Workaround for Quitting MsgFiler Bug

Some users have been reporting that MsgFiler is quitting after a period of inactivity or when waking the Mac up from sleep. I have yet to reproduce this error on my end, which makes identifying the root cause of the bug frustrating.

That said, I do have a workaround that I’m recommending to users. In this article, we’ll be creating a shell script that checks whether or not Mail is running and MsgFiler is not running. If those conditions are met, MsgFiler will be launched. Second, we’ll attach this script to a cron job that runs every minute while your Mac is running.

Continue reading Workaround for Quitting MsgFiler Bug

What’s New in MsgFiler 4.1.1

MsgFiler 4.1.1 has been approved by Apple and is making its way to the Mac App Store and Gumroad. This is a point release with mostly bug fixes and improvements, though there are a few new features based on customer feedback.

You can read the full list of new features, improvements, and bug fixes on the version history page here. Here are the highlights:

Continue reading What’s New in MsgFiler 4.1.1

Auto Filer: Using Shortcuts and MsgFiler to Automatically File and Suggest Mailboxes

One of the most requested features that I’ve received from users over the years is for MsgFiler to auto-suggest mailboxes based on the selected email message in Mail. For the longest time, I’ve been resistant to add this primarily because my knowledge of AI and ML technologies was scant. It still is, but there have been enough advances in the field that I will look into this in the future. In the meantime, however, I have created a workflow using Apple Shortcuts and MsgFiler by which users can create custom rules to instruct MsgFiler to automatically files messages into mailboxes.

Now, before you go off and say, “Why can’t you just create a rule in Mail to process incoming messages?” You certainly can, but the use case for most MsgFiler users is to file messages after they have appeared in the inbox, which happens after mail rules have run. I personally don’t have many mail rules, because I prefer to triage my email from the inbox.

In this article, we’ll dive into the Auto Filer shortcut, guiding you through the process of creating rules — based on the sender, subject, message body, or raw source — applied to the selected message or messages in Mail. Any message that meets one of these criteria will be automatically filed into the specified mailbox.

Continue reading Auto Filer: Using Shortcuts and MsgFiler to Automatically File and Suggest Mailboxes

Announcing MsgFiler 4!

I’m thrilled to announce the immediate availability of MsgFiler 4. Completely rewritten from the ground up, MsgFiler 4 brings a history of over 18 years of fast filing and efficient mailbox organizer in Apple Mail to macOS Sonoma (and Ventura).

MsgFiler 4 is available for download and purchase from the Mac App Store and Gumroad:

Here are some highlights of what’s in MsgFiler 4. Complete documentation is available at: https://docs.msgfiler.com.

Continue reading Announcing MsgFiler 4!

A Deep Dive Into Filing Mail Messages Using AppleScript

There are a number of techniques I am looking into to file messages into macOS Mail mailboxes using AppleScript for the macOS Sonoma version of MsgFiler, but each possible solution has its own set of drawbacks and limitations. Let’s dive into each one, but first some background on how MsgFiler with the Engine used to work in macOS Ventura and earlier:

Continue reading A Deep Dive Into Filing Mail Messages Using AppleScript

Workaround: MailFolders Keyboard Maestro Scripts

Longtime MsgFiler user, Ike Nassi, has released a set of Keyboard Maestro scripts to mimic the functionality of MsgFiler. MailFolders for Keyboard Maestro uses an AppleScript that MsgFiler for Sonoma may use to quickly generate the list of mailboxes from macOS Mail. From there, it uses AppleScript to deconstruct the path and instructs Keyboard Maestro to choose menu items from the Message > Move To menu.

Continue reading Workaround: MailFolders Keyboard Maestro Scripts

Another Way to File Messages on macOS Sonoma Using the Keyboard

As I continue to investigate how to bring MsgFiler to macOS Sonoma, here’s a tip from a user that allows you to file messages via the keyboard on Sonoma. It also works on previous versions of macOS dating back to 2011.

  1. Select a message to file
  2. Click on the Help menu or press Command-Shift-/
  3. Type in a portion of the mailbox you wish to file or copy the message to
  4. Choose the mailbox in the list that appears with the arrow keys or the mouse
  5. Press Return or click the mouse/trackpad

This method makes use of the Accessibility API to search through the menus in macOS Mail. Since it’s entirely built-into Mail, there are no dependencies on plug-ins or third-party applications like MsgFiler.

Continue reading Another Way to File Messages on macOS Sonoma Using the Keyboard

macOS Sonoma Removes Support for Mail Plug-ins Like MsgFiler

The time has finally come to say goodbye to macOS Mail Plug-ins. macOS 14 Sonoma has removed support for Mail Plug-ins like MsgFiler. I wrote an extensive blog post on the history of Mail Plug-ins and MsgFiler on my personal blog.

In the coming months, I will communicate more with the MsgFiler community on what will happen with the app. It will continue to work as-is on macOS Big Sur and below. But be warned that if you upgrade to Sonoma, MsgFiler will cease to function as-is.

This is your opportunity to email Apple at: mail-app-extensions@apple.com and encourage them to do one of two things:

  • Enhance the Mailkit framework so developers like myself can get a list of mailboxes and file messages programatically.
  • Incorporate the functionality of MsgFiler directly in the macOS Mail client itself.

MsgFiler has been around since 2006, nearly 17 years! That’s a long time for a piece of software to be in existence. I hope it has saved you countless hours and days from manually moving messages from the inbox to your nested mailboxes. It certainly has for me. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do without it! Thank you for your support over the years!

MsgFiler Plugins Updated for macOS Ventura 13.3

If you have upgraded to macOS Ventura 13.3, your MsgFiler mail plugins will have been disabled. Upgrade to the latest versions of the plugins to regain functionality with MsgFiler. Download the plugin appropriate to your version of MsgFiler:

  • MsgFiler Engine: Version 1.7.1 works with macOS 13.3. This is the plugin you should install if you are purchased MsgFiler 3 from the Mac App Store.
  • MsgFiler Classic: Version 2.7.1 works with macOS 13.3. This is the standalone plugin that offers a subset of features from MsgFiler 3 from the Mac App Store.

If you are running a previous version of macOS, such as Big Sur, Catalina or Mojave, you do not need to do anything.