Persistent Column and Folder Layout Issues — Not Being Saved Between Sessions
Subject: Persistent Column and Folder Layout Issues — Not Being Saved Between Sessions
This is a follow-up to my previous support requests regarding two ongoing problems that significantly impact daily usability.
Column Settings I manage multiple accounts, and my preferred column layout is: Starred, Read Status, Attachment, Subject, From, and Date/Time. I do not use Threads, Correspondents, or Spam Status columns. Despite setting these preferences repeatedly, Thunderbird fails to retain them. Every day I must spend time reconfiguring columns across some or all of my accounts — the state varies unpredictably from one session to the next. This is a persistent, daily frustration that costs meaningful time. Most other major email clients save and reliably maintain column preferences. I'd expect Thunderbird to do the same.
Folder Panel Layout Two problems occur regularly when Thunderbird loads:
Folder order — Standard system folders (Inbox, Sent, Drafts, All Mail, Trash, Spam) should appear at the top of each account. Instead, Sent, All Mail, Trash, and/or Spam are frequently scattered among custom folders, with no apparent consistency.
Folder expansion — Most or all folders load in an expanded state, exposing every nested sub-folder regardless of whether they contain unread mail. This creates unnecessary visual clutter and requires manual collapsing each session.
Again, this behavior is uncommon in other widely-used email clients. Summary These are not one-time glitches — they recur daily and represent a significant usability gap. I'd appreciate confirmation that these are known issues being tracked, or guidance on a reliable fix. Reformatting the interface every morning is not a reasonable expectation for users.
All Replies (8)
those settings are stored in the profile folder in a file called sessions.json. You might want to look at your system and establish what is preventing the write to that file when Thunderbird closes.
Some common causes are Antivirus scanners, turning the device off before the system is actually shut down fully and a bad disk that is being written to.
Hi Matt,
The common causes you wrote about are not indicated. The system is relatively clean. sfp /scannow returns with no errors. DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth reports no errors
There are two files, session.json & session.json.backup. Both are current and identical.
{"rev":0,"windows":[{"type":"3pane","tabs":{"rev":0,"selectedIndex":0,"tabs":[{"mode":"mail3PaneTab","state":{"firstTab":true,"folderPaneVisible":true,"folderURI":"imap://technology.feeder%40gmail.com@imap.gmail.com/1 Firefox/Mozilla","messagePaneVisible":true},"ext":{"extensionSession":{"quickfolders_curious_be":{"QuickFolders_ToolbarStatus":"{\"mainVisibleState\":true}"}}}}]}}]}
Only one of my accounts is listed. What's next?
John
While is a major issue for me, it seems this is a low priority at Mozilla. If this does not get this resolved, I will look for a another client and conclude my donations.
Your problem may only be solvable by creating a new profile. Are your accounts all imap? If so then this might easily be done.
This problem goes back to your early postings ofhttps://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1501677 and https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1500259, which may involve https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1919107
I find it hard to believe that such a feature-rich email client doesn't have an expand/collapse all button for mail folders. Meanwhile I have literally 100's of mail folders being expanded every time I open Thunderbird. What a right royal pain!
2dmartin said
I find it hard to believe that such a feature-rich email client doesn't have an expand/collapse all button for mail folders. Meanwhile I have literally 100's of mail folders being expanded every time I open Thunderbird. What a right royal pain!
Love your enthusiasm, but please don't hijack someone else's support question - this venue is foremost for support. For requests and ideas we appreciate getting them at https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/idb-p/ideas/label-name/thunderbird.
Is https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/thunderbird-folder-pane-fold-all-subfolders-at-once/idi-p/117599 a match for what you want?
Thanks. But I was sent here from connect. How else do developers get to know the number of folks impacted? Mebbe I've got the wrong end of the stick? This is not a new idea or request (well it is a request) so I assume it's on a work schedule of some sort. Whether or not it gets implemented is a different question, but it does need to be considered (and seriously please).
I've only got one profile and have never ventured to Troubleshoot Mode - but could if necessary. Anyway this is Windows 11 with all current updates. Thunderbird is 140.13.0esr - only just updated from previous.
You must log in to your account to reply to posts. Please start a new question, if you do not have an account yet.