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Thunderbird preference windows shrink as I click on choices in them.

  • 6 cavab
  • 3 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by Newager23

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I have Thunderbird 38.2.0 installed on a Mac OSX 10.7.5

Even running in safe mode with all add-ons turned off, the dropdown menus in Preferences don't open fully. The more I click on different menus, the worse it gets. The window gets smaller & smaller until its only one line. And they slowly move to the upper left corner as well.

This didn't happen in earlier versions of Thunderbird and Mac but it occurred in other recent versions too. I can't say in which version I first noticed it, but in the past year. I had it in Firefox too earlier this year & found an answer online that I should delete preferences; but now it's unfindable. (I think they've altered some basics of the way the program's written.)

Someone else asked the same question a month or 3 ago. His answer was disabling Theme Font and Size Changer but that doesn't work for me. This continues to be a problem when I'm in Safe Mode with the default theme enabled. I realize it could be a Mac problem and not a Thunderbird problem, sorry if I'm bothering the wrong folks, but I think it's Mozilla.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I have Thunderbird 38.2.0 installed on a Mac OSX 10.7.5 Even running in safe mode with all add-ons turned off, the dropdown menus in Preferences don't open fully. The more I click on different menus, the worse it gets. The window gets smaller & smaller until its only one line. And they slowly move to the upper left corner as well. This didn't happen in earlier versions of Thunderbird and Mac but it occurred in other recent versions too. I can't say in which version I first noticed it, but in the past year. I had it in Firefox too earlier this year & found an answer online that I should delete preferences; but now it's unfindable. (I think they've altered some basics of the way the program's written.) Someone else asked the same question a month or 3 ago. His answer was disabling Theme Font and Size Changer but that doesn't work for me. This continues to be a problem when I'm in Safe Mode with the default theme enabled. I realize it could be a Mac problem and not a Thunderbird problem, sorry if I'm bothering the wrong folks, but I think it's Mozilla. Thanks in advance for your help.

All Replies (6)

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Thunderbird > preferences > Advanced > General and toggle the hardware acceleration setting.

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Matt said

Thunderbird > preferences > Advanced > General and toggle the hardware acceleration setting.

I hate to say that I tried that already.... I'm beginning to think I should back up to an earlier version... except I need this one to mesh up with my calender & phone.

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I have similar problem and preferences window shrunk up so nothing but the top menu bar is visible, and clicking on all options there does nothing. I have Mac OSX El Capitan = 10.11.

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Apparently this is happening to others as well. I've done the same things to try & figure out why the menu keeps shrinking: Thunderbird > preferences > Advanced > General and toggle the hardware acceleration setting; add-ons disabled, turned off theme & font changer, started in safe mode...all with the same problem. I "did" contact the Mac staff, however, & they confirmed it's not a Mac system issue. Does anyone have a solution yet?

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Matt said

Thunderbird > preferences > Advanced > General and toggle the hardware acceleration setting.

Apparently this is happening to others as well. I've done the same things to try & figure out why the menu keeps shrinking, including your suggestion but I still have the same problem. I "did" contact the Mac staff, however, & they confirmed it's not a Mac system issue. Do you have other ideas?

Thank you,

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Ouch! Me too. Same problem.