You are probably missing that the filters are per account and when you open the filter dailog the account shown is not the one you have the filters in.

Thanks Matt - But i only have one account and it is named correctly at the top of the filter window - apparently filled in by the application prior to my entry

Everyone has a "local folders" account, so you have at least two and the local folders is the default location for filters

Thanks again for you trouble. (Is there really not a help page for the (otherwise excellent) Thunderbird? The novice user has to struggle a bit.) I do indeed have two default entries under"filters for" in the message filters window: (1) my account email address and (2) "local folders". I was previously setting up filters on (1) and asking for them to be run on my inbox (which is not in local folders). If i change them "filters for" (2) then i am only offered to run my filters on the set of folders that are local. But my inbox is not local and its my inbox i want filtered. Hope this makes sense...

re :Is there really not a help page for the (otherwise excellent) Thunderbird? Yes there is a help article on using Message Filters. It describes how to use it and not issues you may experience.

• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/organize-your-messages-using-filters

So basically, you are saying it does not matter whether the Message Filters dialog box, at the top line, where select the account is for the actual mail account name or Local Folders. There is no list of Message Filters which you previously created. In your case, they should be under the mail account name, but they are not showing in either.

Message filter rules are stored in a file called 'msgFilterRules.dat'. That file is located in the profile folders, so check to see if it exists by following these instructions. In Thunderbird

• Menu app icon > Help > Troubleshooting Information.
• Under 'Application Basics' about 8th inlist is 'Profiles' - click on 'Open Folder'

A new window opens showing you the contents of your 'profile name' folder. If you are talking about a POP account

• click on 'Mail' folder to see contents.

The 'Mail' folder contains pop mail account name folders and 'Local Folders' mail account folder.

If you are talking about an IMAP account

• click on 'ImapMail' folder to see contents.

The 'ImapMail' folder contains the imap mail account name folder.

• click on the mail account name folder to see contents.

Look for the 'msgFilterRules.dat' file. Do you see it ? Do you see similar named file eg: 'msgFilterRules-1.dat' ? Do the files have a size eg: 4KB ?

Open the 'msgFilterRules.dat' file using 'Notepad to see contents. It will start with version and logging followed by the filters. Typically, the filters are listed one after the other. This is an example below: version="9" logging="yes" name="TB Forum" enabled="yes" type="1" action="Move to folder" actionValue="mailbox://xxxxxxxx%40xxxxxxx.com@mail.xxxxxxx.com/Thunderbird" condition="OR (from,is,notifications@support.mozilla.org) OR (from,is,no-reply@support.mozilla.org) OR (from,is,mailer@lithium.com) OR (from,is,support-notifications@mozilla.com)"

Do you see the list of filters? Are those filters visible in the 'msgFilterRiles.dat' file OR Did you see a 'msgFilterRules-1.dat' and did it contain the filters ?

Do you store emails in the default location which is here:

• C:\Users\User Name\Appdata\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\profile name folder

where profile name folder is usually a load of letters and numbers eg: 123abc45.default

OR do you store profile elsewhere or use Dropbox etc?

Please tell the forum what Anti-Virus program you are using. Do you use programs like CCleaner ?

Thanks for this careful guidance. I don't see a list of filters in 'msgFilterRules.dat' (see content below). The only hint relating to filters is in the line beginning "name=" where there a single filter rule (pointless .gov pester to a UK user) that i created (although i did make others). That rule was placed by me in one of two named filters in my "message filters" - although the filter names persist, they are both now empty (and, as originally explained, get emptied at Thunderbird shut down even though when populated and before shut down they do their work when run)

version="9" logging="no" name="From contains: RepMullin@mail.house.gov" enabled="yes" type="17" action="Move to folder" actionValue="mailbox://nobody@Local%20Folders/Junk" condition="AND (from,contains,RepMullin@mail.house.gov)"

I am not sure where my mail is stored - as at install i assume Thunderbird offered me a default and i would have chosen it. I can say that 'Local folders' is in AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\r2w9d4zz.default-release\Mail\Local Folders. Unsure where inbox is

I was asked about virus services - no i dont use CCcleaner (although have done in past) but i use Sophos endpoint security 10.8 Thanks

re: filters This is a filter you created.

version="9" logging="no" - (this means filter logging is not enabled)

The filter list now starts: name="From contains: RepMullin@mail.house.gov" - (This is the name you gave the filter which is somewhat lengthy you could have just called this filter 'move to Junk')

enabled="yes" - (you have selected this to be active) type="17" - (you have selected to apply filter when 'Manually Run' and 'Getting new mail')

action="Move to folder" (the action you want to occur) actionValue="mailbox://nobody@Local%20Folders/Junk" (You have chosen to move filtered emails into the 'Junk' folder in your 'Local Folders' mail account) condition="AND (from,contains,RepMullin@mail.house.gov)" - (one condition the from email address contains a specific email address )

At this point, if there were more than one filter, you would see another filter below it which would start with name=. I'm presuming there was nothing more than you have already posted. So this file only contains one filter.

As this filter says the action is to move email to a folder in the 'Local Folders' mail account - and not the actual mail account Junk folder, I need to know what folder contains that 'msgFilterRules.dat' file, because at this point it sounds like you created this Filter For: Local Folders.

You are clearly looking at a Message Filter file, but you have not told me where you found it, so I do not know whether this 'msgFilterRules.dat' file was in a pop account, Local Folders mail account or an imap mail account. If you followed the instructions then you would have opened the 'profile name' folder which you are using. Did you click on 'Mail' folder and then access a pop account name folder? OR Did you click on 'Mail' folder and access the 'Local Folders' mail account? OR did you click on 'ImapMail' folder and access the imap account name folder ?

Do you use a POP account? Did you set it up as a deferred account more commonly called 'Global Inbox' ? To help work out what kind of set up you are using: In the 'Folder Pane' do you see your mail account with it's own set of folders and also the Local Folders' mail account OR do you only only see the 'Local Folders' mail account name with all it's folders which contains all your emails?

In Thunderbird Open 'Message Filters' Filters For: select 'Local Folders' Do you see one filter and it is called 'From contains: RepMullin@mail.house.gov'  ?

Thanks again - I figure things might be easier if i uploaded screenshots (which i have done). 01 is what i see on opening filter window 02 is my edited spamassasin.. filter (this one reverts to a default structure on closing down Thunderbird) 03 is my edited spammy filter (which now does not seem to be cleared on closedown)

Basically of the two spam filters one of them is emptied on Thunderbird close and the second (spammy) now seems to be intact with my insertions. I guess i can delete the first - although none of this is as easy as i feel it should be (i.e. Outlook). To answer your questions however... I clicked on "mail" alongside "profile folder" row on the troubleshooting page it opens a folder C:\Users\charl\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\r2w9d4zz.default-release Which opens "local folders" which contains folders ImapMail and Mail amongst others Mail contains "local folders"

I guess if my "spammy" filter that at present is not being empties on closedown then i can ignore the one that does. In which case maybe i am in business (albeit confused) - and your advice has been much appreciated

Is the gmail account a POP account or an IMAP account ?

When you opened and copied the contents of the 'msgFilterRules.dat' file - as shown previously, was that 'msgFilterRules.dat' file located in:

• C:\Users\charl\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\r2w9d4zz.default-release\Mail\pop.gmail.com

or in the gmail Imap account folder:

• C:\Users\charl\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\r2w9d4zz.default-release\ImapMail\imap.gmail.com

or in Local Folders folder

• C:\Users\charl\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\r2w9d4zz.default-release\Mail\Local Folders