Thunderbird Extra

Posted by Planet Malaysia on April 20, 2006

I’m glad to said that we have more than > 95% [tag]Thunderbird[/tag] users in my office.

I was using Thunderbird few years back but some features which I’m not even know until I found this article today.

Work smarter with Smart Folders
Smart Folders is a nifty feature that allows you to save your searches as a virtual folder.
There are several ways to create a smart folder. The fastest way is to type your search criteria into the Quick Search field, then select Save Search as a Folder from the drop-down list. Alternatively, you can choose File -> New -> Saved Search and define a new search. This option allows you to create a saved search that includes subfolders and runs across multiple accounts. No matter which way you choose to create a smart folder, you can always modify its search criteria by right-clicking on it and selecting the Folder Properties item.

Hmm, I subscribed for the MyOSS malling list and others with Smart Folder.

Useful Thunderbird extensions
Do you know when you delete messages in Thunderbird, it doesn’t actually erase them, but ‘hides’ them?
If you don’t compact the folders on a regular basis, you can end up with swollen folders that can cause Thunderbird to behave erratically. To compact a folder, right-click on it and select Compact from the context menu. However, compacting folders manually one by one, especially when you have several email accounts, can be annoying. Use Xpunge can handle this task automatically, and empty the trash for good measure. (I’m just downloaded and installed today)
Install the Xpunge extension, right-click somewhere on Thunderbird’s toolbar, and select Customize. Drag the Xpunge and MultiXpunge buttons onto the toolbar and press Done. To configure Xpunge, choose Tools -> Extensions and double-click on the Xpunge extension. Under the Xpunge tab you can define what actions Xpunge should perform for a currently selected account, while MultiXpunge allows you to specify actions to be performed on several accounts in one go.

Quotecollapse is another nifty extension that collapses quotes in the message body. This may not sound like much, but Quotecollapse makes it easier to read messages and add in-line replies. Install Quotecollapse, restart Thunderbird, and the quotes in every message will be collapsed. To expand a quote, click on the tiny Plus icon next to the quote.

Contacts Sidebar is another simple yet indispensable extension. As the name suggests, the extension adds an address book sidebar that allows you to switch between different address books, search for contacts, create new cards, and so on. Once the extension is installed, you can show and hide the Contacts Sidebar using the F4 key.

Turn Thunderbird into a collaboration tool
By default, Thunderbird doesn’t have a calendar, and it lacks the ability to synchronise data between multiple clients. However, the Calendar plugin combined with the SyncKolab extension can fill the void. You also need an IMAP account, which SyncKolab uses to synchronise the contacts and calendar data. You can either use a local Kolab server or an IMAP email account; the latter option is probably easier.

Start with downloading and installing the Calendar and SyncKolab plugins, then create two folders, Contacts and Calendar, on your IMAP server. To configure SyncKolab’s preferences, choose Tools -> Extensions and double-click on SyncKolab. In the Contacts tab, select the address book you want to synchronise, select your IMAP email account, and choose the Contacts folder. If you leave the Save to Imap folder check box unticked, SyncKolab will not upload changes in your calendar and address book, but download any changes from the IMAP account. Finally, use the Sync Contacts and Sync Calendar check boxes to select what data you want to synchronise. In the Calendar tab, select what calendar you want to sync and select the Calendar folder on your IMAP email account. Click OK to save the settings and close the window. Next, you have to add the SyncKolab button to Thunderbird’s toolbar. Right-click somewhere on Thunderbird’s toolbar and select Customize. Drag the SyncKolab button onto the toolbar and press Done. To start synchronisation, click on the SyncKolab button.

That’s all from these link.

Personally I used MozBackup for backup and restore my personal email and customer emails. MozBackup is a simple utility for creating backups of Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Mozilla Suite and Netscape profiles.
It allows you to backup and restore bookmarks, mail, contacts, history, extensions, cache etc. It’s easy way to do Firefox backup, Thunderbird backup.

If you have any better tools for Thunderbird, please comment here.

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