Auto Delete Spam

Is there a way to automatically the emails in the Spam folder after a certain time period like Apple Mail can with their Junk folder?

Which mail program are you using? With Apple Mail, you can have SpamSieve put the spam in the Junk folder and set it to auto-delete. With Entourage, you could use a schedule to empty the Junk E-mail folder now and then.

I’m using Apple Mail. I thought that the Spam folder you create to use with SpamSieve kinda overtook the Junk folder. Is there a way to delete the junk automatically in the Spam mailbox?

I recommend using the Spam folder with Apple Mail, because in order to use the Junk folder you have to enable Mail’s own junk mail filter, and having both spam filters active at once can be confusing. However, Mail does not support auto-deletion of messages from the Spam folder (or any folder except Junk and the trash). So if you want auto-deletion, you’ll have to either set SpamSieve to put the spam messages in the trash, or else follow this procedure to use the Junk mailbox.

Michael, I don’t quite understand the instructions in the 4.2.2 Automatically Deleting Old Spam Messages link you provided. In the Advanced section of Junk Mail, you say to edit the rule such that the conditions don’t match any messages, and then your example shows both ‘is’ addressed and ‘is not’. Which should it be?

I’ve attached my Advanced screenshot. How should this be set?

Both. First, click the “-” buttons to delete all but two conditions. Change the first condition to say "Message is addressed to my full name. Change the second one to say “Message is not addressed to my full name.”

Thanks Michael… worked like a charm. Other than not using the Junk/Not Junk options of Apple Mail, is there anything else I should know if I’m using the Mail Junk folder for spam rather than the Spam folder? And, now that I have the spam going to the Junk folder, do I need to keep the Spam folder?

No, I think 4.2.2 mentioned everything you need to know. You can get rid of the Spam folder if you’re using the Junk folder instead.

Still not auto-deleting
I followed the instructions, and SpamSpieve is now depositing spam in my Junk folder. My account tab is set up to auto-delete old mail from the Junk folder after one day. But it is not actually auto-deleting anything. Also, the “Erase Junk Mail…” command from the bottom left corner of the Apple Mail app is now greyed out since installing SpamSieve and reconfiguring to use Junk folder. So I can neither rely on auto-delete nor select the “Erase Junk Mail” option.

Suggestions?

Sorry, but I don’t know of any way to fix it if Mail’s set to auto-delete but it isn’t doing so. Perhaps it would work if you used the trash instead of the Junk mailbox.

That’s due to a bug in the Leopard version of Mail. I reported it to Apple several months ago, and I hope they’ll fix it.

Moving to trash
What is the easiest way to have SpamSpieve/Mail put the spam in the Trash instead of the Junk or Spam folder (i.e. so that Mail may have a handier time auto-deleting trash than it seems to be doing with the Junk folder)?

Also - this is off-thread - but I used the Tip to change the plist item so that the SS app is hidden from the dock. It seems to have worked perfectly, except the “Open SS Window” new item has not shown up in the Messages menu in Mail (even after quitting and restarting computer and relaunching Mail.) – suggestions?

Just change the bottom part of the SpamSieve rule in Mail’s preferences. If you also want to change what happens to messages that you train as spam, you can use the “SpamSieve - Change Settings” command.

Please make sure that your SpamSieve application file is stored directly in the Applications folder (not inside any other folders).