Bulk Actions

Learn how to archive, delete, or recategorize many emails at once.

What are Bulk Actions?

Bulk actions let you perform the same operation on multiple emails simultaneously:

  • Archive - Remove from inbox (still searchable)
  • Mark as Spam - Block sender, remove from inbox
  • Delete - Permanently remove emails
  • Recategorize - Move to different category

Perfect for:

  • Cleaning up old newsletters
  • Archiving processed emails
  • Deleting spam
  • Fixing miscategorized batches

Selecting Multiple Emails

Using Checkboxes

Each email has a checkbox on the left:

  • Click checkbox to select individual emails
  • Selected emails are highlighted

Select All

Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+A

  • Selects all visible emails in current category
  • Quick way to select everything

Deselect All

Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+D or Esc

  • Clears all selections
  • Start over if you selected wrong emails

Select Range

Click first email, hold Shift, click last email

  • Selects all emails in between
  • Great for selecting groups

Archive Emails

What is Archiving?

Archiving removes emails from your inbox but keeps them searchable:

Office 365:

  • Moves email to Archive folder
  • Still searchable in Outlook
  • Appears in “All Items” but not “Inbox”

Gmail:

  • Removes “INBOX” label
  • Email stays in “All Mail”
  • Still searchable, just not in inbox

How to Archive

  1. Select emails using checkboxes
  2. Right-click on selection → “Archive”
  3. Confirm the action
  4. Emails disappear from InboxZebra and your inbox

Or use:

  • Right-click a category → “Archive All in This Category”
  • Archives all emails in that category at once

When to Archive

Good for:

  • ✅ Old newsletters you’ve read
  • ✅ Processed notifications
  • ✅ Emails you might need to reference later
  • ✅ Keeping inbox at zero

Not for:

  • ❌ Emails you need to take action on
  • ❌ Recent important emails
  • ❌ Spam (mark as spam instead)

Mark as Spam

What it Does

Marking as spam:

  • Moves email to Junk/Spam folder
  • Blocks sender (future emails go to spam automatically)
  • Removes from inbox and InboxZebra

How to Mark as Spam

  1. Select spam emails with checkboxes
  2. Right-click → “Mark as Spam”
  3. Confirm
  4. Emails moved to spam folder

Tip: Your email provider learns from this and blocks similar emails.

When to Use

Mark as spam when:

  • ✅ Phishing attempts
  • ✅ Unwanted promotional emails
  • ✅ Emails that won’t unsubscribe
  • ✅ Suspicious senders

Don’t mark as spam:

  • ❌ Legitimate newsletters (unsubscribe instead)
  • ❌ Emails you signed up for (unsubscribe)
  • ❌ Work emails you don’t like (not spam!)

Delete Emails

Permanent Deletion

Deleting removes emails permanently (or moves to Trash):

Office 365:

  • Moves to Deleted Items
  • Permanently deleted after 30 days
  • Can recover from Deleted Items folder

Gmail:

  • Moves to Trash
  • Permanently deleted after 30 days
  • Can recover from Trash

How to Delete

  1. Select emails to delete
  2. Right-click → “Delete”
  3. Confirm deletion (important!)
  4. Emails removed permanently

Warning: This cannot be easily undone. Use archive if you’re unsure!

When to Delete

Good for:

  • ✅ Obvious spam
  • ✅ Old promotional emails
  • ✅ Duplicate emails
  • ✅ Newsletters you’re unsubscribed from

Think twice:

  • ⚠️ Work emails (might need later)
  • ⚠️ Receipts (for taxes or returns)
  • ⚠️ Important conversations

Recategorize Emails

Moving to Different Category

If emails were miscategorized, fix them in bulk:

  1. Select emails that are in wrong category
  2. Right-click → “Move to Category”
  3. Choose correct category
  4. Emails move and InboxZebra learns from your correction

Or:

  • Right-click a category → “Recategorize All”
  • Shows all emails in that category
  • Bulk move to correct category

Learning from Corrections

When you recategorize emails, InboxZebra learns:

  • Your correction is stored as a high-priority example
  • Future similar emails go to the correct category
  • Accuracy improves over time

Example:

  • Move emails from client at acme.com from “Personal” → “Client Projects”
  • Next time, similar emails from acme.com go to Client Projects automatically
  • Or move investor emails from “Spam” → “Investor Relations”

Bulk Actions Safety

Confirmation Dialogs

InboxZebra always asks before bulk actions:

Archiving 50 emails:

“Are you sure you want to archive 50 emails?”
[Cancel] [Archive]

Deleting 10 emails:

“Are you sure you want to delete 10 emails? This cannot be undone.”
[Cancel] [Delete]

Undo Operations

Unfortunately, bulk actions cannot be undone in InboxZebra.

To recover:

  • Archived emails: Check Deleted Items (Outlook) or All Mail (Gmail)
  • Deleted emails: Check Trash folder (recoverable for 30 days)
  • Spam: Check Junk/Spam folder

Prevention: Always review your selection before confirming!

Best Practices

Clean Up Workflow

Weekly cleanup:

  1. Process last 7 days of email
  2. Review Client Projects → Archive completed threads
  3. Review Notifications → Archive old platform alerts
  4. Review Financial → Verify payment confirmations, archive old ones
  5. Keep inbox focused on active clients, investors, and urgent tasks

Safe Bulk Operations

Before bulk delete:

  • ✅ Double-check your selection
  • ✅ Make sure it’s really the right emails
  • ✅ Consider archive instead of delete
  • ✅ Export a backup if dealing with thousands

Progressive Cleaning

Don’t rush:

  • Start with obvious candidates (old spam, newsletters)
  • Review uncertain emails individually
  • Build confidence in categories before bulk actions
  • Let AI learn for a week before major cleanup

Examples

Example 1: Archive Completed Client Projects

  1. Select category: Client Projects
  2. Filter by label: “Completed”
  3. Select all from completed projects over 3 months ago
  4. Archive (keeps them searchable if you need references)

Example 2: Clean Up Old Payment Notifications

  1. Select category: Financial
  2. Sort by date (oldest first)
  3. Select all payment confirmations from Stripe/PayPal over 6 months old
  4. Archive (or delete if you don’t need them for taxes)

Example 3: Fix Miscategorized Investor Emails

  1. Notice 15 investor emails accidentally in “Spam”
  2. Select all those investor emails
  3. Right-click → Move to Category → Investor Relations
  4. InboxZebra learns similar investor emails belong there

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Cmd+A - Select all emails in current view
  • Cmd+D or Esc - Deselect all
  • Hold Shift - Select range

Next Steps