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Preserve sent messages from an account secondary identity

  • 4 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by Matt

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Thunderbird allows to add muliple identities for an email account. A user can also add own SMTP server for each identity, and Thunderbird will obtain OAuth2 password for that server (for example when using Gmail) when sending 1st email through that identity email. However, I can't find an option in an Account "Edit Identity - Copies & Folders" pan to select "Place a copy to - Sent Mail on 'identity email address'".

Instead, the Tbird GUI offers to place a copy to the primary Account's Sent Mail folder. I.e. if I add the identity "newguy @gmail.com" to a primary acc "oldguy @gmail.com", the GUI will not offer me to send a sent mail copy to Sent Mail folder of "newguy @gmail.com" (despite the copy is still sent defacto to it), but instead offers to preserve the copy in the Sent Mail of the primary account "oldguy @gmail.com".

Is there a way to explicitely send a sent mail copy to Sent Mail folder of "newguy @gmail.com", which siounds more logical and intuitive than doing it in a hidden manner without even mentioning in any Help or support post.


edited emails with a space

Thunderbird allows to add muliple identities for an email account. A user can also add own SMTP server for each identity, and Thunderbird will obtain OAuth2 password for that server (for example when using Gmail) when sending 1st email through that identity email. However, I can't find an option in an Account "Edit Identity - Copies & Folders" pan to select "Place a copy to - Sent Mail on 'identity email address'". Instead, the Tbird GUI offers to place a copy to the primary Account's Sent Mail folder. I.e. if I add the identity "newguy @gmail.com" to a primary acc "oldguy @gmail.com", the GUI will not offer me to send a sent mail copy to Sent Mail folder of "newguy @gmail.com" (despite the copy is still sent defacto to it), but instead offers to preserve the copy in the Sent Mail of the primary account "oldguy @gmail.com". Is there a way to explicitely send a sent mail copy to Sent Mail folder of "newguy @gmail.com", which siounds more logical and intuitive than doing it in a hidden manner without even mentioning in any Help or support post. edited emails with a space

Modified by James

All Replies (4)

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I also suspect that the copy is now preserved in the Sent Mail folder of "newguy @gmail.com" only because Gmail automatically saves any sent mail copy to that folder, so Tbird has no involvement in it. But some other email services may not have that function of auto copying to Sent Mail any message passing through their SMTP server. So in that case no copy will be preserved at all. There must be such option explicitely added to Tbird GUI.

Modified by James

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I am just wondering why you would not just add the new email address to Thunderbird instead of messing with identities. But I largely fail to understand having multiple email accounts and a desktop email aggregator (thunderbird) and trying to use a web site to aggregate mail from multiple accounts.

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Hi Matt, its a fair question. Many folks have multiple email accs, each used for a dedicated purpose. However, its not always convenient to add them all to Tbird on the desktop and also to various mobile devices, which creates clutter hard to deal with especially on mobile. That's why its often reasonable to Forward some email accs to other "task driven" aggregator emails on Gmail, and then add several such aggregator accs to Tbird and mobile email clients. This also allows to use much fewer acc passwords, which is important for mobile, especially when systems are frequently updated.

Anyway, since Identity feature is offered in Tbird, and based even on this forum its used by many, there is a compelling reason to make it complete by offering to explicitely choose the identity email address for preserving outgoing messages. Especially since it already used defacto by some SMTP servers like Gmail, but not used by other webmail services. It will allow to offer a uniform approach to users regardless of a webmail service choosen for the identity emails. Also, since such an important detail is not mentioned in Tbird Help or anywhere in support forums, it makes a lot harder to figure it out.

On a relevant note, if a user earlier added a separate email acc and SMTP server for it in Tbird, and later decided to add such acc and SMTP server as an "identity" to another primary Tbird acc instead, he must delete in Settings-Privacy-Passwords-Saved Passwords the previously saved by Tbird server password for that acc, so the Tbird could ask for a new password (it can be the same) at sending 1st email through the identity acc. Its not mentioned in the Using Identities or similar Help article either. Not sure why Tbird doesn't auto delete server passwords for deleted email accs or SMTP servers?

Would anyone suggest, where I can place a suggestion to Tbird developers or file a "bug" report if appropriate regarding adding an option to preserve outgoing email copies to an identity acc Sent Mail folder?

Modified by zamar27

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zamar27 said

Would anyone suggest, where I can place a suggestion to Tbird developers or file a "bug" report if appropriate regarding adding an option to preserve outgoing email copies to an identity acc Sent Mail folder?

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/home