Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

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Mort99
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Joined: December 11th, 2019, 3:30 pm

Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

Back, before I had upgraded to the newer versions of Thunderbird almost a year ago, the inbox listed under my gmail account showed such items as Inbox, All Mail, Trash, etc.
Since then, while these listings also appear with the current newer versions, only the Inbox, Sent, and Saved mail listings are functional. Clicking on any of the other titles does nothing. In particular I miss the ability to recover a deleted email from Trash if it was deleted accidentally.

Although I fortunately had little need for the missing or non-functioning subgroups until recently, I miss the convenience of these items.

Any help in restoring or reactivating these functions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
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DanRaisch
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by DanRaisch »

Make sure that those folders are subscribed to in Thunderbird -=- https://www.liquidweb.com/kb/how-to-sub ... underbird/
Mort99
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Joined: December 11th, 2019, 3:30 pm

Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

Hi Dan,

When I right click on the Sub-folder "INBOX" (located directly under my email account name,) I only see such things as Open New Tab, Compact, Properties, etc.

However, if right click on the name of the my email, above it, SUBSCRIBE appears. Clicking on Subscribe opens a window listing all the sub-folders such as ALL MAIL, CONTACTS. DRAFTS,
ALL MAIL, TRASH, SUBSCRIBE, etc. that appear in Step 1 of the article you suggested. Only problem is that EVERY BOX IS CHECKED! including those that appear under my account, weather they are functional or not! Clicking on REFRESH had no effect.
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tanstaafl
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by tanstaafl »

It sounds like you are using the unified folders view. Its fragile / buggy. Try deleting both "smart mailboxes" and the virtualfolders.dat file in the profile and then launch Thunderbird again.

See http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unified_Folders_not_working (needs updating for different menu sequences).
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tanstaafl
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by tanstaafl »

Moved from thunderbird features to thunderbird support
Mort99
Posts: 27
Joined: December 11th, 2019, 3:30 pm

Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

Thank you for your response.
I am an 87 year old non-techie so please bear with me.
I'm confused.
All the sub-folders were working properly for the many years that I used Thunderbird. The problem arose when I updated to the newer format about a year ago. The Drafts, Sent, and Saved Mail folders have been functioning properly ever since moving to the newer versions. The problem I'm concerned with are the Junk, Trash, and All Mail which are completely non-functional.

It would seem to me that if all the sub-folders functioned properly in the older version, why would only some of them continue to do so while others do not?

Is it possible that some sub-folders are of one type (unified) and others are not?
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tanstaafl
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by tanstaafl »

"The problem arose when I updated to the newer format about a year ago. "

What do you mean by that? I don't understand the context. I can't tell if you mean you switched to a newer major version of Thunderbird, you switched from POP to IMAP accounts, you switched from using "All Folders" to "Unified Folders" or what.
Mort99
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

The only switch I made was to the newer major version of Thunderbird. It was offered as an upgrade, no different than any prior upgrade. I was asked if I wanted to upgrade to the next version, and I clicked YES ...just as I had for all the prior upgrades.The upgrade functioned smoothly ... all except for the sub-groups I mentioned.
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tanstaafl
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by tanstaafl »

Since you mention All Mail I assume this is a Gmail IMAP account.

"only the Inbox, Sent, and Saved mail listings are functional. Clicking on any of the other titles does nothing."

What is the IMAP server directory set to in the advanced section of the accounts settings? Normally its blank. I set it to [Gmail] to make the folder hierarchy more useful.

You might try deleting the panacea.dat file in the profile. Its a cache of known folders. I'm wondering if you're seeing some non-existent folders listed because they were in that file. When you restart Thunderbird it will create a replacement file.

Is it really Sent or Sent Mail that you are seeing? The latter is what Gmail normally has.
Mort99
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Joined: December 11th, 2019, 3:30 pm

Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

The IMAP Server Directory in the Advanced Section of Accounts Settings is not blank. It is already set to: imap.gmail.com

The sub-group under my Account is listed as SENT, rather than SENT MAIL.That sub-Group is working properly and lists all the mail I have sent.

Searching the Thunderbird Profile, I do not see the file PANACEA.DAT present.
Mort99
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

If I open my account at GMAIL.COM, the following sub-groups appear and all FUNCTION PROPERLY:
Inbox,Starred, Sent, Drafts, All Mail, Trash, ...

Is there a way to "transfer" these functional sub-groups to Thunderbird?
Gone Postal
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Joined: December 2nd, 2008, 1:00 pm

Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Gone Postal »

Mort99 wrote:If I open my account at GMAIL.COM, the following sub-groups appear and all FUNCTION PROPERLY:
Inbox,Starred, Sent, Drafts, All Mail, Trash, ...

Is there a way to "transfer" these functional sub-groups to Thunderbird?
Just a random thought. When you go to Account Settings, then the Server Settings section and click on the Advanced button to bring up the Advanced Account Settings pop-up, is the "Show only subscribed folders" box checked? If so, that would stop any other folders (sub-groups) to which your Thunderbird is not subscribed showing in the Thunderbird folder list.
Gone Postal
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Gone Postal »

Another random thought. When you right click on the account name in the left hand folder window you should get a context menu including an option for Subscribe. When you click on that are you seeing all of the folders in your Gmail account or just the ones that Thunderbird is already showing?
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tanstaafl
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Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by tanstaafl »

"The IMAP Server Directory in the Advanced Section of Accounts Settings is not blank. It is already set to: imap.gmail.com"

I have several versions of Thunderbird installed, each with their own profile, and none of them have that for my Gmail IMAP account. It normally defaults to being blank, and I set it to [Gmail] to change the namespace. That changes the folder structure to something much more reasonable, mimicking what I see in webmail.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the IMAP Server Directory (which is set to [Gmail]) on the pane that has the checkbox for "show only subscribed folders". Not the Server name in the Server Settings (which is set to imap.gmail.com).
Mort99
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Joined: December 11th, 2019, 3:30 pm

Re: Non-functioning sub-groups in my email

Post by Mort99 »

Gone Postal wrote:
Mort99 wrote:If I open my account at GMAIL.COM, the following sub-groups appear and all FUNCTION PROPERLY:
Inbox,Starred, Sent, Drafts, All Mail, Trash, ...

Is there a way to "transfer" these functional sub-groups to Thunderbird?
Just a random thought. When you go to Account Settings, then the Server Settings section and click on the Advanced button to bring up the Advanced Account Settings pop-up, is the "Show only subscribed folders" box checked? If so, that would stop any other folders (sub-groups) to which your Thunderbird is not subscribed showing in the Thunderbird folder list.
Thank you for your reply.
The "Show only subscribed folders" was not checked. After I checked the box, no change to my sub-folders occurred.
Last edited by Mort99 on September 25th, 2022, 3:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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