I’ve found that the Archive button works when an account is setup for IMAP with a cPanel server (using Dovecot as the IMAP server under the hood I believe).
I had to switch that email account to POP and the ability to Archive emails disappeared now that I am using local folders. 
Yes, the button and short-cut key only work and appear with IMAP folders. I guess the thinking behind that is that because archiving moves older mail from the server to a local folder, so no server folder = no archiving needed.
But Automatic Archiving still works with local folders, so if you set that up, it will work. 
The way I’ve always used the Archive button is the way gmail uses it; to reduce inbox clutter, not save storage space on the server.
In fact when I’ve used the Archive button in eM Client with IMAP accounts, it does not move the message to a local folder, it moves it to another IMAP folder on the mail server called ‘Archive’.
In the local storage/ POP email paradigm, archiving usually meant moving messages into another form of storage that was less accessible, such as a separate PST file in the case of Outlook.
So perhaps the term ‘archive’ is a bit ambiguous.
eM Client’s definition of archiving is that it reduces space on the server and cleans out folders.
I propose to create just a button Move to “Folder name” - and allow to put a hotkey to it and take it to the control panel.
This is a game breaker for me. I wanted to use this program, but without that basic function it is not really useable. Telling that it depends on the provider is B.S. - sorry.
Thunderbird allows to archive (= move) every mail to the set archive folder per IMAP account, Outlook does the same with quicksteps.
Also adding my vote for a general/generic Archive button:
Wouldn’t it be simple enough to add a setting under Accounts where the user can designate an account-based folder to be the “archive folder.” This is the solution I’ve seen other email clients use for this issue. Seems like a relatively low impact fix for a high impact problem (being a deal breaker for lots of people otherwise wanting to monetize…myself included).
You can add an Archive button to the toolbar, but this will move the message to the IMAP/Exchange archive. In version 8 this now works with all IMAP accounts.
I have this button added but when I select an exchange email, it disappears.
I must admit, I can’t agree with primes2357 more. Why is this so difficult to accomplish? It’s the main reason why I’ve avoided using emclient for years…
What version of eM Client are you using Terry? Do you experience the same thing in 8.0.1287? I have not been able to reproduce it on that version; it stays where it is.
In previous versions of eM Client the option was only available for Gmail. On other accounts the button would not have been visible. That was by design as the 7.x versions did not support server archiving in that way for those accounts, so therefor no button.
If eM Client is not working for you, please use something else. There is no need to constantly struggle with something when another acceptable option is available.
The “Move to archive” button and keyboard shortcut only seems to be available on the Inbox. Is there a plan to enable it from any IMAP folder?
What version of eM Client are you using sfb?
Thanks for pointing that out, Gary. I was using 7.2.38732.0 on Windows 10. I didn’t realize I had to explicitly download version 8. I just installed 8.0.1612.0 and it looks like the problem still exists. “Archive” appears on the Inbox folder but no others.
In version 7, move to archive only worked with Gmail accounts. In the soon-to-be-released version 8, it will work with all IMAP accounts.
I don’t think folders like Junk will ever allow that function, but Inbox and any other folders I have created in the beta work just fine. But this is also the nature of beta software that it is incomplete, so some options may not be available.
If you are having any issues with the beta, please send your feedback to [email protected]
Thanks, Gary. The Archive button and the archive keyboard shortcut are not working with my IMAP account’s non-Inbox folders on the version 8 beta. I’ll file a bug report at the address you suggested.
Let us know what you discover.