identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

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danll
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identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

Thunderbird links EVERYTHING, from any folder, into "All Mail". It would be nice, when selecting an e-mail in "All Mail" to know in what folder that particular e-mail actually lives. Is there a way to select an e-mail in "All Mail" and see where it really resides?
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BruceAWittmeier
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by BruceAWittmeier »

I'm using Thunderbird 101.0b4

If you right click an email in "All Mail" select "Open mail in conversation" -- there is a column titled "location" where it resides and all the folders that link to that file.
I often take a long windy road to my destination. Upon arrival, I wonder how I missed the shortcut.
danll
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

Let's see. I'm using 91.9.1 , which is the current Mac release version. There is no such option there. I can "Open Message in New Tab" or "Open Message in New Window", but that's it. Am I missing something? This is, of course, an IMAP account.
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tanstaafl
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by tanstaafl »

I don't have "Open mail in conversation" either, using 91.9.1 or 101.b4 (latest beta) under Windows 11 Pro. However, its in 102.0a1 (2022-05-30) , a Daily build. So I don't think its a question of whether or not you're using a Mac.

I enabled a Location column in the folder listing but its empty when looking at messages in All Mail in a Gmail IMAP account. According to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1045649 Location has the folder name, but only when looking at the results of a global search.

There was a Open In Conversation add-on but its a legacy add-on that won't work with TB91. You might try the Thunderbird Conversation add-on at https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/th ... ew/?src=ss .
danll
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

Thanks. Oh well. Now,I wasn't aware of that "Location" column, but when I open one up for All Mail, it's empty. What is that"Location" column supposed to be for?
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tanstaafl
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by tanstaafl »

"Location has the folder name, but only when looking at the results of a global search."
danll
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

OK, but I'm confused about Global Search. I don't have a Global Search text box, which I'm supposed to have by default, and it allegedly an be enabled/disabled on the Advanced panel in the Thunderbird preferences. I don't see any such panel.
mgagnonlv
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by mgagnonlv »

A global search panel is not something that appears by default, but rather something that only happens when you want it. I find it very useful when I suddenly have to dig for an obscure email I wrote to someone at company X or Y either 1 or 2 years ago to explain how to weld under the hood of a ventilation system (for example).

– Press ALT to see full menus
– Select File –> Edit –> Search –> Global Search (or Search in [all] mail)
– Then enter the word, email or name you want to look for, and a list of, say, all emails containing the searched expression "administrator" will be found.
– You can then narrow down your search by choosing amongst a second set of criteria in the left panel.
Michel Gagnon
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tanstaafl
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by tanstaafl »

On my system the global search edit field is displayed by default as long as global search/indexing is enabled in tools -> preferences. That's because I have the mail toolbar enabled via view -> toolbars -> mail toolbar (so I don't need to press the ALT key whenever I want to see toolbars). Most people in this forum assume you have the mail and menu toolbars enabled.

You could also press the Thunderbird menu button in the upper right corner that looks like a stack of three hamburgers and select find -> global search.
danll
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

Again, this is a Mac, and I don't see any of that.

But yes, when I do a Hamburger>Find>Search Messages, and I do a search THAT WAY, I see the locations displayed. Is that a "Global Search"? The QuickFilter search doesn't do that.
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tanstaafl
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by tanstaafl »

No, you would do hamburger -> find -> global search. However, classic search (which is what you do via hamburger -> search messages) appears to also fill in the Location field in the search results. However if I save it as a search folder the Location field is now empty.
danll
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

In my version of TB, there is no hamburger -> find -> global search.

There is , in hamburger > Find
> Find in This Message
> Find Again
> Search Messages
> Search Addresses
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tanstaafl
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by tanstaafl »

No idea why you don't have it if global search/indexing is enabled in tools -> preferences. I'm using version 91.9.1 and the hamburger menu hasn't changed for a long time. But you can follow Michel Gagnon's suggestion of pressing the ALT key to temporarily enable the toolbars. I think on a Mac keyboard that might be called the Option key.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ke ... hunderbird
danll
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Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

Ah, ah, my apologies. I did not have Global Search checked in Preferences. Now I do and hamburger>Find shows it! When I do such a global search AND select "Show results as list" the Location is shown. This is great! Thank you very much for your instructions and patience. I looked for that Global Search enabling in preferences, and I guess I just didn't look hard enough.
danll
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Joined: March 2nd, 2010, 4:20 pm

Re: identifying "All Mail" in Thunderbird

Post by danll »

I feel compelled to ask - why are you given a choice to enable or disable Global Searches? Now, I thought that was supposed to default as enabled, but I guess that's not the case. If you don't need Global Searches, what do you actually gain by disabling it?
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