Version: 1.8.2 (using KDE 3.4.2 Level "b" , SUSE 10.0) Compiler: Target: x86_64-suse-linux OS: Linux (x86_64) release 2.6.13-15-default I have been using KMail since at least 04/2002, preserving ~/Mail/ directory at eatch Suse upgade. My Mail directory was very big. So, I have written and used a small program that permits, after archiving some very hold mails by lots, to separate them and permit visualisualisation of eatch of them individualy (with KMail,asigning the ".msg" extension for automatique call of KMail). I did not understand why the mail directory was allways very big after having archived megabytes of mails (some 5100 mails for a total of some 190MB). Indeed, the drafts and sent-mail was allways totalising hundreds of megabytes, KMail showing only few mails in these folders!!! I closed KMail and emptied those files ("~/Mail/drafts" & "~/Mail/sent-mail"). Then, restarting KMail, I had simples warning messages meaning that KMail have something to rebuilt. But I did not loose anything and now, my ~/Mail/ directory is 170MB instade of 600MB!!!
You probably messed the index files. In KDE 4.3 you can use the RMB popup / properties / maintenance to rebuild the index.