IMAP Trash folder

By default Thunderbird (and the Mozilla Suite) assume that your Trash folder is called "Trash" and not some other name, such as "Deleted Items". This can sometimes be a problem with IMAP accounts, if your IMAP server uses a different name for the dedicated Trash folder. In such cases, Thunderbird will likely create its own Trash folder (named "Trash"), while your mail server will still be using the other folder (e.g., "Deleted Items"), and you may see both at the same time in the Thunderbird folders pane.

To specify a different Trash folder for an IMAP account in Thunderbird:

1. Completely exit Thunderbird if it is running.

2. Make a temporary backup copy of your profile folder (or at least these files inside it: "prefs.js" and, if it exists, "user.js").

3. Open your "prefs.js" file with a text editor such as Notepad to find the server# used to represent your IMAP account. It could be "server2", "server5", "server7", or some other number depending on your own individual account setup. Look for a line similar to this, corresponding to your own IMAP acccount:

user_pref("mail.server.server2.hostname", "mail.YourImapProvider.com");

4. Insert a line like the following into "user.js", with the correct server# and correct name for the Trash folder:

 user_pref("mail.server.server#.trash_folder_name", "<correct Trash name>");

For example:

 user_pref("mail.server.server2.trash_folder_name", "Deleted Items");

If you want to use "Gelöscht" (German for Trash) you would have to write it in the user_pref as "Gel&APY-scht", since the German Umlaute has to be encoded differently.

5. Restart Thunderbird. You should now see the new Trash folder (e.g., "Deleted Items") showing the trash can icon. (If not, exit and restart Thunderbird.) If the old Trash folder is still showing, you should now be able to delete it. If you can't delete it through Thunderbird, then delete it though the account's webmail interface.

6. If you deleted the Trash folder in the web frontend of your mail provider, you may need to cancel the IMAP folder subscriptions, too. It may take a while for the subscription changes to take effect.

See also

• This forum thread: for further tips on renaming your IMAP Trash folder, such as when the folder name uses non-English characters or accent marks.
• IMAP folder cannot be deleted
• Bugzilla bug report (please use only to check the status of the bug, not to insert "me too" comments)