[X4U] Mail: where do removed attachments go?

[Mark Des Cotes]

I'm notorious for keeping e-mails, both incoming and outgoing. I  
decided today that enough was enough and decided to clean house (to  
some degree). I made a smart mailbox to show me any messages I sent  
in 2007 that had attachments. I listed the over 2000 messages by file  
size and scrolled to the largest ones. I highlighted about a dozen of  
the largest ones (about 200MB worth) and deleted them. I had a folder  
open in the Finder with my available HD space showing. When I  
switched to the finder I noticed that the available space increased  
by approx 200MB which is exactly what I expected. I then thought  
better of what I was doing and decided that instead of deleting the  
messages I would only delete the attachments. I highlighted another  
dozen, this time about 150MB worth and used the "Remove Attachment"  
option from the Message menu. The attachments all disappeared but  
according to the folder in the Finder I didn't gain any HD space. I  
tried again, this time selecting about 300MB worth and removing the  
attachments. Again, no change in the Finder to my available HD space.  
This leads me to my questions. Where do the attachments go when you  
use the "Remove attachments" option? And why am I not gaining any HD  
space by removing them?

Thanks

Mark Des Cotes
Owner-Graphic Designer
Marksman Design

Mailing address:
7-841 Sydney Street, Suite # 338
Cornwall, Ontario  K6H 7L2
Canada
613-936-6876