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Thunderbird, threads. remove threads

  • 3 replies
  • 16 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by david

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Hello. I need help getting Thunderbird to stop marking and sorting certain emails as threads. Seems to be completely spontaneous and for no apparent reason, even in the inbox. I have never actively marked emails as threads. I've tried to remove the "threads" function in the folder settings, but it doesn't seem to have helped in some cases. I also need help with getting the email "unstuck" from the thread structure, I have tried "Ignore threads" and "Ignore subthreads" with the result that the email disappeared. The documents I have seen have not been of any help. Reply preferably to my usual e-mail address, have a bit of ours with mail in the G-mail account.

  Please Bosse

.bo_ostlundtelia.com

Translated from Swedish by Google translate.

Hello. I need help getting Thunderbird to stop marking and sorting certain emails as threads. Seems to be completely spontaneous and for no apparent reason, even in the inbox. I have never actively marked emails as threads. I've tried to remove the "threads" function in the folder settings, but it doesn't seem to have helped in some cases. I also need help with getting the email "unstuck" from the thread structure, I have tried "Ignore threads" and "Ignore subthreads" with the result that the email disappeared. The documents I have seen have not been of any help. Reply preferably to my usual e-mail address, have a bit of ours with mail in the G-mail account. Please Bosse .bo_ostlundtelia.com Translated from Swedish by Google translate.

All Replies (3)

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This is the official (to my knowledge) documentation. Well worth the read https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/message-threading-thunderbird

Here is my own documentation on threading, duplicating the above, but it may help: You need to highlight each folder and click View>sort by>unthreaded. If this applies to just a few folders, just repeat the process as necessary. If you have many folders or plan to add many new folders, you may wish a different approach, below:

More info: To change default for *new* folders, In config editor, you can change default that applies to NEW folders you set up: mailnews.default_view_flags 0=unthreaded

Config editor is available at Tools>settings>general and scroll to bottom right.

 ------------

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.

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. 

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David, Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wish that decisions that affect how we mere mortals use the software would not be dropped on us from such a great height. It seems your video got lost somewhere, but the description was good enough for me.

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You are most welcome. :)