(Shrugs) I still do not know how MY settings got 'changed' - I blamed the Devil - so you are asking the BIG question.

I do not trust Catalina (I have too many 32 Bit Apps that I am married to) because I believe Apple has tightened their grip TOO Much. They chucked out ALL 3rd party legacy frameworks like OpenGL and Java and the rest - and squeezed out almost ALL development on their platform.

Nor do I like the "improved" TB color changing dialog one little bit. Now it is too minimalistic. It ALWAYS requires another step to select colors you want. It gets in the way.

Devil? Apple? Thunderbird? I blame 'em all ... but isn't it enough that you finally got your color wheel back for all color selections, now? (I don't blame The Devil for altering your settings ... but I postulate no alternates.) We both just woke up one morning to find that TB had suddenly turned Evil on us ... and both of us swear that we didn't touch it. You took the cure ... but welcome to my crazy house.

re :But, you have not answers my question about whether this is caused by the Mac OSX or by Mozilla?

Thunderbird is not really Mozilla any more, ties not not completely separated, but it's confusing when you still see the name associated. However, should you want to make a donation, it would be important to ensure you are donating to Thunderbird. https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/about/ Thunderbird is an independent project with its legal and financial home at the Mozilla Foundation. The Mozilla Foundation believes the Internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible to all. It is focused on advocacy issues and keeping the Internet healthy, but is also the sole shareholder in the maker of Firefox, the Mozilla Corporation. Mozilla exerts no governance over the project, which instead falls to the Thunderbird Council, elected by the Thunderbird project’s community. The Mozilla Foundation became Thunderbird’s home after an exploration of legal homes in 2017.

If in Preferences > Display > Formatting > colours the 'override the colours specified by the content with my selections above' was set to 'Always', then Thunderbird was doing what it was set to do. Whether you wanted that or not, at least it was working in that respect.

Why it was set to 'Always' is an entirely different question; assuming you did not choose that setting or accidentally change it via 'Config Editor'.

By default, it is set to 'Only with High Contrast themes' which like 'Never' would not have caused the problem. In 'about:config' it is this setting:

• browser.display.document_color_use

'Only with High Contrast themes' uses Value = 0 and Status is default. 'Never' uses Value = 1 'Always' uses Value = 2

Those settings are then saved to to the 'prefs.js' file located in the 'profile name' folder when you exit thunderbird.

I've advised others about this in the past, but in your case first wanted to rule out all possible quirks with the MAC Color Picker being as this has just been implemented. Hind sight is a wonderful thing :)

Did this chnage occur after a Thunderbird update or reinstallation of different version ?

Toad-Hall said

Did this change occur after a Thunderbird update or reinstallation of different version ?

In my case it would have to have been after an update ... but it has been so many months now I couldn't say for sure when I first noticed the problem. I've not had to reinstall.

Thank you for this very useful information! I like to know more about the program's underpinnings - the more I learn about how TB is put together the more use I become to this community. Since I learned how to repair mailboxes, and rebuild global search index, I have paid it forward - so, every little tip helps.

I'm wondering if HE sees the same Color Chooser that I posted, or if Apple has redesigned it since 10.13 High Sierra? I think it is the same ...

You are one of our very best support team members so, may I ask: how fond are YOU of TB 'new' color dialog button panel? (I want the old one back.)

I'm on Windows 10 OS. It is using the default pre installed colour picker of Windows, so I would see exactly the same even if I was in 'Wordpad' etc. So it looks like this and easy to use.

But I'm not looking for anything complicated as this is only emails. I rarely alter the odd word or phrase. I try keep to colours I know can be read by any recipient. I have some friends that are colour blind, you would be amazed how many men suffer from some kind of colour blindness. I also have some friends who just need good contrast. Of course if people are using Plain Text then the odds are it is rendered black anyway.

Hint: If you View > Message Body As > Simple HTML then you have full control over all the display font colour which I enforce via 'userContent.css' , so it does not matter what multi-coloured email I recieve, I do not have to read it using the sender's choice. Oh the joys of manipulation that Thunderbird offers :)

It happened after I updated from 13.1.0 I think it was that had colour icons and was a sensible version that I kept going for years, however, it did not function with Catalina properly so, I had to update straight to 68.4.1 against my wishes as the newer layouts and black icons are pretty awful, and the dressing up with extensions are like something out of the Flintstones in my view, and are horrendous.

So it would appear that the setting is altering to 'Always' after an update/install, but obviously not in all instances.

Regarding the black icons in 68.4.1, take a look at this addon: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-GB/thunderbird/addon/phoenity-icons

It might be worth seeing if it works in MAC.

Sea Mac said

Toad-Hall said

Did this change occur after a Thunderbird update or reinstallation of different version ?

In my case it would have to have been after an update ... but it has been so many months now I couldn't say for sure when I first noticed the problem. I've not had to reinstall.

Thank you for this very useful information! I like to know more about the program's underpinnings - the more I learn about how TB is put together the more use I become to this community. Since I learned how to repair mailboxes, and rebuild global search index, I have paid it forward - so, every little tip helps.

I'm wondering if HE sees the same Color Chooser that I posted, or if Apple has redesigned it since 10.13 High Sierra? I think it is the same ...

You are one of our very best support team members so, may I ask: how fond are YOU of TB 'new' color dialog button panel? (I want the old one back.)

The old round ball please. The new dialogue stuff is just too long -winded and superfluous. It's an email app and not the Kremlin! Mozilla are like Apple. They try and do a Tony Blair and be everything to everybody, which is always a recipe fo disaster. Just look at history.

Toad-Hall said

So it would appear that the setting is altering to 'Always' after an update/install, but obviously not in all instances. Regarding the black icons in 68.4.1, take a look at this addon: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-GB/thunderbird/addon/phoenity-icons It might be worth seeing if it works in MAC.

Yes, re "SAlways" and "Never". Never managed to get Phoenity it to work. Downloaded it and it's in the extensions, however, does not work regardless of what you do. Again a big waste of time tring to get extensions etc., that should just function when they are downloaded. I need things that you download and work unless you get rid of them. All this tweaking this and that is nonsense and should be banned. Something either works or does not. Who wants to spend their lives keeping their computer and phone working properly instead of having a life? :)

Toad-Hall said

re :But, you have not answers my question about whether this is caused by the Mac OSX or by Mozilla? Thunderbird is not really Mozilla any more, ties not not completely separated, but it's confusing when you still see the name associated. However, should you want to make a donation, it would be important to ensure you are donating to Thunderbird. https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/about/ Thunderbird is an independent project with its legal and financial home at the Mozilla Foundation. The Mozilla Foundation believes the Internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible to all. It is focused on advocacy issues and keeping the Internet healthy, but is also the sole shareholder in the maker of Firefox, the Mozilla Corporation. Mozilla exerts no governance over the project, which instead falls to the Thunderbird Council, elected by the Thunderbird project’s community. The Mozilla Foundation became Thunderbird’s home after an exploration of legal homes in 2017. If in Preferences > Display > Formatting > colours the 'override the colours specified by the content with my selections above' was set to 'Always', then Thunderbird was doing what it was set to do. Whether you wanted that or not, at least it was working in that respect. Why it was set to 'Always' is an entirely different question; assuming you did not choose that setting or accidentally change it via 'Config Editor'. By default, it is set to 'Only with High Contrast themes' which like 'Never' would not have caused the problem. In 'about:config' it is this setting:

• browser.display.document_color_use

'Only with High Contrast themes' uses Value = 0 and Status is default. 'Never' uses Value = 1 'Always' uses Value = 2 Those settings are then saved to to the 'prefs.js' file located in the 'profile name' folder when you exit thunderbird. I've advised others about this in the past, but in your case first wanted to rule out all possible quirks with the MAC Color Picker being as this has just been implemented. Hind sight is a wonderful thing :) Did this chnage occur after a Thunderbird update or reinstallation of different version ?

I appreciate the help, but it's just too long-winded and I have not time to read and digest. My main point is that regardless of who owns Thunderbird or, whether it's Mozilla or Apple mucking up settings that work is a high crime in my view. I do not want to be dictated to by developers. They can ask people to opt-in. but should not impose stupid changes to keep themselves happy.

Toad-Hall said

I'm on Windows 10 OS. It is using the default pre installed colour picker of Windows, so I would see exactly the same even if I was in 'Wordpad' etc. So it looks like this and easy to use. But I'm not looking for anything complicated as this is only emails. I rarely alter the odd word or phrase. I try keep to colours I know can be read by any recipient. I have some friends that are colour blind, you would be amazed how many men suffer from some kind of colour blindness. I also have some friends who just need good contrast. Of course if people are using Plain Text then the odds are it is rendered black anyway. Hint: If you View > Message Body As > Simple HTML then you have full control over all the display font colour which I enforce via 'userContent.css' , so it does not matter what multi-coloured email I recieve, I do not have to read it using the sender's choice. Oh the joys of manipulation that Thunderbird offers :)

Fair points, but I'm on a Mac so, Windows 10 besides being alegedly an awful operating system is of no import to myself. :)

My point was that even on Windows system you still have to click whatever colour is in the "Chose a Colour" box in order to invoke a choice window.

Didn't the previous version have JUST the set of "Basic Colours", shown in your screenshot, in the colour chooser dialog: and people just clicked on a colour in that?

You did not have to invoke a second window at all in order to choose a colour with that version ... I think that is what a lot of people are missing. But I don't know if a default colour wheel will work for everyone.

Toad-Hall said

So it would appear that the setting is altering to 'Always' after an update/install, but obviously not in all instances.

YES. Darn Intermittent problem bites only a fraction of a percent of us ... like one every 3 months or something. Good eye.

I have the same problem and it is frustrating because I have tried every setting possible. Just this stupid xox where you can do nothing or select nothing. I use an iMac.

Ron

hughmoz said

But, you have not answers my question about whether this is caused by the Mac OSX or by Mozilla? As I have already said, I have used Thunderbird on PC's from 20 years ago and Mac's for the last 15 years and never had this issue before, and when one transfers to a newer version of Thunderbird the settings should surely be the same?

It has to be caused by Mozilla. I have not altered anything on my Mac for a couple of years and it worked perfectly until one month ago. I use OS Yosemite. I see someone has given a solution and I will try that later. I hope it won't ruin anything.

I really can't understand why things have to be changed when they are working perfectly. Governments do it all the time! If I get it to work then I thank Sea Mac. Ron

I agree. I use an iMac which is only a year old and I have used Thunderbird originally on a PC and jumped to Mac's in 2002 or 3 and each version of Thunderbird has worked. I stuck with 13.1.0 for years as, the icons are coloured and the design is straightforward and very usable and wrap around freebies for Thunderbird you can get with extensions are pretty naff. However with Catalina OSX I had to jump to the latest version of Thunderbird as certain features no longer worked, and that;'s where everything went wrong in terms of the colour of my email text and then I noticed that the website url on my details in my email body were malfunctioning.

I have followed the advice given in the answers and have everything working well. The only advice that I did not follow was having the red url's in purple and put them as Blue which is what my text colour is. That way it does what it did before, sends everything in blue text and shows as blue text in sent box and when it's received, which is what it always did before.

I have this problem on High Sierra. It started a couple updates back.

===========

hughmoz said

It makes no difference as, I have already done that a lot of times already. It's simply Mozilla that have mucked up a previously simple colour choice. One cannot expect people to keep messing about with settings when on any computer whether PC or Mac one should just be able to alter the colour without spending years trying to do it. I have used Thunderbird for something like 15 years without ever having a problem changing the text colour and this is just plainly stupid. Mozilla need to fix it.

Sea Mac said

Well, I do not have Mac OS X 10.15.2 Catalina so I cannot duplicate this issue. Would you post a screenshot of the "Catalina" Color Picker? https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201361 I'm pretty sure this issue only exists on Apple's "Latest Greatest" OS - Which my older Mac Computer is NOT Capable of upgrading to - as other Catalina Users are complaining also. TB Developers may need to Patch it for 10.15's new Color Interface ... as Apple has depreciated a LOT of previously needed things in Catalina.

Of course the issue still exists about how to to just alter a piece of a text colour to highlight something?

I'm on 68.60 now and his new system is pants really in terms of just being able to change font colour. It has turned into an epic instead of simply being straightforward as, it has been since Thunderbird came out until relatively recently.

One has to ask why developers insist on making everything unnecessarily complicated for the sake of it?

it's the same with updating to a newer version. I keep getting updates offered , but they do not install after the download link is clicked on. Instead of the update just loading it malfunctions because, code is miswritten and then wants you to download and install manually, which is far too complicated to even bother with as it does not load. All updates should just load without any problem as they did until this 68 series got to 68.6.0 and then it will not update.

What is wrong with Thunderbird that it has diminished into a shadow of itself?

If this is progress then somebody needs a dictionary.

As far as I can tell, the colour picker uses whatever is set up in the OS you use, so in my case it uses the Windows 10 default colour picker and in MAC it uses the mac default colour picker. If colour picker is pants in MAC OS then that is hardly the fault of Thunderbird.

There are several differences in Thunderbird where it has to use certain defaults that only apply within specific OS. Another irritation you may discover on a MAC is when you receive an alert message from a server. Since OS X 10.8, display of notifications - alert banners/dialogs, badges, and notification sounds - are now the responsibility of the operating system, not the application. MAC controls the amount of bytes that can be used, but server messages can and often are much greater and therefore get truncated. Now that really is pain in the proverbial.

The Mac OSX is straightforward in colour choices. For example if you are sending an email and highlight part of the text and click on Format on the toolbar, then on show colours a frame comes up with a ball with colours all the way around it and you just click on the degree of any colour that you want.

In Thunderbird the issue is that when you do the same in an email and you click on Format in the toolbar a silly box comes up, where even if you click on"Choose a colour" it then brings up the colour ball and you can choose the colour, however, in the silly box it does not alter the text colour.

I know how to alter text colour for a permanent change, but when you are just altering or highlighting part of a text the inability to do this is down to Thunderbird. The Mac aspect is, as ever, straightforward.

The sudden inability to change the color has not come because of an OS change. It has come because of an update to Thunderbird. This is not an OS glitch. It's a bug in Thunderbird. I am now using SeaMonkey for my email needs simply because I can change the colors. I'll come back to Thunderbird once that feature isn't broken anymore. Broken software is just wrong.