TB is AUTOMATICALLY archiving my emails.

Thunderbird does not have an automatic archive function. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/archived-messages

The next is that TB is showing that I have 36,412 gmail emails archived in one particular account,

Please provide a screenshot. http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-create-screenshot-my-problem

You do know that gmail archives everything in the All Mail folder. This would have nothing to do with Thunderbird and everything to do with how Google decides to handle mail.

Reference: You do know that gmail archives everything in the All Mail folder. This would have nothing to do with Thunderbird and everything to do with how Google decides to handle mail.

1. How do I stop that? 2. How do I get TB to display them so I can delete them? 3. Why does it not do that on all gmail accounts? Thanks.

christ1 said

TB is AUTOMATICALLY archiving my emails.

Thunderbird does not have an automatic archive function. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/archived-messages

The next is that TB is showing that I have 36,412 gmail emails archived in one particular account,

Please provide a screenshot. http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-create-screenshot-my-problem

The screenshot is attached. Thanks!

The screenshot is attached.

From the screenshot it isn't clear to which account the Archive folder belongs to. That would be helpful to know.

Also verify the Archive settings for your Gmail account as per the support article linked above.

The archive folder in question is tigerjim48@gmail.com; it is the one with (now) 36,353 emails 'archived' but not displaying any of them.

I just again verified that none of my accounts are set for archiving--none of them. Yet TB continues to archive them.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

The archive folder in question is tigerjim48@gmail.com; it is the one with (now) 36,353 emails 'archived' but not displaying any of them.

Well, that's obvious from your screenshot. As said before, what's not visible is to which account the Archive folder belongs to.

I just again verified that none of my accounts are set for archiving--none of them. Yet TB continues to archive them.

What makes you certain it's Thunderbird archiving them?

I'm not sure what you mean when you ask "which account the Archive folder belongs to." When I right-click and go to Properties it says it is 'Archives on Unified Folders.' Is there somewhere else I need to check?

I can't imagine who else is archiving them, since it archives both gmail and yahoo accounts. How can I check who is archiving them? Thanks.

When I right-click and go to Properties it says it is 'Archives on Unified Folders.'

Well, that sort of answered it.

Can you post a screenshot of your Archive settings for the Gmail account?

Also, please post your Troubleshooting Information. At the top right of the Thunderbird window, click the menu button , then select Help > Troubleshooting Information. Press the Copy text to clipboard button and paste the information into your reply.

How can I check who is archiving them?

I'd probably start looking on the server. Login to your account via webmail, and look through the settings there.

Here is the Troubleshooting info and the screenshot is attached. Thanks.

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When you login to your Gmail account via webmail, do you see a label 'Archives'? Do you see any other label with 36,411 messages, e.g. like 'All Mail'?

From the screenshot you posted earlier, it looks to me the 36,411 message count is just wrong, and those messages do not exist in reality.

Can you right-click the folder with the 36,411 message count - Mark Folder read? What happens?

When I log in via webmail, there is no Archive tab or button but when I open a message there is an Archive button. I have never clicked on the Archive button in any email; I rarely log in via webmail, instead reading them in TB.

There is a folder called All Mail; it has even more emails than the, now, 35,592 emails in the Archive folder.

When I right-click the folder and click Mark Folder Read, I get a couple of minutes of "Compacting Folder," then the blue moving bar across the bottom as it tells me that the account is up to date, then it goes back to compacting the folder. Then it stops and does nothing. There is no change in the visibility, or lack therof, of the archived emails.

My best guess is that the 'Archive' folder you see in Thunderbird and the 'All Mail' Folder you see via webmail are identical.

How 'All Mail' got designated as 'Archive' I don't know.

I think folder corruption is the most likely reason you don't see messages within 'Archives'. Therefore, create a full backup of your Thunderbird profile. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Thunderbird_:_FAQs_:_Backing_Up_and_Restoring

Now, from the main menu bar: File (Alt-F) - Subscribe Select the account from the drop down menu at the top. What folders are you subscribed to? Please provide a screenshot.

I backed up my profile and have attached a screenshot of the Subscribe info.

Thanks.

As suspected, you're subscribed to 'All Mail'. Usually there is no need to be subscribed to it, as it is somewhat redundant. Unless you do have any specific reason to continue being subscribed to 'All Mail', I'd suggest to simply unsubscribe from it.

If the theory is correct, this should remove the folder with the 35k+ messages underneath 'Archive'. In a later step you can then remove the mail file with the downloaded messages which probably takes significant disk space.

If you want to keep being subscribed to 'All Mail' you'd need to attempt repairing the corruption of the folder with the risk of data loss.

Your solution worked perfectly! My Archives folder is now completely empty--thank goodness. I hate it when something is going on that I don't understand and don't control; it's a creepy feeling.

Thank you so much.