click the icon to the right of the 'Quick Filter' button just above the message list and click the 'sort by' option.

I don't see anything that says Quick Folder. Or Sort by ??

Ok. Click view>layout>message list header. I think that will show the option. Let me know if it doesn't.

it shows layout but no options to sort by

Clicking the message list header should cause the field from my first response to appear - quick filter and an icon to its right to click that has the sort option.

I'm not computer smart and guess I'm not sure where or what the quick filter is.

Assuming you did click to activate the message list header, look just above the message list pane on the right side.

Still haven't found it. I have no idea what your telling me. Not sure what you say is the message list. I've opened up everything I could and STILL haven't found it. It used to be so easy before they did an update.

The message list where the subject and send of each email is listed, usually a row or two for each message. That is the list you are wanting to sort ascending or descending.

Shit now I rEALLY GOOFED UP. Now My emails aren't coming in by the dates received.

lol I got the dates back to normal. STILL can't find ANYTHING that says sort by

Yes thats what I want to do. But I CAN'T find a sort by ANYWHERE. Clicked on everything I could. I use to do it ALL the time with the old version.

Have you tried clicking on the heading date in the message list. Clicking any heading item sorts the list by that column. Clicking a second time reverses the sort on that item.

If you are using this newfangled time and space wasting card view instead of a nice simple list, you will need to use the menu David talks about. Sadly just about everyone has this toolbar turned off because it actually offer exactly nothing to make the experience faster or easier.

So you need to use the application menu (that three line icon in top of the following image) > View > toolbars

Failing all of that you can expose the traditional windows menu bar by pressing F10 to show it temporarily and use the traditional menu bar. View > sort by

Thanks for these responses - this is easy to do, but I'd rather not have to do it for every folder. Is there a setting somewhere that would allow me to see all the emails in every folder in descending date order ie. newest first up at the top ?

Thanks, Jack

To set many *existing* folders, follow these steps: (I creates a crude video that walks through the steps. The video was created with table view for the message list pane.

   https://davidkirk.org/SettingDefaultFolderView.mp4  that demonstrates the following steps:

   First, highlight a folder that you have set to unthreaded	
   In the Message List view, in the column header, on the far right, open the options button that shows    
    context menu. :
   At the very bottom is the option:
   -> "Apply current view to..."
   -> "Folder and its children..."
   -> Hover over an account
   -> In the next menu don't select a folder. Instead select the account name itself.
Repeat the above steps for each account. 

ALSO, for future installations of Thunderbird, 
- install Thunderbird and exit prior to setting up accounts
- create a simple text file with name of user.js with these lines: 
     // Set default threading to UNthreaded  ###   <== this line is optional, just for documentation
     user_pref("mailnews.default_view_flags", 0);
- copy the user.js file into the profile
- now, when you start Thunderbird, unthreading will be the default. Problem solved.