Thunderbird Mail Basics

Thunderbird must be properly configured before you can access your email account. Be sure to check all of the settings listed in Configuring Thunderbird Mail. For additional information, choose Help from the menu.

Check for New Mail, Read, Reply to and Delete Messages

Start Thunderbird. Depending on how it is configured, you may be asked about "subscribing to folders" the first time you access your email. Click OK to continue (you'll be setup with your Inbox and other default mail folders). If you have used your Willamette email account before, you will see all of your existing IMAP (mail server) folders. Some users may have to expand the mail folder to see their old folders.

The basics of using Thunderbird Mail will be obvious to experienced email users. The Mail toolbar at the top of the screen has buttons for common commands. Use the pull-down menus to access all commands.

 

Resize the windowpanes by dragging the "window shade" handles on the borders that separate the windowpanes.

Resize the whole window by dragging the lower-right corner.

Expand or collapse a windowpane by clicking on the window shade handle.

You can check for new mail at any time by clicking the Get Mail button.

Select servers and folders in the left windowpane. Inbox is your incoming email.

Select messages in the upper windowpane. Unread messages are indicated with bold type. Messages with attachments will show on the list as an envelope and a paper clip after the message has been read. Attachments also appear in the Attachments box at the bottom of the message window.

The selected message appears in the lower windowpane. If you double-click a message, it appears in a new window.

Reply and Forward by selecting a message, then clicking the appropriate button.

Delete the current message by clicking the Delete button on the Mail toolbar or by pressing the delete key on the keyboard. To select multiple messages for deletion: While viewing the list of messages, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or the Command key (Macintosh), then click on the messages you want to delete. Once you have selected the messages to delete, click on the Delete button or press the delete key.
By default, Thunderbird displays the columns in the message window as shown above. To choose which columns to display, click on the button above the right vertical scroll bar. If the name of a column is checked, it will appear in the window. The order of the columns cannot be changed.

Click on any column heading to sort messages. Click on the Thread button (shown to the left of Subject) to group messages by "threading" subjects lines and replies.

Viewing Attachments

When you are viewing a message, attachments that do not display automatically will appear in the Attachments window (see the previous figure). Click on the attachment icon to view or save the attached file. You must have appropriate software installed to view these attachments.

If you have any trouble opening attachments, try downloading the attachment to your hard drive first: Right-click (Windows) or click-and-hold (Macintosh) on the attachment icon, then choose the Save As command. Be sure to make a note of where you are saving (or choose a more convenient location). Once you have saved the file, then you can open it with the appropriate software.

WARNING: Email attachments can be used to distribute computer viruses via the Internet. Make sure you have up-to-date antivirus software on your computer and do not open or download any suspicious attachment.

Create and Send a New Message

To create a new message, click the Write button.

Enter an address next to the To: button. Press [Enter] to create a blank line for another address. Click on To: to select another addressing method (Cc:. Bcc:, or Reply To:).

When you are ready to send the message, click on the Send button.
Attachments are made with the Attach button on the Mail toolbar (the file to attach must be stored on a disk to which you have access).

Attaching a file will display a screen which looks similar to an Open dialog box. Simply locate the file you want to attach, select it and click on the Open button. The name of the attached file will appear in the Attachments window, as shown above.

There are two ways to “postpone” a message you are composing:

  1. Choose File > Save As > Draft to save the message in the designated Drafts folder. Later, you can retrieve the message from the Drafts folder and continue.
  2. Choose File > Send Later to save the message in the Unsent Messages folder (in the Local Mail area). To send the message, you can open the Unsent folder, then open any of the unsent messages. You can send all unsent mail by choosing File > Send Unsent Messages.

Message Folders

By default, you will have Inbox and Trash listed under your mail server name. You may also see Sent, Templates, Drafts, and Unsent Messages in the Local Mail area.

Add new folders by choosing File > New > Folder from the menu. Keep folders in your network directory by making them subfolders of your mail server or keep them on your hard drive by making them subfolders of Local Mail.

Use the pull-down list under Create as subfolder of: to choose the location for a new folder.

To move a message from one folder to another: While viewing your list of messages, click and drag a message to another folder. You can also use a command on the menu to move a message: Message > Move, and then choose a folder.
Thunderbird Address Book 

Open the Address Book by clicking on the Address button on the toolbar, or by choosing Tools > Address Book from the menu.

Create a new individual entry by clicking on the New Card button at the top of the Address Book window.

Create a Mailing List by clicking on the New List button at the top of the Address Book window. Fill in the list information, then add addresses by typing them or dragging them in from the Address Book window.

Delete an address by selecting it, then clicking on the Delete button on the Mail toolbar.

Tips:

If you type partial names or nicknames, Thunderbird will try to look them up in your Address Book or the Directory Service you have configured.

You can add addresses to your address book by clicking on the names at the top of the messages you receive. Choose an Address Book (if you have more than one). The name and email address boxes will be filled in automatically, then you can add other information.
Other Features

Message Filters
Thunderbird can filter messages based on attributes of the message (Sender, Subject, etc.). To create a new filter, choose Tools> Message Filters from the menu. The Message Filters dialog box allows you to create new filters, setup the criteria by which messages will be filtered, and the action the filter will perform. Message filtering is a powerful feature that must be used with some caution. It is recommended that you read the Thunderbird Help topic on Message Filters before you setup any filters: Choose Help > Mozilla Thunderbird Help. The Thunderbird Help web site will open in your web browser.

Search Messages
Thunderbird can search through all of the messages in any folder for keywords, certain message attributes, or a combination of criteria. To search messages, choose Tools > Search Messages from the menu, then enter the criteria for your search.

Set Preferences
Most of the settings for email are configured with the Tools > Account Settings control panel:
  1. Choose Tools > Account Settings from the menu,.
  2. The various account settings are listed by category on the left.
  3. To change any setting, choose a category. The settings will appear to the right.

Other Thunderbird preferences can be set by choosing Edit > Preferences from the menu, then selecting categories from the category list.

For more information on configuring Thunderbird for your email account, refer to Configuring Thunderbird Mail.

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