Mail folder it looks as though this was occurring in iOS 7.

Tidying up GMail "All Mail"

Having fixed the issue for future deletes the issue was then how to delete messages in the All Mail folder that I thought I had deleted. It is important to state that I have my own set of user defined folders (labels) where I place messages to be kept and hence do not use the Archive facility of Gmail. The following will delete all messages that exist only in the All Mail folder

• To identify messages in All Mail that do NOT have any user applied labels (i.e. in my folders) and are not in the system folders (labels) Inbox, Drafts or Sent then use the advanced search facility while logged into GMail via a browser. In the Search box type:
         has:nouserlabels -in:sent -in:chat -in:draft -in:inbox
• This will present the large number of messages as multiple pages. Select the tick box in header area that will select all the messages on that page and this will also then give you option (if you have selected all on that page) to select all conversations that meet this search criteria - select Yes. With all conversations selected then choose delete.
• At this point they will still show as are in the Trash Bin. Go to Trash bin and scan the messages just to ensure that you have not accidentally deleted a large number of messages you do wish to keep - if there are then undo the delete function. If all is OK and you are happy to get rid of the messages then Empty Trash Bin.

GMail Contacts sync - Fields display in wrong order in Addresses on iPad

I use Gmail for email and contacts syncing them to iPad, iMac and MacBook. For some time some I have been confused by how some addresses display on iPad with data above the first line of address.

Address should show as [ Fields where data is entered on Google Contacts]

32 Hunter Street     [Street]
Nether Green         [Local Area]
Sheffield                [City]
S11 1AA                [Zip/Post Code]
United Kingdom    [Country]

on iPad reads as

Nether Green
2 Hunter Street
Sheffield [City]
S11 1AA
United Kingdom

Confusingly choose to edit record on iPad and the [Local Area] entry appears above the street entry. If  you change the order to correct  this on iPad in Edit screen (delete the area entry and enter the street area, delete the original street entry and enter the area entry) an odd thing happens. On Gmail contacts the updated entry are BOTH put in the street entry (as I suggest doing below).  The problem seems related to the [Local Area] field. If you want it to display correctly then do not use the [Local Area] field when entering on Google Contacts and enter a second line in the street field with the local area information and this will then display correctly.

If using Contacts on OSX and syncing with Google then also enter the Local Field as a second line in the street field as suggested above for the Gmail web interface.

The iPad sync I use takes place with the Google type internet account and hoped iOS8 would solve it but this is not the case. I have tested this on iPad with a separate CardDav account (disabling the contacts in the main Google account) and makes no difference. As such it seems like a bug in the iPad contacts display - I am surprised it has not been picked up by Apple and corrected. As I use Android phone switching to iCloud is not really an option.

OSX DiskUtility fails due to inability to unmount USB drive

On OSX 10.9.3 trying to format some USB drives but the Mac Disk Utility failed when trying to reformat or repartition with " error unable to dismount " and consequently fails. This seemed a bit hit and miss which USB drives it effected but the fix was to temporarily disable Spotlight indexing - why it was indexing these particular drives it was not clear. Note after re-enabling indexing OSX will reindex all disks which will take some time.

To disable Spotlight in Terminal use command

       sudo mdutil -a -i off

After using DiskUtility re-enable indexing in Terminal with

       sudo mdutil -a -i on

Spotlight not working on Mac (OSX)

On a hackintosh with OSX 10.8.2 Spotlight suddenly stopped working with these symptoms:

• It was possible to enter search term but did not show anything other than Web or Wikipedia.
• In preferences it was set to show all and the privacy pane was empty.
• In terminal (terminal commands in blue, terminal response in red)
  "sudo mdutil -i off /" (to turn off service),
  "sudo mdutil -i on /", (to turn on service)
  "sudo mdutil -E /" (to delete meta data)
  all produced the result 'Spotlight Server is disabled' i.e. the usual command seem to have no effect.

The following terminal command seemed to produce some results, time will tell if it is temporary

• "sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V100" removed the index but had no effect on above commands
• "sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist " produced 'com.apple.metadata.mds Already loaded'
• "sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist" seemed to work.
• "sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist" then seemed to work also [using the reverse has also been required i.e unload load unload and then reload]
• Restarting Spotlight then with "sudo mdutil -i on /" produced \
  /:  Indexing enabled.
  /Volumes/MacDell435TMBU: Indexing enabled

There are multiple descriptions of problems with Spotlight and it is unlikely there is one common cause but a number do describe the issue of the Server disabled command when usual terminal commands are used trying to reset it. This may help in some circumstances.

Android Fix: App could not be downloaded due to an error 492

Full article 

http://appslova.com/android-fix-app-could-not-be-downloaded-due-to-an-error-492/

Running Cynaogenmod Android 2.3 on original HTC - this allows me to use the SD as app storage and get over memory limits. It has extended life of phone from 15 months (when ran out of space) to now almost 4 years and phone is still fine.

Recently unable to update a 5 Apps. The above link was very helpful and and simply wiping the disk cache and the Dalvik cache by rebooting into recovery mode and choosing the appropriate options solved the problem.

OS X Mac asking for password when moving files to Trash

Credit for this solution to:
http://www.fixkb.com/2012/09/mac-asking-for-password-when-moving-files-to-trash.html#comment-72799

This started after Mavericks upgrade. When dragging files to the trash you are prompted for a password this is result of sometimes when moving files or folder the permission are not carried over or permissions on trash can have become corrupted. Ownership corruption of trash can can also manifest itself as Trash always shows empty but Terminal can identify files present. You will need to re-take ownership of the trash folder or reapply permissions to folders. 

Method 1

1. Click on the Spotlight (magnifying glass in top right), type “Terminal” and press enter.
2. Type the following command replacing “your_user_name” with your user name.
   sudo chown your_user_name ~/.Trash
3. You will need to enter your password and press Enter.
   • It won’t show any characters when you type.
   • If you do not have a password then set one first.

If you are presented with the following error:  “No such file or folder” then do the following:

1. Type the following command:
   mkdir ~/.Trash

Method 2

Check your permisions are correct on your user files.

1. Navigate to your main hard drive (usually Macintosh HD) and select your /Users folder.
2. Press  “Cmd+I” to bring up the Get Info window.
3. Expand the “Sharing and Permissions” arrow.
4. Next to your username you should see “Read & Write”.
5. Click the small Gear icon  and then click “Apply to enclosed items…”