Working with Messages in Thunderbird

[Nov 21, 2008 9:49] Login issues with the Central Mail Service have now been resolved.

Whether it is sending, receiving or searching messages, Thunderbird allows for easy processing. Below is information on how to send, receive, search and sort messages in Thunderbird. Additional information on other processing options is also listed.

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).

Retrieving New Messages

Thunderbird will check the server automatically for new messages or allow you to check for new messages manually.

Automatically:

By default, Thunderbird is set to check for new messages at startup as well as checking for new mail every 10 minutes. You can disable either or both of these options:

  1. From Tools on the menu bar, select Account Settings.
  2. In the Account Settings window, highlight the Server Settings line in the pane on the left. The information in the right pane will change.
  3. In the Server Settings pane, you will see the options to check for new messages. You can disable either of the options listed or change the number of minutes in which Thunderbird will check for new mail. Keep the number of minutes at 10 or above.
  4. Click OK to save any changes.

Manually:

  • Select Get Mail Thunderbird Get Mail icon from the Mail Toolbar, or choose Get New Messages For from File on the menu bar, then select Get All New Messages or specify an account.
  • If there is no new mail for you, the following message will appear in the Status Bar:
    Status Bar
  • If you have new mail, the new message(s) will appear in the Message List pane in bold type. New messages are delivered to the Inbox unless they are filtered to a designated folder.

Sending a Message

Composing a Message

Click Write Write Icon on the Mail Toolbar. A Compose window will appear. Note that the toolbar changes for the Compose window.. Below is a description of each toolbar icon in the Compose window.

Compose Window Tool Bar

  • Send - click this button when your email message is ready to be sent.
  • Contacts - provides a separate Contacts window with your address book information on the left. You can then highlight an entry in this window and click either Add to To or Add to CC at the bottom of the Contacts window to move an email address to the appropriate field in your message.
  • Spell - is active only when you are typing the body of your message text. As you type, incorrectly spelled words will be underlined. When a word is underlined, you can click the Spell icon and other options for the misspelled word will be displayed. Note: Thunderbird does not check spelling in the Subject field. The spellcheck option can be disabled by:
    1. Windows: Click Tools on the menu bar and then select Options.
      Macintosh: Go to Thunderbird and select Preferences.
    2. Click the Composition icon.
    3. Select the Spelling tab.
    4. Uncheck the box beside Enable spell as you type.
    5. Click OK.
  • Attach - to send an attachment with an email message, click Attach. The Attach file window that allows you to identify which file you want to send will open. After the file is selected, another window is created in the top right section of the Compose window. This window shows the files that you have selected to attach. Beside the Attach icon there is also a drop-down arrow. Clicking on this arrow gives you options on the type of material that you would like to attach: a file, a web page or a Personal Card (Vcard).
  • Security - Messages can be individually assigned security. The options are to Encrypt a message or to digitally sign a message. Each option requires a personal certificate that is recognized by Thunderbird. Encrypted messages cannot be decrypted except when the original certificate that was used to encrypt the message is available. As certificates at U.Va. presently expire on a yearly basis and as older certificates are sometimes inadvertently discarded, we do not recommend that messages be encrypted except when that type of security is truly needed and when longevity of access to the message content is not critical.
  • Save - Click Save to keep what is currently in the Compose window without sending it. Thunderbird, by default, will save this information to the Drafts folder for your account. To change the default location:
    1. Click Tools on the menu bar and select Account Settings.
    2. Highlight Copies & Folders in the left pane.
    3. The right pane will change and there will be a section for Drafts and Templates. Select the location where you would like to save drafts.
    4. Click OK.
    Note: To add a signature to outgoing messages, please see Adding a Signature.

Replying to a Message

  1. Open the message to which you want to reply.
  2. Click Reply Reply Icon or Reply All Reply All icon on the Mail toolbar. A Compose window will appear to allow you to write your reply. The difference between Reply and Reply All is that Reply will create an email to the sender of the original message only; Reply All will send a reply to all the addressees in the original email message - including email addresses on both the To: and the Cc: field.

NOTE: By default, Thunderbird will put your reply text AFTER the original text sent. If you would like to change this, follow the steps below:

  1. Click Tools on the menu bar and select Account Settings.
  2. Click Composition & Addressing in the left panel.
  3. Under the Composition heading option, Automatically quote the original message when replying is checked. There are three choices in the drop-down box:
    1. start my reply above the quote
    2. start my reply below the quote (default setting)
    3. select the quote
  4. Pick the option above that you prefer.
  5. Click OK.

Adding a Signature

To include signature information with each email that you send, you will need to create a text file with the information you want to include in your signature by using the following procedure:

  1. Windows: Open Notepad.
    Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad.

    Macintosh: Open Text Edit.
    Macintosh HD -> Applications -> Text Edit.
    Configure Text Edit to save files as Plain Text (Click on Text Edit on the menu bar, then click on Preferences and select PlainText).
  2. Type into the editor the information you would like to have in your signature.
  3. Save the file, making sure it is in text format (File name ends with .txt).
  4. Exit the editor.
  5. Click Tools on the Thunderbird menu bar, then select Account Settings.
  6. Check the Attach this signature box then click the Choose button.
  7. Locate and highlight the text file you created and click the Open button.
  8. Click OK.

Sending an Attachment

To send a message with an attachment, use the following steps:

  1. Click Write Icon on the Mail toolbar.
  2. Click attach icon in the Compose window.
  3. Browse in the Attach file window to select the file you want to send.
  4. Highlight the file and click Open.
  5. Attachments you have selected will appear in a new pane on the right of the Compose window.

Forwarding a Message

  1. Open the message you want to forward.
  2. Click Forward Forward Icon on the Mail toolbar. A Compose window will appear. Forwarded messages will be sent as an attachment by default. To change the method of forwarding so that the message itself is sent inline instead of as an attachment containing the message:
    • Click Tools on the menu bar.
    • Select Options.
    • In the Options window, click the Composition icon.
    • On the General tab, click the drop-down box beside Forwarded messages.
    • Select Inline.
    • Click OK.

Bounce/Redirect a Message

To bounce or re-direct an email message means to send a message with full headers included. To do this in Thunderbird, you need to change the View option so that all headers are shown. By default, the Normal viewing option display brief headers only. To set this option:

  1. Click View on the menu bar.
  2. Select Headers.
  3. Select All.
This setting will be in effect for all messages until the Header view is changed back to Normal.

Message Searching/Sorting

Thunderbird offers four tools to find and move one or more messages individually. The tools are Quick Search, Message Search, Message Highlighting, and Message Sorting.

Quick Search

The Quick Search toolbar on the Search toolbar allows you to quickly search your messages according to simple keywords (or partial keywords) without opening up any new or complicated windows to do so.

To use Quick Search:

  1. Click in the Quick Search bar: Quick Search toolbar found on the Search toolbar which is pre-filled with Subject or Sender by default.
  2. Type a partial email address, name or subject keyword.
  3. Thunderbird will begin searching for messages as soon as you begin typing, and may display lists of messages before you have finished typing. After you have finished typing, the results of your search will be displayed in the Message list pane.
  4. Click a message to view it.
  5. Click the white X in the red box (red and white x of the quick search toolbar of the search toolbar) in the Quick Search bar to remove the search and display all messages.

You can also use the Quick Search bar to search for text within the current email message that you are viewing:

  1. Click the magnifying glass icon in the Quick Search bar.
  2. Select Find in Message.
  3. Type the text for which to search in the current message.

Quick Search will highlight every instance of the text you typed.

Message Search

Message Search allows you to use multiple search criteria to search for messages:

  1. Click Edit on the menu bar, select Find and then Search Messages.
  2. Select from the drop-down box at the top, where you want to search. This can be a single folder or the entire account.
  3. Select Match all of the following radio button to search only messages matching all criteria, or Match any of the following radio button to search messages matching any of the search criteria.
  4. Use the first pull-down menu (labeled Subject by default) to select the field in which you want to search.
  5. The next pull-down menu allows you to select the function used in the search. For example, Contains, Does Not Contain, Is.
  6. The last box is where you enter the text to be searched.
  7. To enter additional criteria, click the Plus button.
  8. To begin your search, click the Search button.
  9. Your search results (if any) will appear in the bottom pane of the Search Messages window.
  10. You can double click a message to open it, or perform other options by selecting a message and using the buttons below the list of results. The results of the search can be saved in a folder automatically by clicking on the Save as Search Folder button.

Message Highlighting

Message highlighting allows you to create categories or groups of messages “on the fly”, rather than having to go through the process of setting up mail filters and folders. Thunderbird comes with five built-in message labels to use for highlighting.

To highlight a message:

  1. Click a message in the Message List pane to select it.
  2. Press a number key to highlight the message with one of the following default labels:
    • 0 - No highlight - no color
    • 1 - Important - Red
    • 2 - Work - Orange
    • 3 - Personal - Green
    • 4 - To Do - Blue
    • 5 - Later - Purple

To remove a message’s highlight:

  1. Click the message.
  2. Press the 0 (zero) key.

Message Sorting

The View menu view menu on the search toolbar on the Search toolbar provides a number of ways to sort messages quickly using various categories. You can sort messages by unread, any of the highlight labels, from someone who is in your address book, recent mail, last 5 days, not junk and has attachments.

To sort messages:

In the drop-down box of the View Menu, select a sort method. Messages that don’t match the sort method you have selected will disappear, leaving only the messages in the sort category.

To re-display all the messages go to the drop-down box and select All.

Deleting Messages

Thunderbird gives you three options for handling the deletion of a message. These options can be found by clicking Tools on the menu bar, selecting Account Settings and highlighting Server Settings under the account name. The default setting is to move the messages to the Trash folder. The other two options are Mark it as deleted or Remove it immediately.

If you opt for either Move it to the Trash folder or Mark it as deleted, an additional setting is needed to prevent unwanted messages from accumulating in your account.

  • For Move it to the Trash folder, you will need to select Empty Trash on Exit. This will prevent deleted messages from building up in the Trash folder.
  • If you select Mark it as deleted, check the Clean up ("Expunge") Inbox on Exit box.

The option to Remove it immediately, does just that. If this option is selected, there is no second chance to change your mind on the status of the message. It is gone.

Printing Messages

Click Print Print Icon on the Mail Toolbar. This icon is active only when a message is selected. When a single message is highlighted, a Print Preview is available. Select Print Preview by clicking the drop-down arrow to the right of the Print icon. When clicking on the Print icon, the print window by default will appear, allowing you to designate where you want the message to print.

Saving Sent Messages

By default, Thunderbird has the option to save sent messages selected. The folder it has specified is the "Sent" folder under the default account. If that folder does not exist on that account, it is created. To change this setting, follow the steps below:

  1. Click Tools on the menu bar, then select Account Settings.
  2. Highlight the line, Copies & Folders on the right. The options available can be found in the section for sending messages, found at the top of the window in the right pane. You can put a message in a folder or you can BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) the message to another email account or both.
  3. To change the folder where sent messages are saved, click the radio button area beside the word Other and then click the drop-down arrow at the end of the line. Select another location in which to save sent messages.
  4. Click OK.

Attachment Handling

Receiving an Attachment

To access an attachment that you receive (the email will have a small paper clip icon to the left of the heading, Subject in the Message List pane):

  1. Double click the message to open it.
  2. At the bottom of the window, in the Attachments section, click the file.
    Two Options are available:
    • Open With - a suggested program window will appear. If this is not the program you want to use, you must use the option to select another program from the drop-down list or you can select, Other. Selecting Other opens the Helper Applications window. This window allows you to select another program installed on the computer to use to open the attachment.
    • Save to Disk - a Save To window will appear. Select the location on your computer where you would like to save the file.

Deleting an attachment (but the message is kept)

To keep the message but delete the attachment:

  1. Right click the attachment file name.
  2. Select Delete.
  3. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

The action cannot be undone.

Detaching an Attachment from an Email Message

To detach an attachment from an email message:

  1. Right click the attachment file name.
  2. Select Detach.
  3. The Save Dialog box will be displayed.
  4. Select the folder to which you wish to save the attachment.
  5. Click OK. You will be prompted to confirm.

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