how to widen an opened email

[wondermuse]

Yes of course since all the emails (like subscription newsletters) open this way but here is a tidbit. The notification email I received from this forum for this last reply is slightly different from regular emails, such as subscription newsletters, which is mostly what I get. The text is all 'left justified' (everything is aligned at the leftmost margin of the message panel). The text reaches across the message panel about 2/3 of the way or maybe a little more, but not completely across. I will try to insert an image of this email. Subscription newsletters are a different thing. I'll try to add a different one for comparison to the 'text' email message from this forum.

[wondermuse]

Sorry, I guess I forgot how I entered the URL last time, I've got it now, though. Here are the images.

[DanRaisch]

You can try changing a setting, but, again, that's simply the way each message was formatted when sent so the change may not have the impact you desire.

Use menu path Tools->Options->Advanced->General->click on the "Config Editor" button. Type "wrap" (without quotations) into the filter bar. Right click on the entry reading "mailnews.wraplength" and then select "Modify" from the context menu. Change the default value to a higher figure. Alternatively, double click on the setting titled "mail.wrap_long_lines" to set it to "False". Close that dialogue and then close and restart Thunderbird.

[sfhowes]

The preference mailnews.wraplength only affects the display of plain text messages you compose; set it to 0 to have messages wrap to the window width. Other wrap preferences, some of which are obsolete, are described here and here. Plain text messages you receive that are sent from a mailer that supports flowed format will wrap to the window width if mailnews.display.disable_format_flowed_support is false (the default).

It appears that the notifications from this forum do not have flowed format enabled, as they wrap to something like 72 characters in TB even when flowed display is enabled. For the plain text messages you compose to have flowed format enabled, mailnews.send_plaintext_flowed should be true (the default).

[wondermuse]

None of these solutions worked. Does it make a difference if modifying both the "mailnews.wraplength" and the "mail.wrap_long_lines" at the same time. I did start with just the "mailnews.wraplength", which was set at 72 and I increased it to 150, but it did nothing. I left that as is (150) and set the "mail.wrap_long_lines" to "false", which also did nothing. Finally, I set the "mailnews.wraplength" to "0" which also did nothing.

You say it's "the way each message was formatted when sent", but Mailbird does not open mail this way. Here is the same Photobucket email opened in Mailbird.





Here is Thunderbird again:





Not to get off the subject but, I have another minor problem. In my effort to 'maximize' (pun) the readability of email messages I have somehow got the "Options" window so large that it is off my 15.6" screen at the top. I can retrieve it by selecting "Cascade Windows" in the right click menu of the taskbar, but it's very strange that the "Options" window does not allow for 'sizing'; and that it is so large to begin with and no way to make it smaller, unless I'm missing something. I have no idea what setting is effecting the size of the "Options" window.

I have installed the add-on/extension "Theme Font & Size Changer", but I think it only effects the TB interface, not email messages; which brings me to another query, exactly what setting adjusts email messages text size? Needless to say, Thunderbird is not very intuitive.

[sfhowes]

The preference mailnews.wraplength only affects the display of plain text messages you compose; it has no effect on the display of received messages, plain text or html. The Photobucket message is formatted to show the graphic as center-justified. You can make the TB display look like the Mailbird one by holding the Ctrl key and rolling the mouse wheel, or Ctrl++ and Ctrl+-; make sure View/Zoom/Zoom Text Only is unchecked to have the graphics zoom.

If the Options window is too large, you probably have your screen resolution too low, in order to increase the fonts. The settings for message text size are under Tools/Options/Display/Formatting/Fonts & Colors/Advanced. http://kb.mozillazine.org/Font_settings_in_Thunderbird

Guide to font settings: http://xenos-email-notes.simplesite.com/417754775