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Only displaying drafts folder

  • 2 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by Matt

kimholder
kimholder
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Today I've been getting Thunderbird to work with a DreamHost email address. It's now connected but I couldn't find drafts. I would write a draft and then it didn't show up. I read I should set View > Folders > All, and it was like that, but I couldn't see drafts anywhere.

So after some struggle I figured I had to set it up to store the drafts on a local folder. I tried to set that but it kept changing back to storing it on my DreamHost mail folder online. That doesn't work for me, I haven't signed into that for years, it just forwards to my gmail. It would be a pain in the butt to have to sign into that, it's why I set up Thunderbird. I thought, maybe getting files to and from DreamHost is just super slow.

So I tried setting the Local Folders to a folder I could reach, by making a thunderbird folder in my Documents folder, since by this time I thought maybe I'd need to open them manually or something, I was getting really confused. Everything was gone once I closed it and I didn't know where it was supposed to be, so I was just randomly guessing by this time. After a while that worked. Sort of.

Sadly, I couldn't tell you how I got here, but now Thunderbird's first tab is showing the drafts folder. I click 'Get Messages', and go down in the menu to specify to do so from the email address I set this up for, and nothing happens. I create an email and save it as a draft, and it shows up in the messages list. (Oh, was that what was supposed to happen all along? That makes sense!) Except if I close Thunderbird and open it again, the draft is gone. And that's all I get, a tab for my dysfunctional Drafts folder.

I'm on Ubuntu 20.04.3 and it's up to date.

Please send help. How can I get out of this royal mess? Thank you

Today I've been getting Thunderbird to work with a DreamHost email address. It's now connected but I couldn't find drafts. I would write a draft and then it didn't show up. I read I should set View > Folders > All, and it was like that, but I couldn't see drafts anywhere. So after some struggle I figured I had to set it up to store the drafts on a local folder. I tried to set that but it kept changing back to storing it on my DreamHost mail folder online. That doesn't work for me, I haven't signed into that for years, it just forwards to my gmail. It would be a pain in the butt to have to sign into that, it's why I set up Thunderbird. I thought, maybe getting files to and from DreamHost is just super slow. So I tried setting the Local Folders to a folder I could reach, by making a thunderbird folder in my Documents folder, since by this time I thought maybe I'd need to open them manually or something, I was getting really confused. Everything was gone once I closed it and I didn't know where it was supposed to be, so I was just randomly guessing by this time. After a while that worked. Sort of. Sadly, I couldn't tell you how I got here, but now Thunderbird's first tab is showing the drafts folder. I click 'Get Messages', and go down in the menu to specify to do so from the email address I set this up for, and nothing happens. I create an email and save it as a draft, and it shows up in the messages list. (Oh, was that what was supposed to happen all along? That makes sense!) Except if I close Thunderbird and open it again, the draft is gone. And that's all I get, a tab for my dysfunctional Drafts folder. I'm on Ubuntu 20.04.3 and it's up to date. Please send help. How can I get out of this royal mess? Thank you
Attached screenshots

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kimholder
kimholder Question owner
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Okay, I found the way to open the sidebar by going to the hamburger menu, then to Customize, then to Layouts. then to Folder Pane. And I was just randomly guessing there.

I know this is a free product and that Mozilla stands up for important things. Also I've never donated, it's on my list. But seriously, that is REALLY NOT INTUITIVE.

I stumbled across a critical sidebar buried in a menu 3 layers deep under seemingly unrelated menu sections. One I had no way to know even existed.

-end rant-

Matt
Matt
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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<Rant of my own> Try pressing F10 and using a real menu. Things are still easier with a well laid out application menu instead of the hamburger which periodically just disappears based on the tab you are in.

You might want to right click the toolbar and turm on the menu bar, the folder pane toolbar. About 10 years ago someone had a bright idea that less is better and ever since everyone has been going around with half the user interface turned off.

When in compose press F8 to ensure the contact pane is enabled and again right click the toolbar and turn on the other useful items, like customize the toolbar to add quote (handy of quoting a selection from another email) and the contact side bar button to turn it on and off. Turn off what you don't like later. But start with everything. </Rant of my own>