The folders used in e-mail clients and services are great for cleaning out your inbox and organizing incoming messages, old messages, and drafts. While every e-mail service has default folders, you may find that you’d like to create custom ones to separate your messages. To proceed, choose your e-mail service from the list below and follow the steps.
Google Gmail
How to create a folder
Google has moved away from traditional folders and instead uses labels to “tag” and organize messages.
Google Gmail
Yahoo! Mail
Outlook.com
Microsoft Outlook
Mozilla Thunderbird
How to create a folder
How to delete a folder
Log into your Gmail account.
On the left side, click More to expand the Labels menu.
Scroll to the bottom and click the Tab.
In the prompt that appears, type a name for the new label and then click the Create button.
You should now see your new label tab in the section on the left side of the browser window.
How to delete a folder
You can also use the checkbox next to “Nest label under:” to store your messages in a subsection of a parent label.
Log into your Gmail account.
Locate the label you’d like to delete.
Move your mouse over the label and click the icon on the right side.
Select Remove label from the drop-down menu.
Click the Delete button on the prompt.
Yahoo! Mail
Log into your Yahoo! e-mail account.
In the section on the left side of the window, near the bottom, locate the Folders tab. If it isn’t expanded, click the Show button.
Click the + New Folder selector.
Type in a name for the folder and press Enter.
You should now see your new folder.
Locate the folder you want to delete.
Move your mouse cursor over the folder and click the down arrow icon that appears.
Select Delete folder from the menu.
Outlook.com
Log into your Outlook.com account.
On the left side, click Folders to expand the menu.
At the bottom of the expanded menu, click the link.
Type a name for the folder and press Enter.
You should now see the new folder under the Notes section.
Locate the folder you would like to delete.
Right-click the folder and select Delete folder.
Click OK on the Delete folder prompt.
Microsoft Outlook
Create a folder inside the Inbox folder
Open Microsoft Outlook.
In the left navigation pane, where the Inbox, Sent Items, and Deleted Items folders are located, click the Inbox folder.
Right-click the Inbox folder and select New Folder in the pop-up menu.
Create a folder inside the Inbox folder
Create a folder outside the Inbox folder
Delete a folder in Outlook
A new folder is created inside the Inbox folder. Type a name for the new folder and press Enter.
Create a folder outside the Inbox folder
Open Microsoft Outlook.
In the left navigation pane, where the Inbox, Sent Items, and Deleted Items folders are located, click the entry above the Inbox folder. It is usually named as your e-mail address or the name of your e-mail account.
Right-click the account name or e-mail address entry and select New Folder in the pop-up menu.
A new folder is created outside the Inbox folder. Type a name for the new folder and press Enter.
Delete a folder in Outlook
- Open Microsoft Outlook.
- In the left navigation pane, where the Inbox, Sent Items, and Deleted Items folders are located, find and click the folder you want to delete.
- Right-click the folder and select Delete Folder in the pop-up menu.
After typing a name for the new folder, it is moved below the Deleted Items folder, in alphabetical order.
Mozilla Thunderbird
Open Thunderbird.
In the top-left corner of the screen, right-click your account name.
Select New Folder… from the drop-down menu.
Type in a name and then click the Create Folder button.
You should now see the new folder under your account section on the left.
Open Thunderbird.
In the top-left corner of the screen, click your account name to expand the menu.
Right-click the folder you’d like to remove and then click Delete Folder.
Related information
- How to create an e-mail account.
- How to delete an e-mail account or address.
- How to delete or move e-mail messages.
- How to delete all e-mails at once.
- How to add and remove e-mail contacts.
- E-mail help and support.
