I go through Mail on an iPhone and iPad and want a convenient button to delete the message. To touch the three dots and then scroll down to the bottom is time-consuming. I use Trash much more than Archive.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.4
mallwalk wrote:
I get that window occasionally but many emails now have "Archive" where you show the "Trash" button.
OK, I know how to display “Archive” where I showed the “Trash” button above.
It’s done at Settings > Mail > Accounts > [your specific email account] > Account > Advanced > Move Discarded Messages Into.
Choosing “Archive Mailbox” instead of “Trash Mailbox” there causes this behavior.
mallwalk wrote:
I get that window occasionally but many emails now have "Archive" where you show the "Trash" button.
OK, I know how to display “Archive” where I showed the “Trash” button above.
It’s done at Settings > Mail > Accounts > [your specific email account] > Account > Advanced > Move Discarded Messages Into.
Choosing “Archive Mailbox” instead of “Trash Mailbox” there causes this behavior.
No longer is Trash an option when you swipe left.
Delete emails
There are multiple ways to delete emails. Do any of the following:
.No such button on an iPad or iPhone view.
I get that window occasionally but many emails now have "Archive" where you show the "Trash" button. I have been trying to see why more and more emails arrive with the only option "Archive" button but I cannot figure it out. In such cases, the only way to delete without opening the email is the three dots to the left of "Flag". That takes a whole other step and wastes time.
At the top of the Mail window is a toolbar - which can be edited to show the action buttons that you wish to have immediate access.
The toolbar is customised by tapping the More (…) button - and selecting Customise Toolbar - at top-right of the Mail window:
You can also use the Previous button at bottom-right of the Mail Window, to access an Action Menu, just as before:
mallwalk wrote:
No longer is Trash an option when you swipe left.
Presumably you’re talking about iPhone email since you quoted from that guide. And presumably you’re talking about viewing the email list.
From my iPhone, iOS 16.5:
Just found this thread (realize it’s old). It would be great (and make sense from a UI perspective) to have a trash icon when reading an email (regardless of account type). so you could delete with a single tap/action. Is there a way to do that when you’re reading an email? (See screenshot - no trash button, just options to archive, organize, forward, or edit. Why would archive be more common than delete?).
You can see that same trash button on this page from the iPad User Guide.
Check your email in Mail on iPad - Apple Support
And the iPhone User Guide enumerates the various ways to delete emails, including that same trash icon.
Delete and recover emails in Mail on iPhone - Apple Support
The button is here.
Your screenshot did not appear above.
I supplied an (edited) screenshot from my iPad running iPadOS 16.5.
Trash Button in Mail
