Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

User Help for Mozilla Thunderbird
Post Reply
KAWill70
Posts: 44
Joined: June 24th, 2011, 11:13 am

Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by KAWill70 »

I'm using Thunderbird 68.4.1 and Windows 10. Something has changed since I upgraded from Windows 7 and composing new messages is more difficult.

I often copy and paste from emails stored in folders and this now seems more complicated. The new message fills the screen with no access to the tabs in Thunderbird. If I make the message smaller, it drops down into the Windows taskbar when accessing any Thunderbird folders or tabs.

If I open the message in a new tab from the Drafts folder, no editing is allowed.

Any help much appreciated.
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by tanstaafl »

Normally when you are composing a message (in Windows 10) the task bar has two windows hidden behind the Thunderbird icon. One is the main window, the other is the compose message window. You can see them if you hover the mouse over the icon. You can select the desired window by clicking on it.

If I want to access an existing message while composing a message I hover the mouse over the Thunderbird icon in the task bar, then select the main window. Then I can copy the content and switch to the compose message window (using the icon in the task bar again), and paste the content . I've also done something similar where I dragged and dropped an attachment from a old message to one I was composing.
KAWill70
Posts: 44
Joined: June 24th, 2011, 11:13 am

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by KAWill70 »

Thanks very much for the help. I did notice the method you described but was hoping there were other options. The process was much easier with Windows 7. It looks like I'll just have to get used to the way Thunderbird works with Windows 10.

I can't remember exactly how it worked with Windows 7, but I think the new message appeared in a tab along with any other tabs that were open. Regardless, it was a simpler process to access a folder or tab while doing a copy and paste to the new message.
User avatar
tanstaafl
Moderator
Posts: 49647
Joined: July 30th, 2003, 5:06 pm

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by tanstaafl »

There is an external editor add-on at http://globs.org/articles.php?lng=en&pg=2 . I've used it before with Notepad++ and Vim. See the reaction #45 comment at the bottom of the page for download links. Latest releases are at https://github.com/exteditor/exteditor/releases

It will give you more flexibility. You can stick to the built-in editor when your needs are minimal, and click on the eternal editor button other times.
KAWill70
Posts: 44
Joined: June 24th, 2011, 11:13 am

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by KAWill70 »

That looks like a very useful Extension. Many thanks!
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127187
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by DanRaisch »

It’s possible to open multiple messages in separate, resizable windows in Thunderbird, making copying and pasting rather easy. Make certain that you have Thunderbird set to open messages in a new message window (Tools->Options->Advanced->"Open messages in..." or right click on the message to be viewed and select "Open message in new window". That message will remain open in its own window when you click on the "Write" button.
KAWill70
Posts: 44
Joined: June 24th, 2011, 11:13 am

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by KAWill70 »

Messages opened in separate windows works very nicely. Thanks very much.

This morning I turned on another computer using Windows 10 and was surprised that Thunderbird operated the same as in Windows 7. I experimented with the Windows 10 taskbar settings and found the solution to my problem.

The setting called "Combine Taskbar Buttons" is the key and needs to be set to Never.

With this setting the Thunderbird tabs in the Windows taskbar displayed side by side. That makes copy and paste easier with less clicks of the mouse. I had the same problem with Microsoft Excel and this change resolves that problem as well.

Thanks all for the help!
Last edited by KAWill70 on January 13th, 2020, 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127187
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Accessing Emails in Folders When Composing New Message

Post by DanRaisch »

Thanks for letting us know what you found.
Post Reply