[DanStanDan]

Hello,

Just got the playbook and I'm still learning the ropes.

I would like to know how to clear the inbox, or atleast mark everything as read? I linked it to a couple email accounts, which account for about 2000 previously read emails. Well I guess because they havent been read on the playbook, it assumes they are new. So I currently have over 2000 new messages on this thing. Every time I turn it on, it starts beeping and doesn't stop for 15 minutes. It's annoying to say the least.

Any idea how to clear this up?

Thanks

[Fuzzballz]

Can't be done, one of the many limitations of the device.

[Superfly_FR]

Can't be done, one of the many limitations of the device.

Only partially true ... annoying answer; no help & clueless statement ...

To OP :
You have a selection mode in the settings. Swipe down within the email app (I suggest you change orientation to portrait also). Then tick the first message and hold, tick the last message, swipe down the list, hold the last ticked then tick the last of the list ... etc.
I suggest you don't go over 30-50 messages at once before pressing the trash/read icon.

Since it's not "all at once", you should get rid of it in maybe 5-10 minutes.
Warning; if you trash ... you trash !

[VerryBestr]

This post and the posts following it in the thread may help, too (see the info on setting "Confirm Delete" to off, in order to go a bit faster, if you delete them)

| http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...8/#post7176025

[pkcable]

Can't be done, one of the many limitations of the device.

Couldn't this have been worded better? YES the email deletions on the PB email client could be improved, but there's really no need for this condescending, troll like, remark!

I'm sure with time email deletion will be improved. For now as others explained, you can swipe down and use the tools there. Hopefully with updates we'll get addition tools such as mark all read, and delete prior, as we now have already on our BlackBerry phones.

[apengue1]

So there IS a way to select all messages without ticking them off one by one? Ill have to try this

[alex71]

Don't know about yours, but mine will only let me select messages one screen at a time. if you check the first, then scroll to the bottom and check the last, only the last screen's worth of messages are selected. So the reply in post # 2 seems on the money to me.

[RicThot]

Don't know about yours, but mine will only let me select messages one screen at a time. if you check the first, then scroll to the bottom and check the last, only the last screen's worth of messages are selected. So the reply in post # 2 seems on the money to me.

Select the first message but leave your finger on it, then swipe another finger down the list... voila, easy multiple selects...

Make sure you're in select mode (swipe from top bezel, select "Select").

You can repeat the click one - hold - swipe down multiple times in the same operations to select all you messages...

You have a selection mode in the settings. Swipe down within the email app (I suggest you change orientation to portrait also).

Messages app doesn't work in Portrait mode, unless I missed a very important update

[apengue1]

Thanks for the tip.. Just tried it.. Works well

[Superfly_FR]

Messages app doesn't work in Portrait mode, unless I missed a very important update

wooops ... you're right, it's in the bridged mail app ... my bad, thx for pointing out. Edited.

[DanStanDan]

Thanks for all the advice.

Have to say though, I have a couple complaints here. Obviously the mass delete should be a lot better. But my main concern is that the PB did not recognize that these emails have been previously read. Trying to delete over 2000 messages is going to take a very long time. Not impressed with this at all.

[1425956]

I have been having this same problem as well. I was able to follow the above mentioned procedure and resolve the issue. It was easy to do and took all of 30 seconds to complete.

[1425956]

Thanks for all the advice.

Have to say though, I have a couple complaints here. Obviously the mass delete should be a lot better. But my main concern is that the PB did not recognize that these emails have been previously read. Trying to delete over 2000 messages is going to take a very long time. Not impressed with this at all.

I can easily mark 2000 emails as read in well under 5 minutes. Is that a "very long time?"
There are some people who will never be satisfied.....

[kbz1960]

Thanks for all the advice.

Have to say though, I have a couple complaints here. Obviously the mass delete should be a lot better. But my main concern is that the PB did not recognize that these emails have been previously read. Trying to delete over 2000 messages is going to take a very long time. Not impressed with this at all.

I may be wrong but I think the first I accessed my email on my laptop with outlook it also had all messages as new. Had to change on option somewhere so it wouldn't do that but don't remember.

[ultra07]

While we are on the subject of deleting emails, is there any way to delete them on the playbook but not on my inbox of the computer? I can do this on my phone. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Fuzzballz]

I can easily mark 2000 emails as read in well under 5 minutes. Is that a "very long time?"
There are some people who will never be satisfied.....

Yeah, heaven forbid we'd like a feature called "select all" or "mark all read" that every other email client has. So demanding!

[VerryBestr]

... my main concern is that the PB did not recognize that these emails have been previously read. Trying to delete over 2000 messages is going to take a very long time. Not impressed with this at all.

From your description, I believe this account was set up to use the POP protocol.

A POP server has no way of recording if an email has already been read. Even if it did "know," a POP server has now way to communicate that fact to a POP client like the PlayBook. Your wish is for something that POP servers simply cannot do.

POP was designed for an email server sending emails to a single client, with the emails rapidly deleted thereafter on the server. Admittedly, POP is being used in other ways now, in ways that push well beyond its design. But POP is very limited in what it can do.

[VerryBestr]

... is there any way to delete them on the playbook but not on my inbox of the computer?

From what PB owners have reported here, there is no way to delete email "only locally" in any of the three types of accounts (POP, IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync/Google Sync), without deleting that email on the server. That is one of the many missing features that RIM should implement as quickly as possible. Note: the PB cannot really delete something that is already in your computer's inbox, only on the mail server your computer uses.

I can think of only one exception: It would not be possible for the PlayBook to delete messages on certain POP servers (techspeak: really primitive servers which do not support unique mail identifiers and the UIDL command).

For Exchange ActiveSync/Google Sync accounts on the PlayBook, I believe messages will be automatically deleted from the PlayBook (only from the PB, not from the server), as they age and no longer fit into the "Messages Sync Timeframe" setting which is found in the account's advanced options on the PB. For these accounts, email will be retained on the PB no more than 30 days (the maximum Sync Timefame setting available).

[ultra07]

VerryBestr,
I had my email opened on my computer and email opened on my PB to do a test. When I deleted an email on the PB and did a refresh on my computer email, the email that was deleted on the PB was gone off my computer email! It was not in the trash bin on the computer email either! We need email set up like it is on the BB phones! Delete on handset not on computer! I really hope RIM can do something about this.

[Fuzzballz]

For Exchange ActiveSync/Google Sync accounts on the PlayBook, I believe messages will be automatically deleted from the PlayBook (only from the PB, not from the server), as they age and no longer fit into the "Messages Sync Timeframe" setting which is found in the account's advanced options on the PB. For these accounts, email will be retained on the PB no more than 30 days (the maximum Sync Timefame setting available).

Does this mean they'll be deleted from the server after that time as well?

[DanStanDan]

I can easily mark 2000 emails as read in well under 5 minutes. Is that a "very long time?"
There are some people who will never be satisfied.....

I'm not sure how you managed to do that in under 5 minutes. I spent a couple of hours yesterday trying to delete everything. Got about 600 of them gone.

To make matters worse, every time the PB reboots itself, the messages that I have deleted have re-appeared. So this solution isn't working for me.

So no, I'm not satisfied.

[Fuzzballz]

To make matters worse, every time the PB reboots itself, the messages that I have deleted have re-appeared. So this solution isn't working for me.

Strange you should mention that, happens to me too. I had one POP account that had 1000 messages in the inbox. All of them showed up on the PB as "unread" even though they were all read. I marked about 100 of them read before I got bored. Then PB "lost" about 750 of them so it only showed 150 as unread.

The next time I booted the PB up it re-downloaded all of them and marked them all as unread again. Then it "lost" most of them again, etc.

Was very strange. Finally just had to delete the account from the PB.

[pacoman03]

I'm not sure how you managed to do that in under 5 minutes. I spent a couple of hours yesterday trying to delete everything. Got about 600 of them gone.

To make matters worse, every time the PB reboots itself, the messages that I have deleted have re-appeared. So this solution isn't working for me.

So no, I'm not satisfied.

I think I've read in other posts that Messages only sees your email inboxe folders, and that it doesn't see other email folders that you may have created. Couldn't you create new folders in your email accounts and then move all of your old emails into these folders. That way Messages wouldn't load these old messages.

[jose_antonio_morales]

Yes, the email app is pretty poor. I found that when you choose the select option and hold one finger on the bottom message on the screen and swipe the list up with another finger all te messages on the way get selected.

[Gatmyer]

Mine only imported the previous 7 days worth of emails. I think it was a setting when doing the initial setup. I know this dosn't help you but it may help someone else.