Thunderbird Features

Thunderbird has many features that allow for ease in email message processing. Details on some of the more useful ones are available on this page.

Requirements

  • This document was written for Thunderbird version 1.5. The information herein may (or may not) apply to other versions of Thunderbird.
  • Thunderbird installed and configured for a U.Va. email account.
  • A live Internet connection via the U.Va. network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Warnings

Thunderbird allows for the installation of Extensions and Themes. These are files that add functionality and modify appearance, respectively. ITC supports the original downloaded version.

Folders

Folders are used to store messages and are displayed in the Folder pane, also called the Side Bar. They can also be used with Message Filtering.

To add a folder:

  1. Right click on your email account name in the Folder pane.
  2. Select New Folder….
  3. Enter a name for the folder.
  4. Click OK.

To add a sub-folder:

  1. Click on the folder in which the sub-folder will be created to select it.
  2. Right click and select New Subfolder.
  3. Type the name of the new subfolder.
  4. Make sure that the correct parent folder appears in the Create as a subfolder of box.
  5. Click OK.

To delete a folder:

  1. Right click the folder to delete.
  2. Select Delete Folder.
  3. Click OK.

A folder can be deleted with or without messages within it. Deleting a folder is handled according to the same settings as deleting messages.

Saved Search Folder

A Saved Search folder is a "virtual folder" in that it does not have its own collection of messages stored within it. This virtual folder is used only to display the set of messages that meet the search criteria your specify; the actual messages listed/referenced in the Save Search folder remain stored in their original locations elsewhere in your account. Saved Search folders behave differently from normal folders in the following ways:

  • If you select and delete a message from a Saved Search folder the message is deleted from its actual stored location.
  • If you delete a Saved Search folder itself, all of the messages displayed in the folder will remain intact and undeleted in their original stored location.
  • If you modify the search criteria for a Saved Search folder its virtual "contents" will be updated.
  • Save Search folders appear in your Folder pane with a magnifying glass over the image of the folder.

Your Saved Search folders remain in the folders pane even after you exit and restart Thunderbird, until you delete them, thus giving you quick and convenient access to your pre-defined searches.

To create a new Saved Search Folder:

  1. Conduct a search following the instructions at Message Search.
  2. When the search is complete, click the Save as Search Folder button.
  3. A new window will appear. Enter a name for your new Saved Search Folder into the Name field.
  4. Click OK.

A new folder with a magnifying glass icon will appear in your Folder pane window. Clicking on the folder will open it and perform the message search that you established. The folder may take a few moments to open, depending on the complexity of your defined search.

Filters

You can use Message Filters to perform actions automatically on incoming email messages. The actions include labeling a message, moving a message to another folder or forwarding a message to another email address. The example below describes how to label a message using Message Filters.

To add a Message Filter:

  1. Click Tools on the menu bar and select Message Filters.
  2. Click the New button.
  3. Enter a name for the filter.
  4. Select the Match all of the following radio button to select only messages matching all characteristics you enter, or the Match any of the following radio button to select messages matching any of the characteristics.
  5. Select the field in which the characteristic is found from the first drop-down menu.
  6. In the next box, enter the text that will be used with the characteristic to determine how a message is processed.
  7. Use the Plus button if you would like to use multiple characteristics in the filter.
  8. Under Perform these actions, choose Label Message as from the drop-down menu.
  9. Choose Important on the next drop-down menu.
  10. Click OK.
  11. You will see your new message filter listed in the Message Filters window.
  12. Select the filter in the Message Filters list.
  13. Click the Run Now button. This will perform the filter on messages currently in your folder.

Filters are performed in the order in which they appear in the Message Filter window.

To change the filter order:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Message Filters.
  2. Click on the filter name whose run order you wish to change.
  3. Depending on where the filter appears in the list (and where you want it to appear), use the option to Move Up or Move Down to put the filter into the correct order.

To disable a Message Filter:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Message Filters.
  2. Uncheck the box under the heading Enabled that is beside the filter you want to disable.

To delete a Message Filter:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Message Filters.
  2. In the Message Filters window, select the filter in the list you want to delete.
  3. Click the Delete button.
  4. Click OK.

Junk Mail

Thunderbird can analyze messages automatically and mark what it thinks is junk. It also can move these email messages automatically to a Junk folder or delete them. By default, the Junk Mail Controls are disabled.

Thunderbird learns what is and is not junk by what you teach it. It will learn quickly and you will like the results, but initially it will not be very smart. To teach it, you have to mark a message as junk, or, if a message is marked incorrectly as junk by Thunderbird, mark it as "not junk". After a message is marked (or unmarked) correctly, Thunderbird learns what is and is not junk to you and its detection for other new messages is improved.

To turn on Junk Mail Controls:

  1. Click Tools on the menu bar and choose Junk Mail Controls.
  2. Click on the Adaptive Filter tab.
  3. Specify the email account you want to use in the drop-down box.
  4. Click the box beside Enable adaptive junk mail detection.
  5. Click OK.

After enabling Junk Mail Controls, you can begin to teach Thunderbird which of your email messages is junk mail.

To mark a message as junk mail:

  1. Select a message that you consider junk mail.
  2. Choose Junk Thunderbird junk mail icon on the Mail Toolbar. The messages Thunderbird marks as junk will display a junk mail icon (small trash can) beside the date on the message line. When you select the message, it will also display an information bar at the top of the message.

To mark a message as not junk mail:

  1. Select the message that is marked as Junk.
  2. Click Not Junk Thunderbird Not Junk icon on the Mail Toolbar.

After you have taught Thunderbird what junk mail is for a few weeks, you may want to try activating automatic handling to see how Thunderbird does on its own.

There are several ways to handle messages marked as junk mail.

To move messages marked as Junk:

  1. From the Tools menu, select Junk Mail Controls.
  2. Click on the Settings tab.
  3. Check the Move incoming messages determined to be junk mail to: box.
  4. Make sure the Junk folder on: option is selected and the drop-down box has the correct account specified. If you would like to change the folder to which junk mail is sent, choose the Other option, then specify the folder to receive the junk mail from the drop-down box.
  5. Junk mail processing can also have messages deleted automatically. If you would like to enable this feature, check the Automatically delete junk messages older than [14] days from this folder. You can modify the number of days.
  6. Click OK.

You may want to look at your Junk folder occasionally to insure that no legitimate messages you need find their way into the Junk folder. You can access your Junk folder by selecting the Junk folder from the Folder pane. The messages in the folder will be displayed in the Message List pane.

Address Book

The address book in Thunderbird is maintained locally. This means that all entries in the address book are stored on the computer which you use to read email, and that the address book is completely separate from address books for any other email program (including WebMail).

Thunderbird provides two different address books. One address book is the Personal Address Book and the other address book is the Collected Address Book. By default, Thunderbird automatically adds an entry to your Personal Address Book whenever you send an email message to an address that is not already listed in your Personal Address Book.

The Collected Address Book was created in early versions of Thunderbird to gather automatically both incoming and outgoing email addresses and was done so the auto-complete feature would work more efficiently. However, the Collected Address Book became corrupt because in addition to collecting needed addresses of email correspondents, it was also collecting the email addresses in spam messages. For that reason, the purpose of the Collected Address Book became ineffective and it was removed from later versions of Thunderbird. It continues to be included with Thunderbird but serves no specific purpose for a new install.

To access the Address Book in Thunderbird, click Address Book icon in the Mail Toolbar. In the Address Book, you can add, delete, and modify Address books, address lists, and individual entries or cards, as individual entries are called in Thunderbird.

To create a new Address Book:

  1. Click Address Book Icon on the Mail Toolbar.
  2. In the Address Book window, select File on the Address Book menu bar.
  3. Select New and then Address Book.
  4. Type the name for the new Address Book.
  5. Click OK.

You will see your new Address Book in the Address Books pane on the left.

To create a new list:

Thunderbird requires that everyone in a list have an individual entry, also called an Address Book card.

  1. Click Address Book Icon on the Mail Toolbar.
  2. In the Address Books pane in the Address Books window, click the name of the address book to which you want to add a new list.
  3. Click the New List icon on the Address Book window menu bar.
  4. Enter the name for the new list after Add to: near the top of the Mailing List window.
  5. Type the addresses you would like to add into the list (auto-complete works in this window) or click OK to create an empty list for the specified Address Book. If you create an empty list, you can then drag and drop into the list individual entries/cards you would like to include in the list.
    NOTE:
    • Deleting someone from a list does NOT delete them as an individual entry (card).
    • Deleting an individual entry (card) that is included in a list will remove the entry from both the address book and the list.
To create a new individual entry/Address Book card:
  1. Click the New Card icon.
  2. In the New Card window, select the Address Book to which you want to add this card in the Add to: drop down box near the top of the window.
  3. You will see three tabs: Contact, Address and Other. Each tab allows you to enter information for the new entry.
  4. Click OK when the new card is complete.

Identities

In Thunderbird, in addition to having more than one account, you can maintain more than one identity for each email account. This means, for a single account, you could have two or more different, selectable From: lines, and that each From line is tied to an unique signature file, information about where copies, drafts and templates are stored, the format used for composing messages and how to search for addresses. Identities are most useful to those who manage multiple projects and need a separate, unique, selectable address for each project. Students might find it useful to have one identity that is used when corresponding with friends, and another to use for more formal communications with faculty.

To create an additional identity:

  1. Click Tools on the menu bar and then select Account Settings.
  2. Choose the account to which you wish to add an additional identity.
  3. Click the Manage Identities button (on the lower right).
  4. Click the Add button.
  5. Provide the necessary information for the additional identity for the account. To create an unique signature for each identity, see Adding a Signature.
  6. Click OK.

After multiple accounts or identities exist, you can select which account/identity to use when replying to an email message or composing a new message. In the Compose window, the From address is a drop-down box that allows you to select which identity to use when writing an email message.

Extensions, Themes and Languages

Extensions are files that can be downloaded from the Thunderbird website to add new functionality to Thunderbird. They are created by people who make them available without charge and they can add anything from a toolbar button to a completely new feature to your copy of Thunderbird. They allow customization of Thunderbird to fit the personal needs of each user. ITC supports only the non-extended, non-themed version of Thunderbird. If you elect to install any extensions, you do so at your own risk.

Themes are files that can be downloaded from the Thunderbird website that will change the appearance of Thunderbird. The Thunderbird website has many different themes available. ITC only supports the non-extended, non-themed version of Thunderbird. If you elect to download and install any of the Theme files, you do so at your own risk. If you need ITC assistance with Thunderbird and have installed any extensions, you will be asked to uninstall/disable them for troubleshooting purposes.

Thunderbird is available in many different languages. Please visit Thunderbird download language website for more information. ITC supports only the English version of Thunderbird.

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