As previously reported on [Daring Fireball](http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10/23/gmail-gets-imap/) , Google is working on integrating IMAP into Gmail. This should be good news for people who prefer to manage their email through desktop clients rather than through a web-based interface. IMAP makes it possible for users to read, edit, and otherwise manage email from anywhere and have those changes take place across platforms. I have to say that now that I have more time to spend with my Mac, I’ve grown rather fond of Apple Mail and am excited about the changes to come in Leopard.
Check your Gmail settings page to see if IMAP has been switched on for your account. If you don’t see it, log out of Gmail and log back in again.
First, the good news: all of your labels and filters will be downloaded and stored in separate folders once you enable IMAP in Gmail and set up your e-mail client.
And now the bad news: every piece of mail that you’ve received since you first signed up for a Gmail account will be downloaded after you set up your desktop mail client to use Gmail IMAP — including spam. A better implementation would be to carry over the POP integration feature that allows you to limit downloaded messages to those that appear after POP downloading is enabled.
As I write this I’m waiting for Mail to download 7381 mail headers. It’s been going strong for at least three minutes; I’ll report back if I encounter any major problems.
