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Search function in Thunderbird is basically useless

  • 3 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 13 views
  • Last reply by ANCHinNK

ANCHinNK
ANCHinNK
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I have used Thunderbird for many years but am now finding that it is virtually impossible to search for emails. I use MacOS (Monterey) on a MacBook Pro and iMac Pro and Thunderbird 91.11.0. If I enter the name of an email sender (and I know I have emails from them), e.g. "Smith", the pop-up window shows "Messages containing Smith" and an email address e.g. peter.smith@... If I then click the blue email address, I get the response "No messages match your search" although, in my test, I can SEE the email on the page.

If I try to search for a key word inside an email, I get the same response. Again, in my test I can see the text I'm searching for on the page.

It's about time this got sorted.

ANCH

I have used Thunderbird for many years but am now finding that it is virtually impossible to search for emails. I use MacOS (Monterey) on a MacBook Pro and iMac Pro and Thunderbird 91.11.0. If I enter the name of an email sender (and I know I have emails from them), e.g. "Smith", the pop-up window shows "Messages containing Smith" and an email address e.g. peter.smith@... If I then click the blue email address, I get the response "No messages match your search" although, in my test, I can SEE the email on the page. If I try to search for a key word inside an email, I get the same response. Again, in my test I can see the text I'm searching for on the page. It's about time this got sorted. ANCH

Chosen solution

try deleting the file global-messages-db.sqlite from your Thunderbird profile directory after TB is shut down, it will rebuild when you restart.

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All Replies (3)

Wayne Mery
Wayne Mery
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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Chosen Solution

try deleting the file global-messages-db.sqlite from your Thunderbird profile directory after TB is shut down, it will rebuild when you restart.

ANCHinNK
ANCHinNK Question owner
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Hi Wayne I've only recently had the chance to try my luck with Thunderbird again. I tried your suggestion, but I'm afraid it didn't make any difference. I find it absolutely impossible to find any mail at all in my tests, even though I can see the mails in the background.

I suspect there's a bug in there somewhere. I've reported it to Bugzilla. Thanks anyway :-)

A

ANCHinNK
ANCHinNK Question owner
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Update!!! Wayne, I restarted the iMac and therefore Thunderbird after posting the last message. And now it does work - so your trick did work after all. Many thanks! I'll click "solved".

But, to be honest, it's still a bug. I hope the programmers see this and make a couple of changes.

The main thing is, I can get back to Thunderbird and I now know what to do if it happens again.

Cheers from soggy Germany. A