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Change "new mail" color

  • 29 replies
  • 2 have this problem
  • 1907 views
  • Paskiausią atsakymą parašė Helium2

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I want to change the default "new mail" blue color of the folder names to a more acceptable color for me.

I tried the solution described in https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1245659 and it has no effect. I believe I cut and pasted the proper script that was posted in this thread, but there are so many corrections & added information in the thread it's not clear to me if the the posted script is complete & correct.

Can somebody please help? Thank you.

I want to change the default "new mail" blue color of the folder names to a more acceptable color for me. I tried the solution described in https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1245659 and it has no effect. I believe I cut and pasted the proper script that was posted in this thread, but there are so many corrections & added information in the thread it's not clear to me if the the posted script is complete & correct. Can somebody please help? Thank you.

Chosen solution

This is working for me - tested on Message Filter moving to a folder created in Local Folders. The Mail account name comes up red - as per previous coding and also the folder in Local folders with new mail is red.


#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Red !important;

}

Skaityti atsakymą kartu su kontekstu 👍 1

All Replies (20)

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The link you cited is for changing the colors in the Threads Pane (message list), but I think you want to change the colors of folders with unread messages. From this link, create a userChrome.css file in the chrome subfolder of the profile folder with this content:

@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul");


/* Change the color of folders with unread messages */ treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(hasUnreadMessages-true) {color: red !important;}

See the picture with an example in red.

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Actually I'm looking for the "new mail" color change (not unread). Thunderbird shows new mail (mail that hasn't been seen as opposed to unread ) in a medium blue that isn't always apparent to me so I would like to change it to a more obvious color. Thanks.

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Have a look at this page, which contains code for new mail and unread folders.

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I'll see if I can decipher it.

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Not being versed in coding it's not clear to me what I can leave out of the "New Mail " section and what I need to include to change only the color.

If I can find the time I'll experiment to see what happens when I use selected parts, but in the mean time does anyone have a simplified solution?

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I finally got the time to experiment with this and I cut & pasted the "/* new mail */ " section into my chrome file.

It made no difference.

This seems like it should be a simple change but it appears that nobody knows how to make this happen in V. 60.8...

Any help out there??

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it works for me, it works for sfhowes. so there are some folks it works for.

I have modified some of the color coding to use literals for color names. It makes a pretty ugly tree, but it allows you to identify which colors apply to what. I suggest you copy and paste all of it and then delete what does not apply. then set the colour you actually want. Remember to save the file before you restart Thunderbird to get changes to apply.

/* make folders with unread mail olive (and not bold as default) as well as name colours for most other elements. */
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: MediumPurple !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: limegreen !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, hasUnreadMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Olive !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, hasUnreadMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: limegreen !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, subfoldersHaveUnreadMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: PEACHPUFF !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, subfoldersHaveUnreadMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: PLUM !important;

} /* new mail */

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, newMessages-true),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox,  newMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Turquoise !important;
 font-style: italic !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, newMessages-true, selected),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true, selected),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox, newMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: limegreen !important;
 font-style: italic !important;

}

Modified by Matt

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had to update the answer to get rid of the numbers the forum stuck into the code.

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Thanks for your response. As far as the code is concerned I'm grasping in the dark here so forgive my ignorance. I assume that in place of the color name I substitute the hex code for the color I want?

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you have use the hex codes, or the names. your choice. I just think names make it clearer when you try and read and understand what you have done.

There are 140 named colours listed here https://www.w3schools.com/colors/colors_names.asp

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I closed Thunderbird & cutnpasted the entire code you furnished. I saved userChrome.css with the new code & restarted Thunderbird. There is no difference; new mail is still just blue.

Below is the contents of my userChrome.css The top half is the mod for the toolbar which works well. About half-way down is where your code for the color change starts. I made no changes to it at this point just to see if anything works.

                                      • userChrome.css contents follow

@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* only needed once */

/* TABS: on bottom */

  1. navigator-toolbox toolbar:not(#nav-bar):not(#toolbar-menubar) {-moz-box-ordinal-group:10}
  2. TabsToolbar {-moz-box-ordinal-group:1000!important}
  1. TabsToolbar {
position: absolute !important;
bottom: 0 !important;
width: 100vw !important;

}

  1. tabbrowser-tabs {
 width: 100vw !important;

}

  1. main-window:not([chromehidden*="toolbar"]) #navigator-toolbox {padding-bottom: var(--tab-min-height) !important;}

/* TABS: height */

root {
--tab-toolbar-navbar-overlap: 0px !important;
--tab-min-height: 33px !important; /* adjust to suit your needs */

}

root #tabbrowser-tabs {
--tab-min-height: 33px !important; /* needs to be the same as above under :root */
--tab-min-width: 80px !important;

}

  1. TabsToolbar {
height: var(--tab-min-height) !important;
margin-bottom: 1px !important;
box-shadow: ThreeDShadow 0 -1px inset, -moz-dialog 0 1px !important;
background-color: var(--toolbar-bgcolor) !important;

}

  1. tabbrowser-tabs,
  2. tabbrowser-tabs > .tabbrowser-arrowscrollbox,

.tabbrowser-tabs[positionpinnedtabs] > .tabbrowser-tab[pinned] {

 min-height: var(--tab-min-height) !important;
 max-height: var(--tab-min-height) !important;

}

/* drag space */ .titlebar-spacer[type="pre-tabs"], .titlebar-spacer[type="post-tabs"] {

 width: 40px;

}

/* Override vertical shifts when moving a tab */

  1. navigator-toolbox[movingtab] > #titlebar > #TabsToolbar {
 padding-bottom: unset !important;

}

  1. navigator-toolbox[movingtab] #tabbrowser-tabs {
 padding-bottom: unset !important;
 margin-bottom: unset !important;

}

  1. navigator-toolbox[movingtab] > #nav-bar {
 margin-top: unset !important;

}

/* hide windows-controls */

  1. TabsToolbar #window-controls {display:none!important;}

/* move caption buttons to right of Tab bar */

  1. main-window[tabsintitlebar]:not([inFullscreen="true"]) #toolbar-menubar[autohide="true"] ~ #TabsToolbar .titlebar-buttonbox-container {
position: fixed !important;
right: 0 !important;
top: calc(6px + var(--tab-min-height)) !important;
display: block !important;
visibility: visible !important;

}

  1. toolbar-menubar[autohide="true"] ~ #TabsToolbar {paddi

/*

  • Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning
*/

/* make folders with unread mail olive (and not bold as default) as well as name colours for most other elements. */

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: MediumPurple !important;

}

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true, selected) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: limegreen !important;

}

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, hasUnreadMessages-true) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: Olive !important;

}

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, hasUnreadMessages-true, selected) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: limegreen !important;

}

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, subfoldersHaveUnreadMessages-true) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: PEACHPUFF !important;

}

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, subfoldersHaveUnreadMessages-true, selected) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: PLUM !important;

} /* new mail */

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, newMessages-true),
  2. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true),
  3. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox, newMessages-true) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: Turquoise !important;
font-style: italic !important;

}

  1. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, newMessages-true, selected),
  2. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true, selected),
  3. folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox, newMessages-true, selected) {
font-weight: normal !important;
color: limegreen !important;
font-style: italic !important;

}

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Look ar this section: toolbar-menubar[autohide="true"] ~ #TabsToolbar {paddi

/*

   * Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning 

*/

I notice that this line: toolbar-menubar[autohide="true"] ~ #TabsToolbar {paddi

has the wrong ending - it is incomplete...{paddi

This next bit:

/*

    *Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning 

*/

That part should be at the top just above: @namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* only needed once */


Suggest you exit Thunderbird then edit and save the userChrome.css file and restart Thunderbird.

Modified by Toad-Hall

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Thank you. I spotted that yesterday and realized that it is code for Firefox tabs. Apparently a family member just copied the userChrome file from the Firefox profile.  :-( I've changed my password.  :-/ I deleted all code and re-cutnpasted the code posted by Matt for the color change. The colors are still blue.

I'm out of options, I guess.

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I exited Thunderbird. Opened Notepad. Copied the essential part required into the top. Copied Matts code and placed below. Saved file as 'userChrome.css' file in the 'chrome' folder in my 'profile name' folder. see image below

Started Thunderbird and sent myself an email to an account to test colour on non selected mail account with new mail. Matts code is working for me. So it sounds more like something is not quite right at your end.

The following is a list of commonly made mistakes. Thunderbird must be closed - not running. The 'chrome' folder name must be lower case and placed in the 'profile name' folder - same place as the 'Mail' folder. The 'userChrome.css' file name is all lower case except for the 'C' - not all lowercase. Check the 'userChrome.css' file is not really called 'userChrome.css.txt'. It must be 'Type' = CSS. See image.

If you copied all of Matts code, the 'userChrome.css' file should be the following as written between the lines. Note: In this forum, the section below will have a horizontal scrollbar, so text is not missing :)


/*
* Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning
 */


@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); 

/* set default namespace to XUL */


/* make folders with unread mail olive (and not bold as default) as well as name colours for most other elements. */
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: MediumPurple !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: limegreen !important;
}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, hasUnreadMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Olive !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, hasUnreadMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: limegreen !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, subfoldersHaveUnreadMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: PEACHPUFF !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, subfoldersHaveUnreadMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: PLUM !important;

}
/* new mail */

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, newMessages-true),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox,  newMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Turquoise !important;
 font-style: italic !important;

}

#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, closed, newMessages-true, selected),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, newMessages-true, selected),
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox, newMessages-true, selected) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: limegreen !important;
 font-style: italic !important;

}



If you require a copy of this 'userChrome.css' file, then send an email to me to the following email address - note I've written it phonetically on purpose. 'at' represents the symbol '@' Email: mail at anje dot co dot uk

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re: The colors are still blue.

Testing:

A non selected mail account with collapsed folders - with new mail was 'italicized' and 'turquoise' in colour.

Once I selected the account name, so folders are now expanded and visible, but not selected , account name turned mid blue and font normal. IS this the part you are talking about ?

Inbox - not selected - with new mail was in italic font and 'turquoise' in colour. Selected 'Inbox' - stayed italicized turned limegreen and the mail account name folder turned black normal font.

All folders with unread - not new - mail were olive.

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Thank you for your time with this. All spellings are double-checked as are locations. The file type is shown as : "Cascading Style Sheet Document (.css)" I have a number of email accounts and I typically keep them (including Local Folders) expanded for ease of access. Just to be safe, I copied your code example to overwrite my previous code. With the accounts collapsed I do see a change, but only one. The account with new mail is now in italic font, but is still blue. If I expand the account I see the same results for the "Inbox" & "All Mail" until I open them and then everything goes back the the default bold & blue. With the account expanded the account name reverts to default color & font.

My T-bird version is 60.8.0 (32 bit)

I'm surprised at the difficulties involved in this change. I have no explanation for why the changes seem to work with others but not with my system. The only unusual thing I noticed was that there were 2 profiles in the Profiles folder. Both were the same size and same date (the install of T-bird). When I created a sub-folder "x" and moved one profile into that folder, it made no difference in the performance of T-bird. When I switched the profiles' locations, T-bird gave me an error: couldn't find a profile. I switched them back and everything was OK and that is the profile I have been using...with the other one remaining in the "x" folder. I didn't have any installation issues as far as I can remember so I have no explanation for the duplicate profile ( I was the only user ).

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Exit Thunderbird. In the 'userChrome.css' file, for the first entry...please alter the part which I've made bold


/* make folders with unread mail olive (and not bold as default) as well as name colours for most other elements. */
#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, biffState-NewMail, isServer-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Red !important;

}

SAve file Start Thunderbird. Test new mail. Does the expanded account name now show as red?

Modified by Toad-Hall

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The account name is now red! Thanks to Matt for the initial code. Thanks to you for your time getting the color change to work!

Modified by Helium2

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It was suggested I post this here:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1267789

Regarding changing the new mail color for Local Folders subfolders Please take a look if you have time.

TIA

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Exit Thunderbird open 'userChrome.css'

Try appending all the following text to the 'userChrome.css' file.


#folderTree > treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(folderNameCol, specialFolder-Inbox,  newMessages-true) {
 font-weight: normal !important;
 color: Red !important;

}

Note: if you want it in bold, change this line:

 font-weight: normal !important;

To say:

 font-weight: bold !important;

Save file. Start Thunderbird.

Please post back results.

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