Folders, tags and smart folders
YouniqMail offers four ways to keep order. They look similar but work fundamentally differently. This article explains the difference so you do not pick the wrong tool.
The short answer
Section titled “The short answer”| What it is | One email can | Other programs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Folder | A real place on the mail server | live in exactly one folder | see it |
| Tags | Labels on the email | carry several tags | see them |
| Smart folder | A collection based on conditions, with a counter in the sidebar | appear in any number | do not see it |
| Saved search | A search from the search field, ready to recall | appear in any number | do not see it |
You find all four in the sidebar: grouped mailboxes at the top, smart folders and saved searches below, then each account’s folders and the tags at the very bottom.
Folders
Section titled “Folders”Folders are the only one of the four that your mail server truly knows. An email lives in exactly one folder. Move it, and it vanishes from the old one.
Use folders when an email permanently belongs elsewhere and you want that reflected on your phone and in other programs too.
Typical examples: inbox, archive, trash, or one folder per project.
Tags are labels. An email can carry any number of them and stays where it is. You assign them via the context menu or a keyboard shortcut.
Use tags when an email belongs to several topics, or you want to mark it without moving it.
Tags are stored as keywords on the mail server, as real labels on Gmail. They remain yours even if you one day stop using YouniqMail.
Smart folders
Section titled “Smart folders”A smart folder is not a place but a saved question. You define conditions, and it shows every email matching them. The mail stays where it is and additionally appears in the smart folder.
Examples:
- All mail with attachments from the last seven days
- Everything from a certain domain, across accounts
- All mail flagged red that carries a certain tag
Smart folders live in the sidebar and update themselves. They also show a counter with the number of matches. How to create one is explained under Creating smart folders.
Use a smart folder when you want to keep a collection permanently in view.
Saved searches
Section titled “Saved searches”A saved search keeps a search from the search field: search text and search operators, including ones a smart folder does not know, such as read state. You create it with the Save search button in the search field, after which it sits in the sidebar under Saved Searches. One click runs it again.
It does not refresh in the background. It only shows a counter if you switch one on under Settings → Mailboxes → Sidebar Listing, and that counter reflects the state of the last run.
Use a saved search when you repeat a query occasionally but do not want to see it all the time.
What makes sense when
Section titled “What makes sense when”Collecting invoices → folder. They belong there permanently, and you want to see them on your phone too.
Marking everything about a project that spans several areas → tag. The mail stays in its folders.
Seeing “what is still open?” daily → smart folder with a counter in the sidebar.
Going through a customer’s mail once a quarter → saved search.
Free-plan limits
Section titled “Free-plan limits”Without a Pro license you can create 5 smart folders and 5 saved searches. Folders and tags are unlimited.
Entries you already created always remain usable, even above the limit. Only creating new ones is limited.