Stop threading by subject: Difference between revisions

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Thunderbird, by default, assumes all threads with the same subject line are in the same thread. This can be an annoyance for common subjects like "Hi!" or "Report" where the messages are unrelated.
''(This page was written for Thunderbird but also applies to SeaMonkey.)''


To turn off threading by subject add the following to [[user.js]]
Messages can be grouped into threads based on common Subjects, and/or by information stored in the References/In-Reply-To headers. There are many e-mail clients that do not add In-Reply-To and References headers to messages, which is the typical way to determine a thread. Threading based on the subject can be annoying when you get unrelated messages with common subjects such as "Hi!" or "Report!". By default Thunderbird tries to groups messages into threads in the following order:
# Stop threading messages together if they simply have the same subject.
user_pref("mail.thread_without_re", false);
user_pref("mail.thread_by_subject", false);


Use both, as comments in the [http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=273497 bug report] indicate the preference name may change.
* Common reference in the References header
* Common reference in the In-Reply-To header
* Same Subject, and the Subject contains Re:
* Same Subject
* Check if the message is an ancestor of an already-threaded message.
There are several settings that manage threading that can be changed using the Config Editor at [[Menu_differences_in_Windows,_Linux,_and_Mac | Tools -> Options]] -> Advanced -> General.


Threading by subject (and "Re: <subject>) is the default for various reasons, as stated in the bug report. There are many email clients that do not add "In-Reply-To" and "References" fields to messages, which is the typical way to determine a thread. When Tb's default behavior was changed to ''not'' thread by subject, many users became unhappy, and threading by subject was reinstated as the default. It is doubtful this will ever be changed again.
* '''mail.thread_without_re''' will thread based on the subject even if there is no Re: in the subject. It defaults to false starting with Thunderbird 3.0.
* '''mail.strict_threading''' disables threading based on the Subject and only uses the References/In-Reply-To headers headers to determine threads. It defaults to true starting with Thunderbird 3.0.
* '''mail.correct_threading''' will thread messages correctly using the References/In-Reply-To headers regardless of the order the messages were added to the folder. It defaults to true starting with Thunderbird 3.0.
* '''mailnews.localizedRe''' defines a comma-delimited list of alternative prefixes to "Re:"


== See Also ==
If you want to stop all threading by Subject set '''mail.strict_threading''' true.
* [http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=273497 Messages with the same subject are groupped in one thread]
 
==See also==
* [[Modify_Thunderbird_settings | Modify Thunderbird Settings]]
 
== External links ==
* [http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=273497 Messages with the same subject are grouped in one thread]
* [http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=164115 RFE Disable Threading by Subject]
* [http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=164115 RFE Disable Threading by Subject]
 
* [https://wiki.mozilla.org/MailNews:Message_Threading Message Threading] article on Mozilla wiki
[[Category:Thunderbird]]
* The [http://totalmessage.mozdev.org/ TotalMessage] add-on adds enhanced header customization, header editing, and message re-threading.
[[Category:Displaying and printing messages (Thunderbird)]]

Latest revision as of 03:38, 20 February 2015

(This page was written for Thunderbird but also applies to SeaMonkey.)

Messages can be grouped into threads based on common Subjects, and/or by information stored in the References/In-Reply-To headers. There are many e-mail clients that do not add In-Reply-To and References headers to messages, which is the typical way to determine a thread. Threading based on the subject can be annoying when you get unrelated messages with common subjects such as "Hi!" or "Report!". By default Thunderbird tries to groups messages into threads in the following order:

  • Common reference in the References header
  • Common reference in the In-Reply-To header
  • Same Subject, and the Subject contains Re:
  • Same Subject
  • Check if the message is an ancestor of an already-threaded message.

There are several settings that manage threading that can be changed using the Config Editor at Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> General.

  • mail.thread_without_re will thread based on the subject even if there is no Re: in the subject. It defaults to false starting with Thunderbird 3.0.
  • mail.strict_threading disables threading based on the Subject and only uses the References/In-Reply-To headers headers to determine threads. It defaults to true starting with Thunderbird 3.0.
  • mail.correct_threading will thread messages correctly using the References/In-Reply-To headers regardless of the order the messages were added to the folder. It defaults to true starting with Thunderbird 3.0.
  • mailnews.localizedRe defines a comma-delimited list of alternative prefixes to "Re:"

If you want to stop all threading by Subject set mail.strict_threading true.

See also

External links