Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

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JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

A few weeks ago I began to notice a brand new behavior for TB. From time to time TB starts in a different position and with a different size than when it was last closed. Frequently this happens on the first use of TB after the machine is first booted for the day; after that, the problem seems to be random as the program is started and stopped. This is especially irritating since it's vertical size often stretches beyond the top of the desktop. So I have to fiddle with it to get it re-positioned lower where it is all visible and with a reduced vertical size. Based on various suggestions, I have tried to refresh TB by deleting two of the files in the profile folder, but this didn't help. None of my other programs exhibit this problem (not even Firefox). Can anyone tell me how to get TB back it once was where its size and position stay constant from session to session?

John
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tanstaafl
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Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by tanstaafl »

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Toolbar_or_wi ... ot_working

"select Help -> Troubleshooting Information. Depending upon what version you are running you will see either a "Open Containing Folder" or a "Show Folder" button. Press it. That will launch windows explorer (or whatever file manager your operating system uses). It will display the contents of your profile. Exit Thunderbird and delete xulstore.json . That stores the toolbar , window layout and size/position settings. Restart Thunderbird. That will create a new version of that file with default settings. If you don't have a xulstore.json file, delete localstore.rdf instead. Xulstore.json replaced localstore.rdf in one of the updates to version 38."
sfhowes
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Joined: April 1st, 2012, 10:21 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by sfhowes »

If deleting xulstore.json doesn't correct things, delete or rename session.json (mentioned in the same kb article).
JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

sfhowes wrote:If deleting xulstore.json doesn't correct things, delete or rename session.json (mentioned in the same kb article).
Based on another article, I already tried renaming "xulstore.json". However instead of "session.json", I renamed "localstore.rdf". I'll go back and try renaming the two files you suggested.
JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

tanstaafl wrote:http://kb.mozillazine.org/Toolbar_or_wi ... ot_working

"select Help -> Troubleshooting Information. Depending upon what version you are running you will see either a "Open Containing Folder" or a "Show Folder" button. Press it. That will launch windows explorer (or whatever file manager your operating system uses). It will display the contents of your profile. Exit Thunderbird and delete xulstore.json . That stores the toolbar , window layout and size/position settings. Restart Thunderbird. That will create a new version of that file with default settings. If you don't have a xulstore.json file, delete localstore.rdf instead. Xulstore.json replaced localstore.rdf in one of the updates to version 38."
I already tried renaming "xulstore.json" and "localstore.rdf", but this didn't fix the problem. Another file which has been suggested is "session.json", so maybe I should try renaming files again, but this time do this for all three files? I found out the last time that renaming the 2 files I tried caused me to have to reconfigure all of my customization (toolbar buttons, etc.). I hope that renaming all 3 files will produce no more downsides than I have already seen.
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tanstaafl
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Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by tanstaafl »

Deleting session.json too is worth a try.

"If deleting xulstore.json doesn't help, try deleting xulstore.json, localstore-safe.rdf (special version of that file used in safe mode), directoryTree.json , foldertree.json (used by folder pane) , mailviews.dat (message views) , search.json, session.json (snapshot of the windows layout), and XUL.mfl (cached user data) instead. Linux uses xul.mfasl instead of xul.mfl, while OS X uses "XUL FastLoad File". You will lose any customizations stored in those files but Thunderbird will recreate those files as needed using default values when you restart it."
JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

tanstaafl wrote:Deleting session.json too is worth a try.

"If deleting xulstore.json doesn't help, try deleting xulstore.json, localstore-safe.rdf (special version of that file used in safe mode), directoryTree.json , foldertree.json (used by folder pane) , mailviews.dat (message views) , search.json, session.json (snapshot of the windows layout), and XUL.mfl (cached user data) instead. Linux uses xul.mfasl instead of xul.mfl, while OS X uses "XUL FastLoad File". You will lose any customizations stored in those files but Thunderbird will recreate those files as needed using default values when you restart it."
To avoid any more effort, I suppose I can "shotgun" the problem by deleting (or more likely renaming) all 8 of the files you mentioned:

xulstore.json
localstore-safe.rdf
directoryTree.json
foldertree.json
mailviews.dat
search.json
session.json
XUL.mfl

If you think this approach might lead to more trouble, please let me know Y/N on this. I'll wait a day or so to hear what you think!
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tanstaafl
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Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by tanstaafl »

It shouldn't cause any trouble (or cause you to lose any data), but it will mean more work restoring customizations.
JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

tanstaafl wrote:It shouldn't cause any trouble (or cause you to lose any data), but it will mean more work restoring customizations.
I just began the process of renaming the suggested 8 files. So far I was able to rename these 5 files:

directoryTree.json
foldertree.json
mailviews.dat
session.json
xulstore.json

However I was NOT able to find the last 3 files (and I searched the whole C:\USERS folder structure). These files:

XUL.mfl
localstore-safe.rdf -- (However I did find a similarly named file -- localstore.rdf. Rename, or leave it alone?)
search.json -- (Again, I found a similarly named file -- search.json.mozlz4. Rename, or leave it alone?)

Any suggestions? Thanks.
sfhowes
Posts: 747
Joined: April 1st, 2012, 10:21 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by sfhowes »

What's your TB version? xulstore.json replaced localstore.rdf around TB 38, but I believe session.json has been present since TB 3. session.json is deleted when TB opens, and is then recreated when TB is closed normally. Was TB closed when you looked in the profile folder?

search.json.mozlz4 contains the search engines available in Tools/Options/General; it should not be deleted in most cases, apart from adding new engines through a documented workaround.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Files_and_fol ... hunderbird
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tanstaafl
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Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by tanstaafl »

I updated the paragraph in http://kb.mozillazine.org/Toolbar_or_wi ... ot_working

"If deleting xulstore.json doesn't help, try deleting xulstore.json, directoryTree.json , foldertree.json (used by folder pane) , mailviews.dat (message views) , search.json, session.json (snapshot of the windows layout), and XUL.mfl (cached user data) instead. Linux uses xul.mfasl instead of xul.mfl, while OS X uses "XUL FastLoad File". You will lose any customizations stored in those files but Thunderbird will recreate those files as needed using default values when you restart it. Some of those files (such as search.json and XUL.mfl) do not exist in the current version of Thunderbird. However, the update doesn't delete unused files, and it's tough keeping track of when files are no longer used. Don't worry if you don't have all of those files."

"I believe session.json has been present since TB 3. session.json is deleted when TB opens, and is then recreated when TB is closed normally."

That's what I thought too. However, I notice that session.json still exists when I exit TB 60.2.1 and that its timestamp got updated to when Thunderbird exited. I verified with task manager that Thunderbird did truly exit. I noticed that Firefox 63.0 doesn't seem to use that file, but has sessionCheckpoints.json and sessionstore.jsonlz4 . sessionCheckpoints.json is also in TB 60.2.1, and has the same timestamp as session.json. It's confusing :)

You might need to delete sessionCheckpoints.json too.
sfhowes
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Joined: April 1st, 2012, 10:21 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by sfhowes »

Did you mean to say "session.json exists when I open TB 60.2.1"? That's true here, too, so I guess the article I cited should be updated - the file is not deleted when TB is opened.

My sessionCheckpoints.json contains one line: {"profile-after-change":true,"final-ui-startup":true}, so deleting it probably doesn't affect the saved layout, which is recorded in session.json.

But why does JDH-1 not see a session.json file?
JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

sfhowes wrote:What's your TB version? xulstore.json replaced localstore.rdf around TB 38, but I believe session.json has been present since TB 3. session.json is deleted when TB opens, and is then recreated when TB is closed normally. Was TB closed when you looked in the profile folder?

search.json.mozlz4 contains the search engines available in Tools/Options/General; it should not be deleted in most cases, apart from adding new engines through a documented workaround.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Files_and_fol ... hunderbird
I always keep the program up to date -- I believe at the time it was version 60.2.1. TB was closed when I looked for the file to rename.
JDH-1
Posts: 38
Joined: September 5th, 2010, 6:23 am

Re: Desktop Position & Size Not Saved

Post by JDH-1 »

sfhowes wrote:Did you mean to say "session.json exists when I open TB 60.2.1"? That's true here, too, so I guess the article I cited should be updated - the file is not deleted when TB is opened.

My sessionCheckpoints.json contains one line: {"profile-after-change":true,"final-ui-startup":true}, so deleting it probably doesn't affect the saved layout, which is recorded in session.json.

But why does JDH-1 not see a session.json file?
No, I did find session.json, and also these files which had been suggested:

directoryTree.json
foldertree.json
mailviews.dat
xulstore.json

The ones I could NOT find were just these 3 files:

XUL.mfl
localstore-safe.rdf
search.json
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