thunderbird doesn't get all mail

[tsor]

I just discovered something interesting

I know that thunderbird is missing some mail. I go to Thunderbird and click 'get messages', it gets some but not all. ......

If I click the offline symbol in the lower left corner, it asks If I want to download messages before going offline. I clicked 'Download Now' -- and it got the missing messages. Rather strange behavior.

The download of messages is controlled at the Thunderbird Server Settings. Go to Tools ==> Account Settings click on the first of your account ==> click on Server Settings then checkmark the following boxes:

You may have to clear [ok] the pop up msg: The Local Directory path "C:\Users\******\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\********.default\Mail\Local Folders" is not suitable for message storage. Please choose another directory. Nothing to worry. Then checkmark

Check for new messages at start up
Check for new messages every 10 minutes [whatever time you find good]
Automaticlly download new messages
UNCHECK Fetch headers only
keep the Leave messages on server to your liking

Use those settings on all Accounts shown in Account Settings.

I've also noticed that the new message indicators aren't consistent. Sometimes it highlights my mailbox in blue and appends (n) where n is the number of new messages. Sometimes it doesn't use the blue, so it is easy to miss the (n).

The blue highligthing of Folders with appending (N) and actually change to 'bold' is normal for POP3. It means in the current download session the colorchanged Folder received (n) New Messages. If there is a new download session the Folder will stay bold and the color changes to black. This is going back to the beginning of TB with POP3 long before IMAP came along.

[lazarus long]

I suggest that you (carefully) try the following procedure on the largest of the two accounts. If you see any improvement in function following that you could repeat it for the others, one at a time with evaluation in between.

First, backup your Profile ( http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup ) Do NOT try to use the MozBackup utility mentioned in that article.

Create a new sub-folder under Local Folders. Move all of the messages currently in your Inbox to that new subfolder.

Confirm that you have made the recommended backup of your Profile.

Close Thunderbird and navigate to the \Mail sub-folder of your Profile folder. Delete both the file Inbox.msf and the file Inbox with no extension.

Restart Thunderbird and you should find a new, empty Inbox folder in place. Copy any messages you MUST have in your Inbox from the sub-folder created above to the Inbox. Compact the Inbox after those messages are copied in.

The "Real Fix" entry in this article -- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Compacting_folders#Real_fix also describes this process.

I followed the above procedure, I still get the same behavior - when I click "Get Mail" nothing happens, but when I go offline it does get it.

[lazarus long]

I just discovered something interesting

I know that thunderbird is missing some mail. I go to Thunderbird and click 'get messages', it gets some but not all. ......

If I click the offline symbol in the lower left corner, it asks If I want to download messages before going offline. I clicked 'Download Now' -- and it got the missing messages. Rather strange behavior.

The download of messages is controlled at the Thunderbird Server Settings. Go to Tools ==> Account Settings click on the first of your account ==> click on Server Settings then checkmark the following boxes:

You may have to clear [ok] the pop up msg: The Local Directory path "C:\Users\******\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\********.default\Mail\Local Folders" is not suitable for message storage. Please choose another directory. Nothing to worry. Then checkmark

Check for new messages at start up
Check for new messages every 10 minutes [whatever time you find good]
Automaticlly download new messages
UNCHECK Fetch headers only
keep the Leave messages on server to your liking

Use those settings on all Accounts shown in Account Settings.

I've also noticed that the new message indicators aren't consistent. Sometimes it highlights my mailbox in blue and appends (n) where n is the number of new messages. Sometimes it doesn't use the blue, so it is easy to miss the (n).

The blue highligthing of Folders with appending (N) and actually change to 'bold' is normal for POP3. It means in the current download session the colorchanged Folder received (n) New Messages. If there is a new download session the Folder will stay bold and the color changes to black. This is going back to the beginning of TB with POP3 long before IMAP came along.

I have all the server settings boxes unchecked except for
Leave messages on server (checked)
until I delete them (checked).

I don't want it to check mail automatically, especially if doing so will clear the blue status of messages that have been downloaded but I haven't read yet.

[lazarus long]

It looks like one problem might be that when it checks mail, it only checks one of the accounts, only the default account is none is selected, or just the one highlighted in the left pane. It looks like it doesn't check all accounts when you click Get Messages unless you pull down the menu and click Get All New Messages. Is there any way to check all accounts by default?

[DanRaisch]

You can use this extension to add a "Get all mail" button to the toolbar -- https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/th ... src=search

especially if doing so will clear the blue status of messages that have been downloaded but I haven't read yet.

The blue doesn't indicate unread messages. It shows "New" messages, those that have just been received from the server. Unread status is shown by a green dot in the "Read" column of the message list pane.

[lazarus long]

I get that blue indicates new messages that have just been received. But that isn't very useful if I set the the mail preferences to check on a regular interval, and I have walked away from the machine. When it checks at the next interval, all those blue statuses go away. So I only want it to check manually, when I choose to do so. Configured that way, In essence blue does indicated unread messages, as I will not check again until they have been read.

(n) at the end of a mailbox or folder name isn't a very good indicator of new messages. It needs to be more prominent.

[DanRaisch]

Your choice certainly, but the Unread indicator is there to mark messages with that status and you can move that indicator column further left if that's helpful to you. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/me ... st-columns

[tsor]

The blue doesn't indicate unread messages. It shows "New" messages, those that have just been received from the server. Unread status is shown by a green dot in the "Read" column of the message list pane.

Dan,
I'm with you, but it need to be added the unread status is also indicated by switching the folder font to bold. And if the bold folder is blue or black, I wouldn't care. Solong it is in bold.
Anyway this is beyond the point.

I think lazarus long wants to find the Unread Messages in one click or see it at once. I'm not sure what he want. And my suggestion is the workaround with the Quick Filter Bar in View ==> Toolbars which contains a Unread button. I do not know the systemconfiguration at that particular computer, but I guess the usage of a High Contrast Theme interferes with the standard display of the Folder pane. I do not know how Thunderbird is being displayed in other OS my statement applies to Windows 95 and up.

Another workaround would be going offline after the download and work offline like we all did in 'Dial up Days' [56 K modem]. That would allow the user full control.

Another workarund [only for dummies like me] On top of the Folderpane, next to Name is this rectangular cross box, click on it, mark unread, total and size. And if I hear complains about 'That screws up my display on the screen' then you guys and gals are on your own.

Today is Friday the 13th. and ....

[lazarus long]

I several mail accounts a lot of folders that I sort mail into. I would like to see a prominent indicator of which inboxes/folders have new mail since the last check. The blue highlight seems to work for this, as long as I don't check mail again until all mail has been dealt with. What would be better is if blue marked the mailboxes/folders with unread mail, not new mail. Checking manually seems to be a work around, but not ideal. On the mac, the bold isn't really all that bold.

I am running on macOS, but I'm experimenting with ubuntu to see if it is something I want to put up with. Transitioning my mail to an app that is cross platform is one of the tasks. Apple Mail is also too intermingled with iCloud, such that you can't copy your mail database or account settings from machine to machine and work, which is really annoying. I've found I can copy my thunderbird profile from mac to linux and it works.

[DanRaisch]

To easily identify which folders have unread messages, use menu path View->Folders->Unread.

[tsor]

I'm sorry it seems we talking to eachother but we are not communicating.

... I would like to see a prominent indicator of which inboxes/folders have new mail since the last check. The blue highlight seems to work for this, as long as I don't check mail again until all mail has been dealt with.

Afik this never has been implemented [Changes from the last download session particularly the difference in number to the previous download session. In the meaning of compare last downloadsession numbers with previous downloadsession numbers.] At least not intentionally, a sideeffect maybe different, but was never intented. Imho it does not matter to have this information. The important part is: How many unread mails are in this or that Folder? And if the folder has subfolders and is collapsed and a subfolder received a message the mainfolder has to indicate that 'new arrival'. This is important to me. I also understand other people have other needs, but they must also understand that a program that was written decades ago to communicate globally with telex-machines will not be worked on with top priority or even be touched.

What would be better is if blue marked the mailboxes/folders with unread mail, not new mail..

What Thunderbird can offer:
Next to the Folder the number of the unread messages as shown here in picture on the left: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/th ... =ss?src=ss without the blue marking. Depending on download status maybe with blue marking. Please Note: Since Thunderbird 38 this functionality is in core.

There is also some info about the Folderpane and how to modify: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Checking_for_ ... hunderbird but it always talks about all unread mail not just from the last download session.

[lazarus long]

I'm sorry it seems we talking to eachother but we are not communicating.

... I would like to see a prominent indicator of which inboxes/folders have new mail since the last check. The blue highlight seems to work for this, as long as I don't check mail again until all mail has been dealt with.

Afik this never has been implemented [Changes from the last download session particularly the difference in number to the previous download session. In the meaning of compare last downloadsession numbers with previous downloadsession numbers.] At least not intentionally, a sideeffect maybe different, but was never intented. Imho it does not matter to have this information. The important part is: How many unread mails are in this or that Folder? And if the folder has subfolders and is collapsed and a subfolder received a message the mainfolder has to indicate that 'new arrival'. This is important to me. I also understand other people have other needs, but they must also understand that a program that was written decades ago to communicate globally with telex-machines will not be worked on with top priority or even be touched.

What would be better is if blue marked the mailboxes/folders with unread mail, not new mail..

What Thunderbird can offer:
Next to the Folder the number of the unread messages as shown here in picture on the left: https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/th ... =ss?src=ss without the blue marking. Depending on download status maybe with blue marking. Please Note: Since Thunderbird 38 this functionality is in core.

There is also some info about the Folderpane and how to modify: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Checking_for_ ... hunderbird but it always talks about all unread mail not just from the last download session.

Sorry, my fault. My typing got ahead of my thinking and I didn't word what I meant correctly...

What would be an improvement is a better indicator (blue, a little icon, something) in the mailbox/folder view in the left pane that flags a box/folder with unread messages, regardless of whether it is from the last download or from a month ago.

What currently seems to happen is when I check mail, boxes/folders with new messages are colored blue. The text changes to "Inbox(n)", where (n) is the number of unread messages. When you have a long list of folders, that "(n)" appended to the end tends to get lost, as it is just more text that doesn't stand out in any way.

I have it set to view unified mailboxes, so the mailbox accounts are listed separately from the inboxes. When new mail arrives, sometimes the mailbox account turns blue, but its associated inbox does not. Maybe because it was all junk? Not sure. I start hunting for the new mail and it doesn't seem to be anyplace.

What happens next seems a bit inconsistent, but near as I can tell, if I click on the inbox, the blue goes away, even if I don't read any of the messages. It doesn't appear to be bold in any way. Sometimes if I check mail without reading anything, the blue goes away, but not always, I haven't found a consistent rule that governs the blue text behavior.

I just know it is easy to miss new emails since there isn't a very good indicator in the mailbox list that consistently and prominently notifies the user of the presence of unread mail.

[lazarus long]

Ah, yes, the extra folder columns does what I want. Thanks!

[tsor]

Your welcome.

[Gone Postal]

I just discovered something interesting

I know that thunderbird is missing some mail. I go to Thunderbird and click 'get messages', it gets some but not all.

I go to Apple mail and get my messages, I get them all, including the missing ones.

I go back to Thunderbird, it still won't get the missing messages.

If I click the offline symbol in the lower left corner, it asks If I want to download messages before going offline. I clicked 'Download Now' -- and it got the missing messages. Rather strange behavior.

I've also noticed that the new message indicators aren't consistent. Sometimes it highlights my mailbox in blue and appends (n) where n is the number of new messages. Sometimes it doesn't use the blue, so it is easy to miss the (n).

As per my response to a similar problem here: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic ... &t=3073177.

Same thing started happening with one of my POP accounts and I finally found the solution in the Account settings. For some reason under the Server Settings the check mark had disappeared from the Automatically download new messages option. Put the check mark back and it all started working properly again.