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My email inbox has many subfolders but only the main inbox folder appears on Thunderbird-what can I do?

  • 8 cavab
  • 4 have this problem
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  • Last reply by Ryerson

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I have an elaborate email filing system in subfolders to my main Inbox but none of them shows on the Thunderbird email client. The only folder headings that appear are Inbox, Trash, Drafts, Sent as well as Local Folders and Trash and Outgoing as subfolders of Local Folders. Most of my email are in my subfolders. How do I get them to appear in Thunderbird?

I have an elaborate email filing system in subfolders to my main Inbox but none of them shows on the Thunderbird email client. The only folder headings that appear are Inbox, Trash, Drafts, Sent as well as Local Folders and Trash and Outgoing as subfolders of Local Folders. Most of my email are in my subfolders. How do I get them to appear in Thunderbird?

All Replies (8)

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Probably you need to use IMAP and Not POP to retrieve you mail.

See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/glossary-terms-including-types-accounts#w_mail-accounts

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I think you have set the account up to use POP and you probably need IMAP.

What does it say under Tools|Account Settings|Server type?

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Matt said

Probably you need to use IMAP and Not POP to retrieve you mail. See https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/glossary-terms-including-types-accounts#w_mail-accounts

I am using IMAP. That's why I can't understand the problem.

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Zenos said

I think you have set the account up to use POP and you probably need IMAP. What does it say under Tools|Account Settings|Server type?

It says "IMAP Mail Server"

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Ryerson said

Zenos said
I think you have set the account up to use POP and you probably need IMAP. What does it say under Tools|Account Settings|Server type?

It says "IMAP Mail Server"

Right click the account in the folder pane and select subscribe. are your folders there?

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All the subfolders were there and had not been ticked as "subscribe." I checked the boxes for each and they downloaded onto Thunderbird. What was not there were the half dozen or so of the subfolders of the subfolders. So I am now able to get "Inbox", the subfolders of Inbox, but not the subfolders of the subfolders as they do not appear wen I right click the account in the folder pane. Any advice? I am grateful for your help so far.

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right click again and select settings. in server setting select the advanced button. Is the sub folder option checked? If not select it.

As you appear to want to see ALL server side folders. deselect the show only subscribed folders while your in that dialog. Just remember it is there if you get weird folders. (Yahoo puts chat history in an IMAP folder and other providers do equally bizarre things

Sub folders are also not expanded in the subscribe list. Look for a chevron beside the names of folders that have sub folders. Clicking the chevron displays the sub folders.

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That almost solved the problems as all the subfolders now show, but several changes I made to the organization of subfolders yesterday in my Runbox account are not reflected in what Thunderbird shows. That is, I renamed and moved a subfolder but it is not renamed or moved when I look at the folders now showing inThunderbird. I went back to the Runbox account and it shows correctly there. I can't figure out how there can be an inconsistency between my email provider and what shows in the client.