Drag emails between folders
In a desktop browser you can drag one conversation — or a selection — onto a folder in the sidebar. Which folders light up, what happens on drop, and undo.
On a desktop browser the folder list is always visible, so the quickest way to file mail is to drag it there. Drag-and-drop is available only in the wide layout (a window wider than about 750 px); on a phone the same moves are swipes and the Move to menu.
Drag a conversation
- Press and move. Click a row with the left mouse button and move the pointer a few pixels. A small preview with the subject follows the pointer, and the folders you may drop on are tinted in the sidebar.
1Preview under the pointer2Archive — accepts the drop3Trash — accepts the dropWeb & desktop iPhone screenshotWhile you drag, a preview follows the pointer and the folders that accept the drop are tinted.Same screen as on the web, single column. This capture is produced by the screenshot pipeline and will appear here.While you drag, a preview follows the pointer and the folders that accept the drop are tinted.iPhone Android screenshotWhile you drag, a preview follows the pointer and the folders that accept the drop are tinted.Same screen as on the web, single column. This capture is produced by the screenshot pipeline and will appear here.While you drag, a preview follows the pointer and the folders that accept the drop are tinted.Android - Drop on a folder. The folder under the pointer highlights more strongly. Release to move. A toast confirms Conversation moved to Archive (or the folder you chose).
1Archive — highlighted2Preview names the destinationWeb & desktop iPhone screenshotThe folder under the pointer highlights; release to move.Same screen as on the web, single column. This capture is produced by the screenshot pipeline and will appear here.The folder under the pointer highlights; release to move.iPhone Android screenshotThe folder under the pointer highlights; release to move.Same screen as on the web, single column. This capture is produced by the screenshot pipeline and will appear here.The folder under the pointer highlights; release to move.Android - Change your mind mid-drag. Press Esc or release anywhere that is not a folder — nothing happens.
Rows that were dragged disappear from the list at once. If the server refuses the move, the rows come back and a toast says Could not move to … Nothing was changed.
Drag several at once
Tick the checkboxes that appear when you hover over rows (or hold Shift and click to select a range), then drag any ticked row. The whole selection travels together; the preview reads 3 conversations. The selection clears after the drop.
Where a conversation can go
Only sensible destinations accept a drop, and the others stay unlit:
- Archive and Trash take anything that is not already there.
- Inbox, Sent and Drafts only accept mail that belongs there by nature — dropping an archived received message on Inbox puts it back in Inbox; dropping it on Sent is refused. A mixed selection of received and sent mail can therefore only go to Archive or Trash.
- Dropping on the folder you are looking at does nothing.
Chats are not mail and cannot be dragged.
Undo a drop
There is no undo toast for a drag. Open the folder you dropped on, right-click the conversation and choose Restore (from Archive or Trash) or drag it back.
What our server sees
Cannot see
- What the dragged conversations contain
Can see
- The folder change — the same request the row menu's Archive or Move to trash sends
Common questions
Nothing happens when I drag
Check that the window is wide enough to show the folder list permanently. If the sidebar opens as an overlay from the ☰ button, you are in the compact layout, where dragging is not offered — use the row menu's Move to instead.
Can I drag with a touch screen on a laptop or tablet browser?
Yes, in the wide layout: press and hold the row for a moment until the preview appears, then move. Moving before the preview appears scrolls the list instead.
Can I drag a message out of a conversation?
No. Dragging always moves the row — the whole conversation as it appears in that folder. To move a single message, open it and use its ⋮ menu.