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I have 308 open tabs in Thunderbird, each with one message, how do I close them?

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by db999

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I was trying to move the contents from one folder to another account but instead it opened all the emails in separate tabs. How can I close all the tabs at once? I tried closing and reopening Thunderbird but it did not help.

I was trying to move the contents from one folder to another account but instead it opened all the emails in separate tabs. How can I close all the tabs at once? I tried closing and reopening Thunderbird but it did not help.

Chosen solution

Q: How can I close all the tabs at once? A: Right click on the first tab

    select 'Close other tabs'

Q: I tried closing and reopening Thunderbird but it did not help. A : That's because the session remembered your Thunderbird selections when it closed and then reopened using those same session selections.

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Chosen Solution

Q: How can I close all the tabs at once? A: Right click on the first tab

    select 'Close other tabs'

Q: I tried closing and reopening Thunderbird but it did not help. A : That's because the session remembered your Thunderbird selections when it closed and then reopened using those same session selections.

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db999 said

I was trying to move the contents from one folder to another account but instead it opened all the emails in separate tabs. How can I close all the tabs at once? I tried closing and reopening Thunderbird but it did not help.

Thanks, Although your answer did not tell me how to change the session selections, I found that after I closed down the computer and booted it, Thunderbird had cleared up the mess. Is that the easiest way to change the session selections?

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I was wrong. I was looking at the wrong computer. I still have all 308 tabs open so I do need to know how to change the session selections. I'm afraid that Mozilla help was of no use.

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Ok lets try this:

First close all those tabs.

  • Right click on the first tab
  • select 'Close other tabs'

Then make hidden files and folders visible:

In Thunderbird:

  • Help > Troubleshooting Information
  • click on 'show Folder' button
a window opens showing contents of profile folder.
  • Close Thunderbird now - this is important.
  • look for and delete this file: session.json
  • Restart Thunderbird.

Report back on results.

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Thanks, It appears that it was enough to click on the first tab and select Close Other Tabs to solve my immediate problem. I will keep the rest of your instructions for some future problem. Thanks again for your patience and quick support.