re: file is shown in lighter colours on the list. Please post an image showing the Folder Pane, so we can see what the 'Deleted' folder looks like.

Is the mail account a pop or imap mail account?

If Imap: subscribe to see the server Trash/Deleted Items (or whatever the server calls it) folder.

• Right click on imap mail account name in Folder Pane and select 'Subscribe'
• click on 'Refresh' button
• Select the server TRash folder
• click on 'Subscribe'
• clickon 'OK'

Can you see the server imap Trash folder?

Please note that some servers auto empty Trash folders periodically and this will effect an imap Trash folder.

Thank you for the helpful response. I still am unable to find any e mails that I have sent to the file marked "deleted". The deleted file has a different symbol - it loks like a blue dotted circle.

Assuming you have subscribed to see the server trash folder which may be called 'Deleted Items' or similar, now check account settings to make sure you are using it.

• Right click on imap mail account name in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'.
• select 'Server Settings'

When I delete a message:

• select 'Move it to this folder' and select the subscribed server trash folder on the imap mail account.
• click on 'OK'

Exit and restart Thunderbird

Thank you very much for explaing how to overcome the problem. The difficulty is that the problem seems to be more basic. When I follow all the steps that you have indicated - & which I have tried previously - it does not work. The problem seems to be that the deleted file, both in thunderbird and when I visit the server file, is that the deleted file is marked up differently. The box before the word deleted seems to contain a symbol, in blue, that looks like a circle with intervals in the circle. I have never been able to identify what this symbol means or how to change it to a more convential symbol. I would illustrate on here if I knew how to!

'I can't find deleted files - but I just did! there are two "deleted files", an empty one called that -- and the other named with my e-mail address, which has the files in it. This has happened recently. How can I rename the second file?