Thunderbird

Learn the Basics. Get Started

  • Tips and tricks Tips and Tricks
  • Blocking a sender This article explains how to block a particular sender in Thunderbird.
  • New Email Address This article explains how you can subscribe to a personalize email address with Thunderbird.
  • Why has my "Send" button been replaced with "Send Later" How to get back your "Send" button when it has been replaced by "Send Later"
  • Addressing an Email How to address mail in Thunderbird, including multiple recipients.
  • Profiles TB Thunderbird saves personal information such as messages, passwords and user preferences in a set of files called a "profile".
  • IMAP Synchronization IMAP stands for the Internet Message Access Protocol. It enables a mail client (such as Thunderbird) to access messages stored on a mail server. It is more modern and fully featured than POP (Post Office Protocol), which is the other major protocol for accessing mail messages. Most email providers now support IMAP. To see whether your account uses IMAP or POP, check the Server Settings page in the Account Settings.
  • Open Search The first entry in the Thunderbird Tips series, this article explains how to use Open Search to search various websites for words or phrases contained in email messages.
  • Cannot receive messages Troubleshooting information for if you are having problems receiving messages.
  • Manual Account Configuration This article will show you how to manually configure the basic settings you need to send and receive emails with Thunderbird.
  • Cannot Send Messages If you cannot send messages, this page provides a series of steps you can use to check for common problems.
  • Organize Your Messages by Using Filters What message filters are and how to use them effectively.
  • Reply Above or Below Quoted Text The setting that controls whether your reply is above the quote ("top posting") or below the quote ("bottom posting") is a per account setting in Thunderbird. Today, "top posting" is often considered normal in business and personal mail. Thunderbird defaults to "bottom posting" which is the norm for older Internet communities and most older email communities.
  • Safe Mode TB '''Safe Mode''' is a special Thunderbird execution mode that can be used to troubleshoot issues in Thunderbird. In Safe Mode, you can reset some settings or disable add-ons that might be the source of problems. By comparing Thunderbird behavior in normal mode to its behavior in Safe Mode, you can find out if problems are being caused by a specific add-on.
  • Instant Messaging and Chat As of Thunderbird 15, Thunderbird supports instant messaging and chat using IRC, Facebook, XMPP, Twitter, and Google Talk
  • How to use a Virtual Card (vCard) This article explains how you can use a virtual card (vCard) in Thunderbird.
  • Make Thunderbird the Default Mail Client If Thunderbird is specified as your system's default email application, it will integrate with other applications (such as word processors and web browsers).
  • New in Thunderbird 31.0 This article describes the major changes in Thunderbird version 31.0, released on July 22, 2014. For a complete list of bugs that have been resolved in the release, refer to the [https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/31.0/releasenotes/buglist.html complete Thunderbird 31.0 list of bugs fixed].
  • How to Use Attachments This article explains how to use attachments.
  • Quick Filter Toolbar The Quick Filter toolbar is used to limit the number of messages that are displayed in the message list. The toolbar is displayed above every list of messages (for example, the list that is displayed when you are looking at your Inbox; the list that is displayed after your perform a Global Search and select "Open as list"; etc).
  • Print List of Messages Instructions on how to print a list of your messages/emails.
  • Recalling an Email Email has no option to recall messages once they are sent. This is a limitation of the email protocols. Some email clients provide the ability to delay sending a message, and to cancel a message before it is sent.
  • How can I send a large attachment? This article explains how to use Thunderbird (or other services) to send large attachments.
  • Standalone address book Sometimes you might want to access the Thunderbird address book without loading the entire application. This can be done by invoking the application from the system command line with a command-line option.
  • Glossary of Terms including types of Accounts This article describes the types of accounts (IMAP, POP, RSS, NNTP) supported by Thunderbird.
  • Global Search Thunderbird includes a new message indexing and search system called "Gloda", which is short for "Global database". It improves search performance, provides sophisticated full-text search capabilities and displays faceted (categorized) search results.
  • Display name in message list and message pane The Thunderbird address book can store a "display name" for each contact. When an email address is added to the address book, if the message contains a name associated with the email address, that information is added to the address book. (You can also manually add a display name for a contact in the address book.)
  • Message Tabs Message tabs is a new feature in Thunderbird 3 that enables messages, folders, search results and even some web content to be displayed in tabs within a single Thunderbird window. Similar to Firefox's tabbed browsing, multiple messages can be displayed without opening multiple Thunderbird message windows.
  • How to Subscribe to News Feeds and Blogs An introduction to RSS feeds, and instructions on how to use them in Thunderbird.