Make TB function more like Apple Mail?

[Tiger]

I've recently installed Thunderbird (3.1.20 -the latest version I can
use on my PowerPC G4 Mac) trying to see if it's a good replacement for
Seamonkey which I've used for many years.
Since I use Firefox (mostly) and Safari (sometimes) for browsing I don't
really need the whole suite, and I rather prefer something more
streamlined, modern and Mac-like such as Apple's own Mail app.

However, "Mail" lacks several features which Seamonkey has:
- when you allow linked images they're stored in the message. With
Mail.app you need to re-download those images every time you read it
meaning they might go missing at a later time in case the source server
is gone, the links relocated etc.

- I receive a lot of mail and have built an extensive filtering system
with folders for my friends, family, forum messages, business etc. This
is more cumbersome in Mail.app in my opinion and not as configurable.

- I keep my old messages organized and stored in folders by year, using
a separate Seamonkey profile. I don't know of any conventient way to do
that with Mail.app

- attachements go in a specific folder as far as I know. I prefer
Seamonkey's way of keeping them in the message itself.


Thunderbird seems to keep all the good stuff I like about SM while
having a more modern user interface and seemingly some improvements, but
I do wonder if it can also be configured to include some of the things I
like about Mail.app:

- a single inbox for all accounts (a folder which can be expanded if you
want to read your messages for a specific account)

- ability to click just once to fetch mail from all accounts at once
(I've installed a TB extension for this, but the icon comes out
different from the rest when also using a different theme (I've tried a
Mac-like theme).

Can TB be configured ("about:config" etc.) for these features or
plug-ins/extensions added for this?

[Jim]

On 04/14/2012 07:15 PM, Tiger wrote:
> Thunderbird seems to keep all the good stuff I like about SM while
> having a more modern user interface and seemingly some improvements, but
> I do wonder if it can also be configured to include some of the things I
> like about Mail.app:
>
> - a single inbox for all accounts (a folder which can be expanded if you
> want to read your messages for a specific account)

Go to View -> Folders -> Unified. It may be called "Smart" in 3.1. I
forget...

- Jim

[Tiger]

Cool! Looking a lot better already ;-)
While I'm at it, is there a way to make the mailbox column's text and
icons a little bigger?

[Jim]

On 04/14/2012 07:46 PM, Tiger wrote:
> While I'm at it, is there a way to make the mailbox column's text and
> icons a little bigger?

Can you post a screenshot of what it is you're talking about? (In any
case, the answer is yes, but the exact instructions depend on what you
mean.)

- Jim

[Steve]

Change the font for the folder pane, threads pane (message list) etc.
with this add-on:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/thunderbird/addon/theme-font-size-changer/

[David E. Ross]

Why not ask Apple to make its Apple Mail more like Thunderbird? :)

--

David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>.

Anyone who thinks government owns a monopoly on inefficient, obstructive
bureaucracy has obviously never worked for a large corporation.
© 1997 by David E. Ross

[Axel Grude]

On 15/04/12 01:15, Tiger wrote:
> I've recently installed Thunderbird (3.1.20 -the latest version I can use on my
> PowerPC G4 Mac) trying to see if it's a good replacement for Seamonkey which I've used
> for many years.
> Since I use Firefox (mostly) and Safari (sometimes) for browsing I don't really need
> the whole suite, and I rather prefer something more streamlined, modern and Mac-like
> such as Apple's own Mail app.
>
> However, "Mail" lacks several features which Seamonkey has:
> - when you allow linked images they're stored in the message. With Mail.app you need
> to re-download those images every time you read it meaning they might go missing at a
> later time in case the source server is gone, the links relocated etc.
>
> - I receive a lot of mail and have built an extensive filtering system with folders
> for my friends, family, forum messages, business etc. This is more cumbersome in
> Mail.app in my opinion and not as configurable.

hi Tiger,

if you have many filters + folders, may I recommend QuickFolders?

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/quickfolders-tabbed-folders/versions/?page=1#version-3.1

the brand new version 3.1 has a lot of filter improvements. (search filter box, move
to top / bottom, a filter learning wizard that can analyze a mail drag+drop etc.)

http://quickfolders.mozdev.org/images/Message-Filters.png

http://quickfolders.mozdev.org/images/StartFiltering.png

http://quickfolders.mozdev.org/images/CreateFiltersWizard.png

It will analyze the dropped email and prefill target folder (the folder which the
filter should move emails to automatically) and various other condition fields
depending on which template was selected; making creating filters a breeze. Basically
just drag, click, click, done. I implemented that feature during the last x-mas
holidays, as I was sick of scrolling through hundreds of folders while creating
filters. Hope you find this useful. QF is currently the highest rated Tb extension.

btw: you can configure the tabs to look like mac buttons :-)

> - ability to click just once to fetch mail from all accounts at once (I've installed a
> TB extension for this, but the icon comes out different from the rest when also using
> a different theme (I've tried a Mac-like theme).
>
> Can TB be configured ("about:config" etc.) for these features or plug-ins/extensions
> added for this?

yes, but look and feel stuff like this is configured via userChrome.css, not
about:config. if you have a suitable icon image it is very simple to overwrite the
button for "Get Selected Mails". Just download DOMi, and then use File > inspect
chrome document (chrome is the application with all its windows) to look at how the
button is styled:

`#getSelectedMailsButton {
list-style-image: url("chrome://GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png");
-moz-image-region: rect(25px 25px 49px 1px);
}

#getSelectedMailsButton:hover {
list-style-image: url("chrome://GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png");
-moz-image-region: rect(0px 25px 24px 1px);
}

#getSelectedMailsButton[disabled] {
list-style-image: url("chrome://GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png");
-moz-image-region: rect(50px 25px 74px 1px);
}

toolbar[iconsize="small"] #getSelectedMailsButton {
list-style-image: url("chrome://GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png");
-moz-image-region: rect(26px 44px 43px 27px);
}

toolbar[iconsize="small"] #getSelectedMailsButton:hover {
list-style-image: url("chrome://GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png");
-moz-image-region: rect(1px 44px 18px 27px);
}

toolbar[iconsize="small"] #getSelectedMailsButton[disabled] {
list-style-image: url("chrome://GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png");
-moz-image-region: rect(51px 44px 68px 27px);
}

if you replace the image urls GetSelectedMails/skin/GetSelectedMails.png with a
different image in your chrome folder you can make the button look more "mac-like".


hth, Raven