Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

User Help for Mozilla Thunderbird
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

I run Thunderbird 60.9.0 (32 bit) on a Windows 7 Pro SP1 (64 bit computer).

I frequently get Emails with fairly large attachment. The download time is very slow, even though I have a 1Gig fiber internet service. About 50% of the time, once I read the text of the Email, I delete the attachment without ever looking at it.

Options->Attachments-> Incoming only allows one to choose where a file is to be saved, but this is AFTER the file is downloaded.

I looked on this forum and on mozillaZine knowledge base, but could not find anything on the subject.

Is there some way that I can download the text withOUT the attachment? Then if I was interested, I could download the attachment.


Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

How is the account set up, as POP or IMAP?
In Thunderbird the menu path is Tools->Account Settings->Server Settings->Server Type at the top right of the dialogue.
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

DanRaisch wrote:How is the account set up, as POP or IMAP?
In Thunderbird the menu path is Tools->Account Settings->Server Settings->Server Type at the top right of the dialogue.
Sorry I forgot to mention that. It is IMAP.


Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

See if activating the option under menu path Tools->Account Settings->Synchronization & Storage->Don''t download messages larger than 50KB helps your situation. That should limit how much of the message content is downloaded to your local system.
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

DanRaisch wrote:See if activating the option under menu path Tools->Account Settings->Synchronization & Storage->Don''t download messages larger than 50KB helps your situation. That should limit how much of the message content is downloaded to your local system.
If I do that, does it mean that only the attachment will not be downloaded if over 50 KB, or will the Email message itself also not be downloaded?

If the Email is downloaded, will I then have the option to manually download the attachment if I want to read it?


Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

Another question first: Is Thunderbird set to store copies of the IMAPf messages on the local computer? That's Tools->Account Settings->Synchronization & Storage->Keep messages in all folders for this account on this computer?
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

DanRaisch wrote:Another question first: Is Thunderbird set to store copies of the IMAPf messages on the local computer? That's Tools->Account Settings->Synchronization & Storage->Keep messages in all folders for this account on this computer?
For my primary Email address (used for 99% of all Email), I keep messages for Inbox, Draft, Sent and Archive. Not for Bulk Mail (which is junk), Junk, or Trash.

Disk Space is what you are suggesting I change. Under 'to recover disk space...', I have selected 'Don't delete any messages', and checked 'Always keep starred messages' (though I hardly ever star a message).


Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

No, it wasn't disk space I was concerned with. The point was that an IMAP account that is not set to store messages on the local system won't download attachments until you open the message and intentionally open or save the attachment. With Thunderbird set to store those messages locally, it must download the attachments in order to store them on the local drive.
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

DanRaisch wrote:No, it wasn't disk space I was concerned with. The point was that an IMAP account that is not set to store messages on the local system won't download attachments until you open the message and intentionally open or save the attachment. With Thunderbird set to store those messages locally, it must download the attachments in order to store them on the local drive.
Sorry to be so dense, but now you have confused me.

You said: "The point was that an IMAP account that is not set to store messages on the local system won't download attachments until you open the message and intentionally open or save the attachment."

Isn't that what I want?

Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

Yes, it is. But you indicated that "For my primary Email address (used for 99% of all Email), I keep messages for Inbox, Draft, Sent and Archive." I assumed that you had chosen that intentionally and that changing the setting so that messages would not be stored on the local drive would not be acceptable to you.

There is an alternative, you can switch off the option to automatically store messages on the local drive. You can delete any new messages you don't wish to retain, without accessing any attachments. Any messages you do wish to retain can be moved to a sub-folder (or sub-folders) of Local Folders where they will be available, with any attachments. You'll still have the download of the entire message including attachments but it will only be of those messages you wish to retain. That process could be somewhat automated with a message filter: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Filters_%28Thunderbird%29
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

DanRaisch wrote:Yes, it is. But you indicated that "For my primary Email address (used for 99% of all Email), I keep messages for Inbox, Draft, Sent and Archive." I assumed that you had chosen that intentionally and that changing the setting so that messages would not be stored on the local drive would not be acceptable to you.
Emails and forums are great, but sometimes a telephone is so much better when it comes to explaining issues.

Let's try again. If I set my Sync & Storage ' items as follows:
1. Message Synchronizing: ' Keep messages in all folders....' is checked. Advanced is how I explained it to you in my last post.
2. Disk Space. Don't download messages larger than 50 Kb is checked. 'Synchronize all messages locally regardless of age' is selected.
3. To recover disk space...:, 'Don't delete any messages' is selected, and 'Always keep starred messages' is checked.

Now you send me an Email with a 200 KB attachment.
1. Will I receive the Email?
If # 1 is yes, will the attachment be downloaded automatically, or will I be given an option to download it after I read the Email. or will the attachment be automatically deleted?
If # 1 is a no, what did I do wrong?


Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

Now you send me an Email with a 200 KB attachment.
1. Will I receive the Email?
Yes. Although I don't use that setting and don't receive many attachments in my only IMAP account, that is my understanding of the setting.
If # 1 is yes, will the attachment be downloaded automatically, or will I be given an option to download it after I read the Email. or will the attachment be automatically deleted?[
As I understand it, No, the attachment will not be downloaded but will be shown as present in the message and can be accessed and downloaded if you click on the attachment in the message and open it or save it to the local drive.[/quote]
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

DanRaisch wrote:
If # 1 is yes, will the attachment be downloaded automatically, or will I be given an option to download it after I read the Email. or will the attachment be automatically deleted?
As I understand it, No, the attachment will not be downloaded but will be shown as present in the message and can be accessed and downloaded if you click on the attachment in the message and open it or save it to the local drive.
Seems like it works. I checked the 'Don't download messages larger than 50 KB' for my compuserve account, which use an aol inbound server and outbound server. Then I sent a message with a 300KB attachment from a different account I have, which uses a completely different company's inbound and outbound server.

The attachment I received says 'size unknown'. Normally it would specify the size of the attachment. So I assume that the file has not been downloaded. I can click on the file name to open it, or right click and get several option; the same options as if the file had been downloaded.

Do you have any idea how the 50 KB limit was established? I don't know exactly the size of the text messages that various email programs use. I took a 2 page Word file that was 50 KB. If I saved it as plain text, it is only 5 KB. But if I saved it as an .rtf file, it is 174 KB.


Harry
bex1210
Posts: 139
Joined: April 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by bex1210 »

Dan:

First failure. A friend send an Email with a 6.1MB MP4 video file to my compuserve Email address. Thunderbird downloaded the file along with the Email.


Harry
User avatar
DanRaisch
Moderator
Posts: 127184
Joined: September 23rd, 2004, 8:57 pm
Location: Somewhere on the right coast

Re: Can I eliminate automatic file downloads?

Post by DanRaisch »

How are you determining that the attachment was downloaded?
Post Reply