Easy-Email

Thunderbird 2 is a free email client. It is fast, small and it works very well with Easy-Email.

Thunderbird 2 works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux and is translated into many different languages.

You can download Thunderbird 2 from Mozilla:

• Linux: click here

• Windows: click here

• Mac: click here

Note! There are minor differences in some menus on different operating systems. The steps you need to take to configure Thunderbird 2 are the same though. The screenshots below are from Windows.

This chapter explains how to setup Thunderbird 2 for email synchronization. You will be guided through modifying your existing accounts (if you have any) and configuring Thunderbird 2 to synchronize with Gmail.

At this point you should have completed the setup of Gmail for email synchronization.

At the end of the article you will find references to more information which is relevant for working with Thunderbird 2 and Easy-Email.

In this article:

• Modify existing accounts.

• Create a new email account in Thunderbird 2 to access Gmail.

• More stuff you can do.

Important! Backup your emails before you start! Easy-Email does not accept responsibility for any data loss under any circumstance.

Note! Click on the images to see a larger version.

Modify existing accounts (POP)

If you already have email accounts setup in Thunderbird 2 we need to ensure they leave new email in the mailbox on the mail server for one day.

Gmail is also downloading email from the same mailbox, so Thunderbird 2 will have to leave the email on the mail server long enough for Gmail to get hold of a copy too. Gmail automatically checks your mailboxes for new mail once every hour. If a new email arrives in your mailbox and Thunderbird 2 downloads and removes the email from the mailbox before Gmail gets to it you will not see that email in Gmail and it will not be synchronized with your other email clients.

This modification does not change the way your current email setup works.

Do the following for each Thunderbird 2 account that downloads email from a mailbox:

• Go to Tools → Account Settings...

• Select your existing email account.
  Click Server Settings.
  Check Leave messages on server.
  Change the number of days to 1.
  Click OK.
  

Create a new email account in Thunderbird 2 to access Gmail

Gmail has already been setup to pick up your email for you. This step tells Thunderbird 2 to synchronize with Gmail so you can download copies of your emails.

Note! If you have more than one email address, work with the email address you use most often. For John Doe this is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Setting up multiple email addresses is explained in the Advanced Guides.

Follow these steps:

• Start Thunderbird.

• If this is the first time you start Thunderbird you will see this window.
  Don't import anything and click Next.
  Skip the next step.
  

• If you already use Thunderbird click Tools → Account Settings...
  

• Then click Add Account...
  Note! You might have other email accounts defined already.
  

• Leave Email account selected and click Next.
  

• For Your Name enter your name, for John that is John Doe.
  For Email Address enter your email address, which for John is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  Click Next.
  

• For incoming server type select IMAP.
  For Incoming Server enter imap.gmail.com.
  For Outgoing Server enter smtp.gmail.com.
  Note! If this is not the first time you use Thunderbird the Outgoing Server field will not be available. We will verify these settings later, so don't worry.
  Click Next.
  

• For Incoming and Outgoing User Names enter your Gmail address, for John this is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  Click Next.
  

• Enter a descriptive name for the account.
  We specify My Mail (IMAP) for John.
  Click Next.
  

• Verify the settings and click Finish.
  Again we will verify the Outgoing Server settings in the next step, so don't worry if they are not correct yet.
  

• You might get a timeout message.
  This is because we still have a couple of configuration changes to make.
  Click OK.
  

• If this is the first time you run Thunderbird you will now be in the main window.
  Select Tools → Account Settings...
• In the Account Settings window click on Server Settings under My Mail IMAP.
  In Security Settings → Use secure connection click SSL.
  In Server Settings → Check for new messages at startup.
  In Server Settings → When I delete a message: select Mark it as deleted.
  Make sure Clean up (”Expunge”) Inbox on Exit is NOT checked.
  Make sure Empty Deleted folder on Exit is NOT checked.
  
• Click on Outgoing Server (SMTP).
  Select the default outgoing server and click Edit...
  Note! If your default outgoing server is not a Gmail server (i.e. smtp.gmail.com) then you should choose Add... to create a new configuration instead. This happens if you already had an outgoing server defined.
  
• Optionally add a description.
  Verify the Server Name is smtp.gmail.com.
  Set the Port to 465.
  Verify Use name and password is checked.
  Verify User Name is set to your Gmail user name. For John this is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  For Use secure connection select SSL.
  Note! For the Gmail outgoing server it is possible to use either port 465 with SSL or port 587 with TLS. If one combination does not work for you try the other combination. If you have trouble sending email change this setting.
  Click OK.
  
• Ensure the Gmail outgoing server is selected for the My Mail (IMAP) account.
  Click on My Mail (IMAP) and verify the Outgoing Server is correct.
  
• Click OK to close the Account Settings window.

• Click Get Mail to refresh the list of folders from Gmail.
  

• Enter your Gmail password.
  Check Use Password Manager to remember this password.
  Click OK.

• Click OK.
  

• The Gmail folders and emails appear. You might have to click on the inbox under My Mail (IMAP) for the folders to refresh. If the folders still do not appear, restart Thunderbird.
  

• We need to tell Thunderbird which folder is our Sent Mail folder, so it will show the correct column headings for sent mail.
  Select Tools → Account Settings again.
  

• lick on Copies & Folders for the My Mail (IMAP) account.
  Set When sending messages, automatically: → Place a copy in: → Other: → My Mail (IMAP) → [Gmail] (or Google mail) → Sent Mail.
  When set correctly the text box will show Sent Mail on My Mail (IMAP).
  

• Then uncheck Place a copy in.
  Gmail automatically stores a copy of all sent mail, so Thunderbird does not need to store a second copy.
  

• Set Drafts and Templates → Keep message drafts in: → Other: → My Mail (IMAP) → [Gmail] → Drafts.
  When set correctly it will read Drafts on My Mail (IMAP).
  

• Gmail's spam filter will process all incoming mail. There is no need to do it twice, so we will disable Thunderbird's spam filter.
  Click on Junk Settings.
  Uncheck Enable adaptive junk mail controls for this account.
  Click OK to close the Account Settings window.
  

• There are a few settings we can change in Thunderbird to make it work better with Gmail.
  Select Tools → Options.
  

• Click the Advanced tab then Config Editor...
  
• In the Filter box, type browser.cache.memory.capacity.
  Double click on the only remaining line of text.
  
  Set the value to 30720.
  Then click OK.
  
  
• In the Filter box type in mail.server.default.fetch_by_chunks.
  
• Double click the line to set the entry to false.
  

• Close the configuration editor, then click OK to close the options window.

More stuff you can do

In the appendix you will find more interesting information on how to get the most out of your email:

• Backup and restore your emails
  We strongly recommend you backup your emails before you setup Easy-Email.
  This section explains how you do this. And it explains how you restore your emails if you should need to do that.

• Download emails to Thunderbird 2 for offline use
  This section explains how to make your emails available for use without an internet connection. You will be able to read and respond to emails on a plane or train for instance. Once you get an internet connection again your emails will be sent.

• Copy old emails to Gmail from Thunderbird 2 
  This section explains how you can copy your old emails from Thunderbird 2 to Gmail. This will make the emails available to any client you synchronize with Gmail.

• Turn off your old email account
  You have setup email synchronization without making changes to your old email setup. This allows you to try out Easy-Email without affecting the way you manage your email today.
  This section explains how to phase out your old email setup once you are comfortable with Easy-Email.

• Create a signature in Thunderbird 2
  This section explains how you create a signature in Thunderbird 2

• Group messages by thread in Thunderbird 2
  If you like the way Gmail organizes emails in threads or conversations this section explains how you can get a similar view in Thunderbird 2.

• How to find your mail server settings
  If you do not know your mail server settings this section explains where you can locate this information in your current setup.

And that completes the setup of Thunderbird 2 for email synchronization.

If you would like help with synchronizing Thunderbird 2 on multiple computers you can download and follow the Easy-Email Essential Guide. See how this brilliantly simple solution will simplify your life by watching the quick video at sync thunderbird.