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This article explains how to send and receive email messages with the Thunderbird application.

__TOC__ = Configuring email accounts = When Thunderbird downloads messages, it uses the configuration on the '''Server Settings''' page of each email account (accessed via '''Tools | Account Settings'''). Each email address corresponds to one incoming mail server (either POP or IMAP). Thunderbird sends messages to the SMTP server that is assigned to the selected email account. In '''Account Settings''' ('''Tools''' | '''Account Settings'''), outgoing SMTP servers are configured on the '''Outgoing Server (SMTP)''' page (accessed from the bottom of the account list on the left side). Next, the Outgoing SMTP server is assigned to each account by clicking on the account name (also on the left side of the account list) and selecting the desired server from the '''Outgoing Server (SMTP)''' drop-down list. Each email account is listed in the "All Folders" panel on the left side of the Thunderbird interface: [[Image:9ac89e4e63de0f3df6d6b04fbadacc04-1263406274-926-1.jpg]] For information about manually configuring email accounts, see [[Configure an Account]]. For information about automatically configuring new email accounts, see [[Automatic Account Configuration]]. = Downloading incoming messages = By default, Thunderbird will check your mail server(s) for new messages on application startup and then ''automatically'' every 10 minutes. You can configure the frequency from {menu Tools | Account Settings}: Select your account from the account list, and then select {menu Server Settings}. In addition to that, you can check for new messages ''manually'' at any time: * To get new messages ''for the currently selected account'', click the {button Get Mail} button in the top left corner of Thunderbird's main window, or use one of the following [[Keyboard shortcuts|keyboard shortcuts]]: {for =tb31}{for win,linux}{key Ctrl+T}{/for}{for mac}{key Command+T}{/for}{/for} {for tb5}{for win}{key F5}{/for}{for linux}{key F5} ''or'' {key F9}{/for}{for mac}{key F5}{for mac,tb9} ''or'' {key Command+Y}{/for}{/for}{/for}. Alternatively, right-click the account in the folder pane and select {menu Get Messages}, ''or'' select {menu File | Get New Messages for | Current Account} (where "Current Account" is the account highlighted in the folder pane). * To get new messages ''for all accounts'', click the dropdown arrow of the {button Get Mail ⇓} button, and then select {menu Get All New Messages}, or use one of the following [[Keyboard shortcuts|keyboard shortcuts]]: {for =tb31}{for win,linux}{key Ctrl+Shift+T}{/for}{for mac}{key Command+Shift+T}{/for}{/for} {for tb5}{for win}{key Shift+F5}{/for}{for linux}{key Shift+F5} ''or'' {key Shift+F9}{/for}{for mac}{key Shift+F5}{for mac,tb9} ''or'' {key Command+Shift+Y}{/for}{/for}{/for}. Alternatively, select {menu File | Get New Messages for | All Accounts}. = Composing a new message = To compose a new message, click the '''Write''' button in the top left corner of the main Thunderbird interface. Alternatively, select '''Message | New Message''' or use the [[Keyboard shortcuts|keyboard shortcut]] {key Command + N} (Mac) / {key Ctrl + M} (Windows / Linux). If an email (or newsgroup) account is highlighted in the "All Folders" panel, the message's "From" address will default to the selected account. If no account is specified, the "From" address will default to the first account configured in the '''Account Settings''' ('''Tools''' | '''Account Settings'''). Click the '''From''' drop-down list to select a different account. Specify one message recipient per line. Click the arrow in the field to the left of the recipient name to specify the type of recipient (for example, "To", "CC", etc). To insert addresses from your address book, enter some of the characters from the person's name in the '''To''' field. A drop-down list will show all address book entries where the first or last name starts with the character(s) you entered. For example, if you enter "jo", anyone in the address book with the last name of "Johnson" or the first name of "Joe" would be displayed in the drop-down list. You can also drag and drop addresses from your address book to a new message. Simply open the address book, select the desired entry and drag it to the recipient area of the new message. == Replying to a message == To reply to a message, click the '''Reply''' or '''Reply All''' button when the message is displayed. Alternatively, right-click the message in the Message List and select '''Reply to Sender Only''' ({key Ctrl / Command + R}), '''Reply to All''' ({key Ctrl / Command + Shift + R}) or '''Reply to List''' ({key Ctrl / Command + Shift + L}). =See Also= * [http://en.flossmanuals.net/thunderbird/ch018_composing-messages/ Composing and Formatting Messages Chapter in the Thunderbird FLOSS manual] [[Template:ShareArticle|link=http://mzl.la/1f8x6ld]]