This article introduces the most interesting new features, improvements, and changes visible to users which will become available in Thunderbird 115.0. Until version 115 is released, please refer to this article, the beta release notes, and the beta KB article.

New Unified Toolbar

There is now a single “Unified Toolbar” on top of the tabs, which is fully screenreader and keyboard accessible. This toolbar is used for all “Spaces”, which are Mail, Address Book, Calendar, Tasks, Chat and Settings. The toolbar is customizable by right clicking (control click on macOS) > Customize....

Customize... offers a common set of buttons available for all “Spaces”, which correspond to the Spaces Toolbar Introduced in 102. Also available are Spaces-specific buttons for each Space. Full keyboard navigation includes Enter to add, Delete to remove, Alt to move, and arrow keys, as well as mouse actions such as drag and drop.

We are working on improving the other toolbars (e.g. composer, message window, event editor, etc.) for a future release.

Simplified Application Menu

The Application Menu (also known as appmenu or “Thunderbird Menu”), ≡, has been simplified and reduced to make it easier to navigate. Only global context items are listed, which do not need to be updated or changed based on which Thunderbird “Space” you are using. There are now at most two layers of submenus so you no longer need to dig around in multiple sublevels to find what you need.

Of course, you can still find other menu items in the Thunderbird menu bar by pressing the ALT key on Windows and Linux (and in the macOS Thunderbird menu bar).

Improved Message List

The message list now uses modern HTML technology which is faster and has a whole host of behind the scenes improvements to make improving it in the future much easier.

A new message list header shows the current folder name, number of messages, Quick Filter, and “Message list display options” icon.

The Vertical View Layout now defaults to a new two line “card view” which is more compact and better suited to the Vertical Layout. With the customization options you can change the Vertical View back to the version 102 “table view”.

Calendar Improvements

There is a better “mini-month” layout, top navigation bar, overall improvements to the calendar day/week/month grid, and some other minor changes.

Look and Feel Improvements

All the buttons in the Folder Pane and Unified Toolbars have been revamped using modern CSS and HTML Technology. The buttons are now more accessible and customizable.

Many menus and buttons have been moved and changed to be closer to where they are more relevant in the context of Thunderbird. One example is the new Folder Modes sub menu which is documented below.

Miscellaneous but important improvements:

• There is a new + New Message button to compose a new email, chat message, etc. that replaces the old Write button.
• There is a new Download Message icon to the left of + New Message. This new icon replaces the old Get Messages button.
• There is a new three vertical dots menu also known as a "meatball" menu, ⋯, to the right of + New Message. This menu has a Folder Modes sub menu which replaces the 102 ⋯ menu at the top of the "Folder Pane" toolbar.

More Coming!

In future versions of this article, we will document more improvements and link to more articles that explain the changes in more detail.