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Email glossary · Practical guide

IMAP: mailbox access, folders and synchronization scope

IMAP lets a client access messages in server mailboxes. It is a receiving and mailbox-management protocol, not the submission path used to send a campaign.

Reviewed · Examples are illustrative

Who this helps: Readers checking a term before making an outreach or mailbox decision.

Meaning and common confusion

An application chooses which folders and messages to retrieve. A message visible in provider webmail can therefore remain absent from a tool that reads a different folder. Zintara's current synchronizer selects INBOX; that is an implementation boundary, not a limitation that applies to all IMAP clients.

Source: RFC 9051: IMAP protocol context

Worked example

This is a synthetic illustration, not a customer result or a live configuration to copy.

Provider folders: INBOX, Sent, Archive
Application selects: INBOX
Reply moved directly to Archive: outside that selected folder
A connected status does not establish that Archive was searched.

Checks to make

  1. Locate the missing message in provider webmail.
  2. Check the folder actually selected by the application.
  3. Separate authentication failure from message matching or folder scope.

Next step and limits

Use a controlled reply that remains in INBOX to isolate the receiving path. Do not move or delete a whole mailbox to force synchronization. Review the folder-mapping guide when rules or archiving explain the difference.

Source: RFC 9051: IMAP protocol context

Source references

Worked examples are illustrative. Editorial procedures are suggested methods, not measured performance claims or promises of additional product features.

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