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When composing an email, I am no longer able to easily change the text color.

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 7 views
  • Last reply by KateCamp

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When composing an email in Thunderbird, I am no longer able to easily change the text color, whether it be selecting the color first and then typing, or selecting the text and then choosing a color. Pulling up Apple’s Color Picker and choosing a color was all I had to do previously. Now it is not working. Here is what does and does not work:

Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Choose color for text > Choose a color > I select a color and the ‘Choose a color’ bar turns that color, but no other color box changes to that color, nor does my selected text in the email. (This method does not work.)

Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Choose color for text > Last-picked color > does work

Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Choose color for text > Enter an HTML color string (e.g.: “0000ff” or “blue”) > does work

Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Font, Bold, Italics, Underline, Larger, Smaller, etc. > does work


Below is information that I assume will be useful:

As an example, I composed an email to myself. I have attached a screenshot. I also attached a screenshot of that email’s source code.

Apple’s Color Picker works fine in other applications

MacOS v. 10.11.6

Thunderbird v. 68.4.2 (64-bit)

Thunderbird > Account Settings > Composition & Addressing > Compose messages in HTML formatting > checked

Thunderbird > Account Settings > Attach the signature from a file instead (text, HTML, or image) > unchecked

Thunderbird > Extension & Themes > Extensions > All add-ons have been disabled by safe made

Thunderbird > Extension & Themes > Themes > Default

Thunderbird > Preferences > Display > Colors > Use system colors > unchecked

Thunderbird > Preferences > Display > Colors > Override the colors specified by the content with my selections above: > Only with High Contrast Themes

Thunderbird > Preferences > Composition > General > HTML > Font: > Variable Width

Thunderbird > Preferences > Composition > General > HTML > Size: > Medium

Thunderbird > Preferences > Composition > General > Use reader’s default colors > checked

Thunderbird > View > Message Body As > Original HTML

Thunderbird > Help > Troubleshooting information > Copy text to clipboard > see below


Application Basics Name Thunderbird Version 68.4.2 Build ID 20200123140255 Update Channel release User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.11; rv:68.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/68.4.2 OS Darwin 15.6.0 Multiprocess Windows 0/0 Disabled Remote Processes 0 Enterprise Policies Inactive Google Location Service Key Missing Google Safebrowsing Key Missing Mozilla Location Service Key Missing Safe Mode true Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days Report ID Submitted Remote Processes Type Count Extensions Name Version Enabled ID Amazon.com 1.1 true amazondotcom@search.mozilla.org Bing 1.0 true bing@search.mozilla.org DuckDuckGo 1.0 true ddg@search.mozilla.org Google 1.0 true google@search.mozilla.org Twitter 1.0 true twitter@search.mozilla.org Wikipedia (en) 1.0 true wikipedia@search.mozilla.org Lightning 68.4.2 false {e2fda1a4-762b-4020-b5ad-a41df1933103} Manually sort folders 2.0.2 false tbsortfolders@xulforum.org Security Software Type Name Antivirus Antispyware Firewall Graphics Features Compositing Basic Asynchronous Pan/Zoom none WebGL 1 Driver WSI Info - WebGL 1 Driver Renderer WebGL is currently disabled. WebGL 1 Driver Version - WebGL 1 Driver Extensions - WebGL 1 Extensions - WebGL 2 Driver WSI Info - WebGL 2 Driver Renderer WebGL is currently disabled. WebGL 2 Driver Version - WebGL 2 Driver Extensions - WebGL 2 Extensions - Uses Tiling true Uses Tiling (Content) true Target Frame Rate 60 GPU #1 Active Yes Vendor ID 0x8086 Device ID 0x0126

Diagnostics AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureContentBackend skia AzureFallbackCanvasBackend none TileHeight 512 TileWidth 512 Decision Log HW_COMPOSITING disabled by user: Disabled by pref blocked by runtime: Acceleration blocked by safe-mode

OPENGL_COMPOSITING unavailable by default: Hardware compositing is disabled

WEBRENDER opt-in by default: WebRender is an opt-in feature unavailable-in-safe-mode by runtime: Safe-mode is enabled

WEBRENDER_QUALIFIED blacklisted by env: No qualified hardware

OMTP blocked by runtime: OMTP blocked by safe-mode

Media Audio Backend audiounit Max Channels 2 Preferred Sample Rate 44100 Output Devices Name Group Vendor State Preferred Format Channels Rate Latency Internal Speakers AppleHDAEngineOutput:1B,0,1,1:0 Apple Inc. Enabled All default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 44100 - 96000 110 - 4192 EPSON Projector MPP Audio com_epson_driver_EPSONProjectorMPPAudioEngine:0 Enabled None default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 44100 - 44100 14 - 4096 Input Devices Name Group Vendor State Preferred Format Channels Rate Latency Internal Microphone AppleHDAEngineInput:1B,0,1,0:1 Apple Inc. Enabled All default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 8000 - 96000 24 - 2314 EPSON Projector MPP Audio com_epson_driver_EPSONProjectorMPPAudioEngine:0 Enabled None default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 44100 - 44100 14 - 4096 Important Modified Preferences accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar 0 browser.cache.disk.amount_written 219488 browser.cache.disk.capacity 1048576 browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported 1 browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max false browser.download.useDownloadDir true extensions.lastAppVersion 68.4.2 font.internaluseonly.changed false idle.lastDailyNotification 1581173230 media.gmp.storage.version.observed 1 network.cookie.prefsMigrated true network.predictor.cleaned-up true places.database.lastMaintenance 1581020908 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages 76951 plugin.importedState true security.sandbox.content.tempDirSuffix {eb7310d7-b1a5-3e46-9a58-01575af469f5} security.sandbox.plugin.tempDirSuffix bf6a5676-9055-db48-afaa-6093dcb6b48d signon.importedFromSqlite true storage.vacuum.last.index 1 storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite 1581020907 Important Locked Preferences

Places Database

JavaScript Incremental GC true Accessibility Activated false Prevent Accessibility 0 Library Versions Expected minimum version Version in use NSPR 4.21 4.21 NSS 3.44.3 3.44.3 NSSSMIME 3.44.3 3.44.3 NSSSSL 3.44.3 3.44.3 NSSUTIL 3.44.3 3.44.3 Sandbox Content Process Sandbox Level 0 Effective Content Process Sandbox Level 1 Internationalization & Localization Application Settings Requested Locales ["en-US"] Available Locales ["en-US"] App Locales ["en-US"] Regional Preferences ["en","he","fr","el"] Default Locale "en-US" Operating System System Locales ["en","he","fr","el"] Regional Preferences ["en","he","fr","el"]

When composing an email in Thunderbird, I am no longer able to easily change the text color, whether it be selecting the color first and then typing, or selecting the text and then choosing a color. Pulling up Apple’s Color Picker and choosing a color was all I had to do previously. Now it is not working. Here is what does and does not work: Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Choose color for text > Choose a color > I select a color and the ‘Choose a color’ bar turns that color, but no other color box changes to that color, nor does my selected text in the email. (This method does not work.) Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Choose color for text > Last-picked color > does work Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Choose color for text > Enter an HTML color string (e.g.: “0000ff” or “blue”) > does work Thunderbird > Toolbar > Formatting Bar > Font, Bold, Italics, Underline, Larger, Smaller, etc. > does work ----------------- Below is information that I assume will be useful: As an example, I composed an email to myself. I have attached a screenshot. I also attached a screenshot of that email’s source code. Apple’s Color Picker works fine in other applications MacOS v. 10.11.6 Thunderbird v. 68.4.2 (64-bit) Thunderbird > Account Settings > Composition & Addressing > Compose messages in HTML formatting > checked Thunderbird > Account Settings > Attach the signature from a file instead (text, HTML, or image) > unchecked Thunderbird > Extension & Themes > Extensions > All add-ons have been disabled by safe made Thunderbird > Extension & Themes > Themes > Default Thunderbird > Preferences > Display > Colors > Use system colors > unchecked Thunderbird > Preferences > Display > Colors > Override the colors specified by the content with my selections above: > Only with High Contrast Themes Thunderbird > Preferences > Composition > General > HTML > Font: > Variable Width Thunderbird > Preferences > Composition > General > HTML > Size: > Medium Thunderbird > Preferences > Composition > General > Use reader’s default colors > checked Thunderbird > View > Message Body As > Original HTML Thunderbird > Help > Troubleshooting information > Copy text to clipboard > see below -------------------------------------------------------------- Application Basics Name Thunderbird Version 68.4.2 Build ID 20200123140255 Update Channel release User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.11; rv:68.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/68.4.2 OS Darwin 15.6.0 Multiprocess Windows 0/0 Disabled Remote Processes 0 Enterprise Policies Inactive Google Location Service Key Missing Google Safebrowsing Key Missing Mozilla Location Service Key Missing Safe Mode true Crash Reports for the Last 3 Days Report ID Submitted Remote Processes Type Count Extensions Name Version Enabled ID Amazon.com 1.1 true amazondotcom@search.mozilla.org Bing 1.0 true bing@search.mozilla.org DuckDuckGo 1.0 true ddg@search.mozilla.org Google 1.0 true google@search.mozilla.org Twitter 1.0 true twitter@search.mozilla.org Wikipedia (en) 1.0 true wikipedia@search.mozilla.org Lightning 68.4.2 false {e2fda1a4-762b-4020-b5ad-a41df1933103} Manually sort folders 2.0.2 false tbsortfolders@xulforum.org Security Software Type Name Antivirus Antispyware Firewall Graphics Features Compositing Basic Asynchronous Pan/Zoom none WebGL 1 Driver WSI Info - WebGL 1 Driver Renderer WebGL is currently disabled. WebGL 1 Driver Version - WebGL 1 Driver Extensions - WebGL 1 Extensions - WebGL 2 Driver WSI Info - WebGL 2 Driver Renderer WebGL is currently disabled. WebGL 2 Driver Version - WebGL 2 Driver Extensions - WebGL 2 Extensions - Uses Tiling true Uses Tiling (Content) true Target Frame Rate 60 GPU #1 Active Yes Vendor ID 0x8086 Device ID 0x0126 Diagnostics AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureContentBackend skia AzureFallbackCanvasBackend none TileHeight 512 TileWidth 512 Decision Log HW_COMPOSITING disabled by user: Disabled by pref blocked by runtime: Acceleration blocked by safe-mode OPENGL_COMPOSITING unavailable by default: Hardware compositing is disabled WEBRENDER opt-in by default: WebRender is an opt-in feature unavailable-in-safe-mode by runtime: Safe-mode is enabled WEBRENDER_QUALIFIED blacklisted by env: No qualified hardware OMTP blocked by runtime: OMTP blocked by safe-mode Media Audio Backend audiounit Max Channels 2 Preferred Sample Rate 44100 Output Devices Name Group Vendor State Preferred Format Channels Rate Latency Internal Speakers AppleHDAEngineOutput:1B,0,1,1:0 Apple Inc. Enabled All default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 44100 - 96000 110 - 4192 EPSON Projector MPP Audio com_epson_driver_EPSONProjectorMPPAudioEngine:0 Enabled None default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 44100 - 44100 14 - 4096 Input Devices Name Group Vendor State Preferred Format Channels Rate Latency Internal Microphone AppleHDAEngineInput:1B,0,1,0:1 Apple Inc. Enabled All default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 8000 - 96000 24 - 2314 EPSON Projector MPP Audio com_epson_driver_EPSONProjectorMPPAudioEngine:0 Enabled None default: F32LE, support: S16LE S16BE F32LE F32BE 2 default: 44100, support: 44100 - 44100 14 - 4096 Important Modified Preferences accessibility.typeaheadfind.flashBar 0 browser.cache.disk.amount_written 219488 browser.cache.disk.capacity 1048576 browser.cache.disk.filesystem_reported 1 browser.cache.disk.smart_size_cached_value 358400 browser.cache.disk.smart_size.first_run false browser.cache.disk.smart_size.use_old_max false browser.download.useDownloadDir true extensions.lastAppVersion 68.4.2 font.internaluseonly.changed false idle.lastDailyNotification 1581173230 media.gmp.storage.version.observed 1 network.cookie.prefsMigrated true network.predictor.cleaned-up true places.database.lastMaintenance 1581020908 places.history.expiration.transient_current_max_pages 76951 plugin.importedState true security.sandbox.content.tempDirSuffix {eb7310d7-b1a5-3e46-9a58-01575af469f5} security.sandbox.plugin.tempDirSuffix bf6a5676-9055-db48-afaa-6093dcb6b48d signon.importedFromSqlite true storage.vacuum.last.index 1 storage.vacuum.last.places.sqlite 1581020907 Important Locked Preferences Places Database JavaScript Incremental GC true Accessibility Activated false Prevent Accessibility 0 Library Versions Expected minimum version Version in use NSPR 4.21 4.21 NSS 3.44.3 3.44.3 NSSSMIME 3.44.3 3.44.3 NSSSSL 3.44.3 3.44.3 NSSUTIL 3.44.3 3.44.3 Sandbox Content Process Sandbox Level 0 Effective Content Process Sandbox Level 1 Internationalization & Localization Application Settings Requested Locales ["en-US"] Available Locales ["en-US"] App Locales ["en-US"] Regional Preferences ["en","he","fr","el"] Default Locale "en-US" Operating System System Locales ["en","he","fr","el"] Regional Preferences ["en","he","fr","el"]
Attached screenshots

Modified by applejack

Chosen solution

close the mac colour picker before you close the Thunderbird stuff.

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (3)

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Chosen Solution

close the mac colour picker before you close the Thunderbird stuff.

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That was it indeed. I am glad that it was that simple, yet I feel a bit embarrassed that it was that straightforward. Thank you for taking the time to help!

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No need to be embarrassed. This step was not intuitive at all!