when I go to thunderbird the bottom 1/2 of my screen contains a message that has been opened automatically (which I don't want) or it is a 1/2 page of Thunderb
Sorry, I am a new user, but I can't figure this out. When I open Thunderbird I get a 1/2 page of the list of new messages, but the bottom 1/2 is an opened message (or it is a message with the Tbird logo). I don't want any messages opened automatically How can I stop this?
Thank you, Donna
All Replies (2)
That is the Message Pane. F8 toggles it on and off.
It is called the Message Pane. Experienced users tend to read all of their email in this window. Select a message and its contents will appear here.
Most users seem to prefer to double-click each message to have it open in a new window or in a tab. Then they are faced with a problem of how to navigate to other messages, and need to use a plethora of keystrokes for previous read/previous unread/next unread/next read. I prefer to see what I will be opening rather than flying blind.
You can shrink the Message Pane by simply grabbing its top edge and dragging it downwards. In principle you can enable/disable it by use of the F8 key, or via the menu:
View|Layout|Message Pane in the traditional menu, or [≡]Options|Layout|Folder Pane in the "hamburger" Application Menu.
Now to the metaphysics and philosophy bit. If a tree falls, unobserved, in a forest, does it make any noise? What does one hand clapping sound like?
If you click a message, it is selected. If the Message Pane is visible, you see that message. Is the message any less "open" if the Message Pane is hidden or collapsed?
The illustration you see with the Thunderbird logo is a splash page, a bit of advertising copy. I don't know of any instance of it being associated with malware.
