Thunderbird 3.1 - New Features and ChangesFrom MozillaZine Knowledge BaseThunderbird 5.0 has been released on June 28, 2011. Thunderbird 3.1 was released on June 24, 2010 and is no longer supported as of April 24, 2012.
[edit] New Migration AssistantOne of the most obvious changes is the migration from 2.0.0.x to 3.1, which is now more detailed and better coordinated with other activities [1]. Specifically, password requests and IMAP synchronization don't interfere any more with the setup questions during the migration process [2]. Rather than presenting all options on a single page in a tab like the old assistant [3], it is now organized in multiple pages and more like a dialog (as seen with other applications). However, you still want to read the options carefully to ensure that you get the setup you want, thus don't simply accept the defaults as they are presented. Notes:
[edit] Welcome PageThe first page is presented after loading an old-version (2.0.0.x or earlier) profile in Thunderbird 3.1, and after any compatibility checks for extensions.  [edit] IMAP SettingsIf one or more of your accounts is IMAP, the following page appears:  The description in this page is not very specific what "synchronization" implies:
[edit] Keep Previous SettingsWhen entering this page, the default reflects the settings found in your 2.0 profile, e.g., "Do not Synchronize" is checked if you didn't flag any folders for offline use, and "Per Account Synchronization" if some but not all folders were set for offline use. If you do not want to make any changes, simply click on "Next" here and no existing account or folder setting will be changed [4], [5]. See the next section for making modifications to the synchronization status, where the "all" or "nothing" options override any prior per-account or per-folder selections. [edit] Modify Offline SettingsA brief description of the available options:
 [edit] Toolbar CustomizationsLike 3.0, the Migration Assistant proposes to use the header-pane buttons only and to reset the main toolbar to a minimum set [6]. If you made any customizations, and/or want to remove the header-pane action buttons later (see Message Header Pane below), you should go with the second option to retain your current toolbar (it should switch visibly as soon as you check the lower box):  Note: If your icons are above the button text, upon restart they will revert to icons beside text. Just right-click to get the Customize palette the first time you open Thunderbird 3.1 later and change it to icons and text, it will stick this second time. [edit] Features as Add-onsFeatures present in the regular 2.0 and earlier releases had been removed in 3.0 and are now available as separately maintained extensions. The last two dialogs offer you to install the extensions for the compact (one-row) header pane [7], [8]; and the additional folder columns indicating size and number of messages in each folder [9], [10]. Click the Install button if you want these extensions:   [edit] Default Client Once the Migration Assistant is done, click the "Close" button. Even if Thunderbird 2.0 was defined as your default application for mail, news, and/or feeds, you may be presented with a dialog confirming/re-establishing those settings. After that, you should be prompted for your account passwords unless you have them saved, and the "What's New" tab should be visible. [edit] Global DatabaseThe main feature which was introduced in 3.0 but for which no opt-out page shown in the Migration Assistant is the global database. It will be automatically activated after migration and starts indexing your messages. If you don't want to use the Gloda search (e.g., on a low-performance machine or just because you want to avoid the overhead), cancel all password requests and go into the Tools → Options → Advanced → General tab, uncheck "Enable Global Search and Indexer" there and then restart Thunderbird. [edit] Server Security SettingsFor both incoming and outgoing servers, the dialogs have been changed [11]. Specifically, the "Use name and password" and "Use secure authentication" checkboxes have been replaced by drop-down menus, and more specific options are provided. 
Selecting "No authentication" corresponds to unchecking "Use name and password" in the old Outgoing Server (SMTP) settings. It is frequently requested when using a provider's server from within their network and usually doesn't require any connection security either. Authentication and encryption may still be required for the incoming IMAP or POP server. The combination of "None" with "Normal password" should be avoided as your password would be transmitted in clear text over an unencrypted line. Note that the combination shown in the example is safe, STARTTLS will encrypt the password on the connection level. The Kerberos/GSSAPI and NTLM authentication methods are only of interest in an enterprise environment with centralized authentication. Where authentication is required, the user name is usually either your full e-mail address, or just the part before the '@', depending on the instructions of your provider. [edit] Message Header Pane [edit] Customizable Header-Pane ButtonsThe additional buttons in the header pane of a message are now a "real" toolbar and allow respective customization [12]. Right-click over the button area and click on "Customize", now you can drag-and-drop the buttons between pane and palette as you wish. You can also switch to icon-only mode (see image below) to save space. The userChrome.css entries to hide buttons as a workaround are now obsolete. However, if you don't need the toolbar in the header pane at all, the hints in Gaining Vertical Space are more efficient than removing the buttons one by one. [edit] Last Address Cut OffBy default, Thunderbird 3.1 will fill up one header line ("to" or "cc") and then display the "more" button [13], [14]. The major improvement here is that the line is fully utilized again, whereas TB 3.0 showed just the first address and then the "more" already. Also, the number of remaining addresses is stated now to see how much is missing. Note that the last address shown may be cut off by the "more" button, which was done on purpose so that the address appears to slide under the button [15]. Part of the address will be visible if at least 30px can be shown [16]. In releases before 3.1.7, the very last address of the list may not be fully visible without a "more" button present [17]. [edit] Customizing the "more" ButtonA preference mailnews.headers.show_n_lines_before_more has been introduced in Thunderbird 3.1, but wasn't fully functional before 3.1.3 [18]. It allows to specify any number of n lines to be shown when opening a message before the "more" appears. The figure above shows an example for n=3 lines, where "more" now also indicates the number of additional addresses that will be shown once it is clicked on [19].  For large n, using the preference may have a noticeable performance penalty. If your intention is to always show all addresses directly when opening the message, thus having selected an n of sufficient size, it may be more beneficial to disable the "more" mechanism entirely [20]. To do this, set the preference to zero (or any negative number). With this value, always all addresses of the headers will be displayed on opening of a message with minimum delay. Note that no vertical scrollbar will be displayed with this setting. [edit] Gaining Vertical SpaceMany 2.0 users complained about the new 3.0 header-pane design using up too much space. If you prefer the multi-row view over the single-row design of the Compact Header extension, there are still ways how to regain the approximate 2.0 spacing. Even if you completely emptied the toolbar, it will nevertheless occupy vertical space. To gain it back, the entire toolbar and the "other actions" button can be hidden and the top padding removed with the following userChrome.css entries: #header-view-toolbox, #otherActionsButton {
display: none !important;
}
#expandedHeaderRows {
padding-top: 0px !important;
}
The header-pane buttons in the multi-message view are not toolbars yet and thus not customizable. If desired, they can be hidden as follows: #archive.msgHeaderView-button, #trash.msgHeaderView-button {
display: none !important;
}
You can also reduce the space between headers (the default height per row is 1.5em), here by 16.7%: .headerValue {
line-height: 1.25em !important;
padding: 0px !important;
}
[edit] Moving the Date HeaderIn Thunderbird 2.0 and earlier, the date and time of the message sent was part of the header block on the left-hand side, thus among all other heading. With 3.0, this was moved to the right underneath the toolbar buttons [21]. To list the date as part of the main headers again (especially when you removed the other items on the right side of the header pane), use the Config Editor to set/add mailnews.headers.extraExpandedHeaders to "date" (restart Thunderbird to see its effect), then you can remove the date header on the right-hand side with the following userChrome.css entry [22]: #dateValueBox {
display: none
}
Note that this will display the date after the standard from/subject/to/cc headers, you will have to use a binding to move it up within the headers [23]. Translation of the encoded date header to local time is retained. [edit] Quick-Filter BarThe Quick-Filter function has been substantially modified for TB3.1 and is no longer combined with the Gloda search bar [24]. Thus, if Gloda is enabled, you will have two search bars (the Gloda search as toolbar item, Quick-Filter search between the tab bar and the message/thread-list headings). The Quick-Filter bar is not customizable, but there is a "qfb-pivot" extension to add further search options and a feature to search by properties of the currently displayed message [25], [26]. This additional toolbar can be easily hidden if not needed. If the tab bar is visible, it has a search symbol at its right end which can be used to toggle the visibility of the Quick-Filter bar. Also, the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F can be used to enable it, ESC to hide it (careful though, these shortcuts are shared with the Find in This Message function and alternatingly focus on either of those [27]). Note: The keyboard shortcut for the Quick-Filter Bar has been modified to Ctrl+Shift+K with Thunderbird 8.0 while Find in This Message retains the Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut.  While the old quick-search function had a drop-down menu with all possible selections, each search item can now be selected individually and combined to a more comprehensive search. Note that the Quick-Filter search remains independent from Gloda, thus also works if it is disabled. Message-body searches on IMAP folders are performed on the server, thus synchronization isn't required either. The primary search terms Sender, Recipients, Subject, Body can be chosen as soon as you start using the Quick-Filter bar, and appear in the bar underneath. You can pick multiple criteria, in which case they are combined in an "or" logic (i.e., any of them has to match the search term to be listed as a result). Searches can now be restricted further by the buttons to the left of the bar. The "sticky" button allows to keep the filters applied when switching folders. From left to right:
The message list will now change color depending on the state of the search:
For searching in unified folders, the reported status may be incorrect [28]. Click ESC or the close button to revert from the search results to the full message list. [edit] Folder Pane The "Smart Folders" have been renamed to "Unified Folders" [29], but their function of collecting the contents of same-type folders remains the same. Note that the default has been reverted to "All Folders" for 3.1 [30]. Click the ◄► cycle arrows at the top of the folder pane until you see the heading of "Unified Folders". When new mail arrives, the asterisk (spat) on the server and folder icons is back which was removed in 3.0, at least on Windows [31]. Also, the server and folder colors have been modified when indicating new mail. On Windows, the color corresponds to browser.anchor_color and can be set in the Config Editor [32], [33]. [edit] Archiving MessagesA hidden preference mail.server.default.archive_keep_folder_structure has been introduced which, if set to "true", retains the original folder/subfolder structure in the Archives folder rather than "flattening" it into the per-year or per-month structure [34]. [edit] Message/Thread ListIt is now easier to add or remove columns from the message list of a folder. Thus far, you needed to find the little button with the drop-down menu in the upper-right corner of the list heading above the scrollbar. Now, right-clicking anywhere on the headings (Subject, Date, etc.) will open that menu and allows columns to be hidden (unchecked) or displayed (checked). Now it is also possible to propagate a defined set of columns from one folder to another [35]. At the bottom of the column-picker menu, find the two new items "Reset columns to default" to revert any customizations, and "Apply columns to..." to copy the current selection to other folders. [edit] Connection Notifications Timeouts and other connection-related issues are no longer reported in a modal dialog, thus requiring to confirm with the "Ok" button, but in a slide-in message at the lower-right corner of the desktop similar to download-completed messages [36]. If you are using a line which is unreliable, that message may show up frequently. Also, the message won't wrap, thus may occupy a large portion of the screen above the task bar [37]. You can use the following userChrome.css definition to suppress this message: #alertNotification {
display: none !important;
}
Note that this may also affect other notification messages. |