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ADD-ONS

How to Install Add-on Extension

=How to Install Add-on Extension:= __TOC__ ==The ideal case== In an ideal world, all the add-ons you would want are officially vetted, approved, and can be found on the official website, [https://addons.mozilla.org/thunderbird Addons.mozilla.org ]. If you are in this category, you can simply go to the Add-ons manager tab in Thunderbird, using the toolbar entry [[Image:New Fx Menu]] then [[Image:Thunderbird app menu >add-ons]] and click on the Extensions menu on the left to sisplay the search box on the top right of the tab. Enter the add-on's name or enough of it to limit the search results returned to a manageable number and press enter. {warning}Once you have done your first search a new category of Search appears on the menu to the left and you can keep refining your search until you find what you want.{/warning} Here is a search for Add-ons that mention "Contacts": [[Image:Addon tab]] Once you locate an add-on you like, click on Install, wait for it to be downloaded, then click on Restart Thunderbird if prompted. ==A slightly less ideal case (Install from a downloaded XPI)== You may have been given an URL for the add-on, or the add-on you want isn't on the "official" page. Searching for it, as shown above, doesn't locate the your add-on. Visit the webpage in your browser, right-click the download link with your mouse, select "save link as", and save the XPI file to a location on your computer that you can find again. As the download is temporary it is suggested you use either your downloads folder or your desktop. {warning}If you are using older versions of Firefox, a left-click on the download link will see your browser try and install the add-on into itself. This invariably results in an error about compatability as the add-on is for Thunderbird. If you're using another browser, a left-click might result in your browser attempting to download and "open" the xpi file. This is basically a small program, so it is not meant to be opened. It has to be saved to disk {/warning} To install a downloaded XPI file into Thunderbird you have two options. ===Download=== Right-click the link and select Save As or Save Link As as discussed earlier. You will be invited to download and save the file. Most browsers have a default download location, often your Desktop. Make a note of where it downloads to, and what it's called. Some add-on files have silly names like “latest-234.xpi” which is not very helpful when you're trying to find it later on. Open the Add-ons window in Thunderbird. There's a button to the left of the search window. {for win][[Image:CogWheel]]{/for}{for Linux}[[Image:CogWheelLinux]] {/for} Click this and from the subsequent menu select Install Add-on From File. [[Image:MenuUnderCogWheel]] You will need to navigate in the file picker to where you saved the XPI file and select it to complete the install. ===Drag-and-drop=== * Open the add-ons manager ([[Image:New Fx Menu]] then [[Image:appmenuAddons]]) * Drag your downloaded XPI file to the add-on manager tab and drop it. {for win} If you are using Windows, you can even skip the desktop bit. Open your browser and Thunderbird side by side, with Thunderbird's Add-ons tab displayed. Drag the link directly from the browser onto Thunderbird's Add-on tab. The main advantage of this method is that you don't need to actually save a copy of the add-on on your hard disk before it is installed. {/for}