Tbird asking almost daily to compact folders
This defect appeared about 2 years ago, then seemed resolved. Now it has raised its ugly head again, asking me at least every other day if I want to compact (typically after I permanently delete a message from Inbox). In Options>Advanced>Network & Disc Space, I have "compact all....will save" set to 60MB.
My profile folder (C:\Users\******\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\oag21m8z.default) is about 2GB in size.
Should I increase that config setting to, for example 200MB? Is there a known defect in my current version: 24.6.0?
Thank you.
Chosen solution
re This defect appeared about 2 years ago It is not a defect nor a bug.
Some background info to help you understand why you get that message.
Emails are downloaded to the mail account Inbox folder. The Inbox folder is shown as a folder in the Folder pane. In reality, it is a file. All emails are listed one after the other, in the order they were downloaded into that one file.
When you delete an email, it is marked as deleted and from your point of view it disappears from the Inbox and reappears in the 'Deleted' folder. in reality, it is still in the Inbox, but hidden from view. This takes up space. when you 'Compact' the folder, those 'marked as deleted' emails are removed, thus feeing up space. See info on Compacting - what it does and why it is important:
If you do not compact on a regular basis all kinds of problems can occur. It is advised that you compact frequently. The Inbox gets a lot of incoming, deleting, moving of emails etc. it is designed to be an Inbox and not a general storage and should be kept low in email numbers. Keep the Inbox low in email numbers and compact frequently and you should have a healthy Thunderbird. see info:
re In Options>Advanced>Network & Disc Space, I have 'compact all....will save' set to 60MB. This is the auto compact option. When you get the message to compact folders, thunderbird has detected that you have got 60MB of 'marked as deleted' emails using valuable space. I would lower that figure to a max of 20MB to force more frequent compacting. However, you can manually compact a folder eg: inbox on a more regular basis by right click on folder and select 'compact' or compact all folders: File > Compact folders.
If the folder is not compacted some corruption may occur where Thunderbird cannot detect where the end of a 'marked as deleted' email actually is and so could delete good emails. This is why I recommend you do not keep loads of emails in the Inbox.
Read this answer in context 👍 2All Replies (7)
Chosen Solution
re This defect appeared about 2 years ago It is not a defect nor a bug.
Some background info to help you understand why you get that message.
Emails are downloaded to the mail account Inbox folder. The Inbox folder is shown as a folder in the Folder pane. In reality, it is a file. All emails are listed one after the other, in the order they were downloaded into that one file.
When you delete an email, it is marked as deleted and from your point of view it disappears from the Inbox and reappears in the 'Deleted' folder. in reality, it is still in the Inbox, but hidden from view. This takes up space. when you 'Compact' the folder, those 'marked as deleted' emails are removed, thus feeing up space. See info on Compacting - what it does and why it is important:
If you do not compact on a regular basis all kinds of problems can occur. It is advised that you compact frequently. The Inbox gets a lot of incoming, deleting, moving of emails etc. it is designed to be an Inbox and not a general storage and should be kept low in email numbers. Keep the Inbox low in email numbers and compact frequently and you should have a healthy Thunderbird. see info:
re In Options>Advanced>Network & Disc Space, I have 'compact all....will save' set to 60MB. This is the auto compact option. When you get the message to compact folders, thunderbird has detected that you have got 60MB of 'marked as deleted' emails using valuable space. I would lower that figure to a max of 20MB to force more frequent compacting. However, you can manually compact a folder eg: inbox on a more regular basis by right click on folder and select 'compact' or compact all folders: File > Compact folders.
If the folder is not compacted some corruption may occur where Thunderbird cannot detect where the end of a 'marked as deleted' email actually is and so could delete good emails. This is why I recommend you do not keep loads of emails in the Inbox.
It is possible that there is no problem. I learned that my S.O. deleted a lot of messages from the Inbox (yes, we are non-compliant and tend to let stuff accumulate in the inbox, but I bet we're not alone).
So...I will monitor this for a few days to see if the problem appears real, or the behavior is explained by lots of deletions.
Will give the forum an update.
Modified by fredwehr
Keep letting it build up and you will be back asking where all your messages are after the folders get corrupted. :) I suggest you read and practice the tips in the above article about keeping it working.
Will the program ask you to compact a folder when it is nearly full? I have only seen this question when I try to drag a message to the trash.
When you drag a message to Trash, that email is 'marked as deleted' in the original folder.
The auto compact message is generated when your settings show there is a set amount of space being used by 'marked as deleted' emails. The auto threshold is set here: Tools > Options > Advanced > 'Network & Display' tab Under 'Disc Space' 'compact disc Space when it will save over xx MB in total.' It is best to set a low threshold - not more than 20MB. Compacting frequently is a good idea.
If this is selected, TB will check all your folders to see how much space is being used by those 'marked as deleted' messages. This includes, Junk, Deleted, Outbox as well as all your other folders.
So a couple of large emails would easily reach the threshold.
Thank you TH, My tools do not show the 'option' link. Beneath File, I can click 'compact folders' which I have just done. I'm using Mac OS 10 which may be different from yours. Happy Thanksgiving. Marty
http://kb.mozillazine.org/Menu_differences_in_Windows,_Linux,_and_Mac
there are menu differences depending upon OS. Thunderbird > Preferences > Advanced > 'Network & Display' tab