Can I send a message with an attachment and not save the attachment - as I already have it
I want to save the message in my sent box but not any attachments. Is there a way to do this? (Perhaps the filelink in the saved message would be useful but that is a level of sophistication to which I do not need to go). I use an IMAP account on my server and I cannot see how it do it via that. I think the email program has to do it. Thanks for any advice you can provide. (PS IF it is relevant I use Windows 7 and 10.)
Chosen solution
You may be able to set it to use the Sent folder in Local Folders, then there would be no upload. If the account uses IMAP then the default Sent folder is indeed on the remote server and you would be uploading to it each time a message is saved to Sent.
Whilst, yes, you can remove attachments after sending, that wouldn't avoid the initial upload that is causing you grief.
On a slow connection, I think it's worth switching to POP. You download each incoming message once and never upload to the server, apart from, of course, when sending. OTOH, IMAP works best with a good, always-on connection, and there is a lot of two-way traffic.
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You can detach or delete the attachment from the sent message. Just like you'd do that for received messages. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Saving_and_detaching_attachments
Thank you for pointing this out christ1. It did not quite solve my problem but I have a greater understanding after reading through and I think I c an find a decent work around. One minor thing that I do not know how to have fixed: Under Separating Attachments the second dot point reads "Select a message in the message-list pane, go to "File -> Attachments", and choose one of the detach/delete options." I think the go to is now "Message ->Attachments" Thanks again
Are you really so short of space that you need to do this? I'd want to keep that attachment with the email message so I had a positive record of what I sent them. If the original attachment was a document that might be subsequently edited, it would be useful to know exactly what had been sent in the case of any dispute over its contents.
Space is not the issue for me. The IMAP program that my isp runs seems to send the email to which I have attached, say a photo, then as a separate step it saves the email to the sent box, and seems to take ages to do it - about the same time as it took to upload. I suspect it is being re-uploaded - I cannot think why else it takes so long. Anyway, I can live with it until the high speed broadband arrives and I think that will solve the problem (at least if it is re-uploading). IF it remains a problem I will change ISPs. If there had been a quick easy solution within Thunderbird available now I would implement it, but it seems there is not. Thanks for your concern.
Chosen Solution
You may be able to set it to use the Sent folder in Local Folders, then there would be no upload. If the account uses IMAP then the default Sent folder is indeed on the remote server and you would be uploading to it each time a message is saved to Sent.
Whilst, yes, you can remove attachments after sending, that wouldn't avoid the initial upload that is causing you grief.
On a slow connection, I think it's worth switching to POP. You download each incoming message once and never upload to the server, apart from, of course, when sending. OTOH, IMAP works best with a good, always-on connection, and there is a lot of two-way traffic.
Of course! Why didn't I think of that. I dont want to use POP, as when away it is too hard to take a bigger computer, and I do not want to work on a tablet all the time, but what you have suggested is clearly the solution. If I am away from the main computer where it was saved, it would not be immediately accessible but nothing in my life is that urgent these days... Thank you Zenos.