Easy-Email

Thunderbird 3 is a free email client. It is fast, small and it works very well with Easy-Email.

We like it, use it and recommend it.

Thunderbird 3 works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux and is translated into many different languages.

Synchronize your Thunderbird email on all your computers! Automatically!

Watch the quick video at Synchronize Thunderbird.

 

FREE GUIDE available - get started with the Easy-Email system today!

You can download Thunderbird 3 from Mozilla here.

Note! The names of some menus vary on different operating systems:

The steps you need to take to configure Thunderbird 3 are the same though. The screenshots below are from Windows Vista.

This chapter explains how to setup Thunderbird 3 for email synchronization. You will be guided through modifying your existing accounts (if you have any) and configuring Thunderbird 3 to synchronize with Gmail.

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

At the end of the chapter you will find references to more information which is relevant for working with Thunderbird 3 and Easy-Email.

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

Modify existing accounts

If you have existing email accounts setup in Thunderbird 3 we need to make sure they will work well with Easy-Email. For email accounts using POP we need to make sure they leave new emails in the mailbox long enough for Gmail to pick up a copy of the email too. For accounts using IMAP we need to tell the account to forward a copy of incoming email to your Gmail account.

Note! These changes do not affect the way you manage your email today.

If you do not know whether your email account is POP or IMAP follow these steps:

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

• Go to Tools → Account Settings...

• Select your existing email account.
  Click Server Settings.
  Your Server Type will be either POP Mail Server or IMAP Mail Server.
  

Accounts using POP

If you already have email accounts setup in Thunderbird 3 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 (or more).
  Click OK.
  

Accounts using IMAP

If you have any email accounts that use IMAP you need to tell them to forward a copy of incoming email to your Gmail account.

Unfortunately the way to do this depends on the IMAP server you are using.

In Gmail you would go to Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP and enable Forward a copy of incoming mail to.

Make sure you still keep a copy of incoming email as well. If there is no setting for this on your IMAP server it will do this by default.

Create a new email account in Thunderbird 3 to access Gmail

Gmail has already been setup to pick up your email for you. This step tells Thunderbird 3 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 section of the guides.

Follow these steps:

• Start Thunderbird.

• If this is the first time you start Thunderbird the Mail Account Setup window will automatically appear.
  Skip the next two steps.

• If you have used Thunderbird before click Tools → Account Settings...
  

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

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

• Thunderbird automatically finds the correct settings for your email account.
  Click Create Account.
  

• Your folders and email are synchronized with Gmail.
  

• Note! If you already have other email accounts setup in Thunderbird 3 your Smart Folders will look like this.
  

• To complete the setup we need to make a few modifications.
  Click Tools → Account Settings...
  

• In the Account Settings window click on your new account. The name is the same as your Gmail address, so for John this is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  Change the Account Name to My Mail IMAP.
  Change the Email Address to your primary email address, for John this is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  

• Click on Server Settings.
  In Server Settings → When I delete a message: select Just mark it as deleted.
  

• Gmail's spam filter processes all incoming mail. We will tell Thunderbird's spam filter to work with Gmail, so any messages flagged as spam by Thunderbird will be moved to the Spam folder in Gmail. Click on Junk Settings.
  Check Move new junk messages to:
  Click on Other:
  Click on My Mail IMAP → [Gmail] → Spam.
  Note! The account name change we made above might first be effective after you close this window, so My Mail IMAP might still be This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  When set correctly it should read: Spam on My Mail IMAP.
  Click OK to close the Account Settings window.
  

• Note! When you start using a new spam filter make sure you check the spam folder often until you are comfortable that the spam filter works as you would like it to.
• There are a few other settings we can change in Thunderbird to make it work better with Gmail.
  Select Tools → Options.
  
• Click the Security tab.
  Check When I mark messages as junk:
  Select Move them to the account's “Junk” folder.
  When you manually mark a message as Junk in Thunderbird it will now be moved to the Gmail Spam folder.
  
• Click the Advanced tab then Config Editor...
  
• Read the warning. Rest assured you are in safe hands!
  Click the button.
  
• 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 close the options window.

Smart Folders

Thunderbird 3 has introduced a new concept: Smart Folders.

Thunderbird 3 creates a consolidated view of your Inboxes and Sent Mail mailboxes for all your email accounts.

If you prefer you can still work with a traditional folder layout. Click the > next to Smart Folders and the layout changes.

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 3 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 3
  This section explains how you can copy your old emails from Thunderbird 3 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 3
  This section explains how you create a signature in Thunderbird 3.

• Group messages by thread in Thunderbird 3
  If you like the way Gmail organizes emails in threads or conversations this section explains how you can get a similar view in Thunderbird 3.

• 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 3 for email synchronization.

If you would like help with synchronizing Thunderbird 3 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.