Microsoft has introduced the official finish of the Mail app in Windows 11: From 2024, PCs and notebooks will solely be delivered with Outlook for Windows as a mail program. That’s unhealthy information for customers who’ve intentionally determined in opposition to Microsoft’s electronic mail colossus Outlook.

It is true that Outlook for Windows is a slimmed-down and subsequently leaner model of the e-mail flagship from Microsoft 365 — which you’ll be able to already download for free from the Microsoft Store.

But for a lot of customers, the title Outlook is synonymous with an overloaded, cumbersome, and unwieldy software. This is the place Thunderbird 115 is useful: The new version of the open-source mail basic comes with a modernized consumer interface and some new capabilities within the type of “Supernova.”

Tip: If you need to check out Thunderbird first with out obligation, uncheck the field “Set Thunderbird as default program for emails” on the finish of the set up. Thunderbird will nonetheless ask you later whether or not you need to set this system as your default mailer. Then take away the tick subsequent to “Check every time Thunderbird is started” and click on on “Skip integration.”

New map view with three columns

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The essential element of Supernova is the map view: It organizes the message checklist in a vertical structure and is thus oriented in the direction of webmail providers and smartphones.

The message view in Thunderbird 115 consists of three columns: The account and folder space, the messages within the inbox and the chosen mail. This implies that you not see only one line of every message, however two, as is common with mail apps on cellular gadgets. Use the slim bar on the left-hand aspect of the window to change between mails, deal with guide, contacts, and different workspaces.

The card view replaces the earlier checklist view with its horizontal association because the preset default view.

The benefit of the cardboard view is that it makes it simpler to learn messages within the inbox and permits sooner navigation. Each card accommodates a preview of the message textual content, sender, topic and date — the remaining is hidden. This permits you to scan messages extra shortly and prioritize essential emails.

However, the earlier desk view remains to be accessible: Click on the show choices button on the prime proper of the message checklist. Here you may swap between the cardboard and desk view.

Thunderbird makes dealing with emails extra handy

With the introduction of the map view, the builders have lastly introduced Thunderbird into the current. A comparability of the Mozilla mail program with Outlook, but additionally with options corresponding to Mailspring, Emclient, and The Bat, all of which have lengthy had no less than one different to the normal desk view on board, reveals that renovation work was mandatory.

And a have a look at the mailbox show in webmailers corresponding to Google Mail or Outlook.com additionally emphasised how urgently the Mozilla builders wanted to refresh the mail show.

The promoting promise that with Supernova, Thunderbird brings “a technically completely overhauled user interface for the first time” is, nevertheless, overstated. After all, the brand new show primarily impacts the inbox — the opposite home windows are largely the identical as earlier than.

The new dynamic toolbar with search subject is situated above the three-column view. It is at all times current and adapts to the respective context. What precisely you are able to do with it subsequently is dependent upon whether or not you might be at present looking your inbox, coming into contacts, or checking appointments within the calendar.

Good: The search subject (shortcut Ctrl-Ok) suggests what you may be on the lookout for as you sort. Speaking of icons: The Thunderbird makers have given this system a couple of spruced-up icons.

The toolbar additionally accommodates the three-bar button from Firefox, which you should use to entry the slimmed-down essential menu. You can open the complete menu bar by urgent the Alt key.

If you miss the acquainted window bar, click on on the three bars after which on Settings > General. Remove the tick from “Hide system window title bar” and ideally additionally from “Automatically hide tab bar.” Retrieve the menu bar after tapping the Alt key beneath View > Toolbar by ticking “Menu bar.”

Adjustments to the design

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Also new, however actually to not everybody’s style: Thunderbird mechanically teams associated emails and replies by dialog. This is sensible as a result of you may regulate the dialog historical past.

However, auto-grouping makes it tough so that you can shortly discover particular person messages in your inbox. To swap off dialog grouping, click on on the show choices button on the prime proper of the message checklist. Under “Sort by,” choose the choice “Not grouped” as an alternative of “Grouped by topic.”

The calendar in Thunderbird has already been revised in earlier variations. As a consequence, it seems to be extra fashionable and is harking back to Outlook 365 and Google Calendar by way of look and operation. Thunderbird 115 provides an improved mini-month view. The builders have additionally optimized the day, week, and month grid. Also new: You have extra colours accessible to paint calendars in accordance with your needs.

Solve the largest issues

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Especially customers who swap from an older Thunderbird model to the Supernova version generally complain concerning the considerably poorer readability of the message checklist. Especially after switching to the checklist view, the inbox seems crowded and compressed, relying on the display screen dimension and backbone.

You can treatment this with more room between the management parts — and there’s a density setting for this: To make the message checklist extra ethereal and thus loosen it up, click on on the three-bar button. Change the “Density” from “Compact” (left button) to “Standard” or “Relaxed” (proper button). The latter setting works with bigger distances between the person parts of the message checklist and is really helpful for big, high-resolution screens.

If the font within the inbox is simply too small general, there’s a easy resolution within the three-bar button: Click on the plus and minus buttons behind “Font size.” This permits you to regulate the font dimension program-wide. You can change the textual content dimension within the message window as ordinary utilizing the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+ and Ctrl- or through the use of the mouse wheel whereas holding down the Ctrl key.

Set up a shared inbox

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Many electronic mail accounts and lots of folders make the folder checklist on the left within the Thunderbird message view complicated. It is subsequently a good suggestion to summarize a number of mail accounts compactly in a shared inbox. You can even enhance the overview by hiding particular person folders. Favorite folders for steadily used mailboxes save time when viewing and sorting new messages.

This is strictly why Thunderbird now provides “sortable folder modes.” You can entry the choice menu within the mixed account/folder checklist on the prime by clicking on the three dots. Go to “Folder modes” and check out what the person choices do by ticking and unticking the bins.

With “All folders”, Thunderbird shows an inventory of all configured accounts individually with Inbox, Outbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, and so forth. “Grouped folders” turns the “Inbox” and “Outbox” into essential folders wherein your accounts seem.

Tuning for information safety

Setting up Thunderbird 115 is fast and simple. The set up wizard acknowledges earlier variations of this system and carries out an replace. The first time you begin this system, the wizard will immediate you to arrange your mail account. Once this has been accomplished, the standing bar within the backside right-hand nook reveals how far Thunderbird has progressed with downloading the mails.

The Mozilla builders declare that information safety and privateness are a prime precedence. Nevertheless, it’s advisable to undergo the safety settings proper initially. Click on the gear icon on the backside left and on the “Privacy & Security” part.

Emails might include exterior content material corresponding to on-line pictures or CSS stylesheets. To defend your privateness, Thunderbird doesn’t reload such exterior content material by default, however shows a yellow notification bar to point that exterior content material has been blocked. Tracker renders the mail program ineffective on this approach, however comfort additionally suffers.

If you need Thunderbird to mechanically reload pictures from the Internet, uncheck the field subsequent to “Allow external content in messages.” For “Accept cookies from third-party providers,” it’s advisable to set “Only from visited third-party providers.”

If you at all times enable third-party cookies, web sites can observe your actions with a purpose to personalize content material. Also tick the field subsequent to “Send a Do Not Track notification that your online activities should not be tracked.”

If you wish to defend the passwords saved in Thunderbird in your mail accounts with a grasp password, activate “Use master password.” Enter the specified password twice. Remove the tick within the “Data collection …” part. Make certain that the checkboxes in entrance of “Check messages for fraud attempts (phishing)” and “Antivirus software …” are ticked.

These add-ons are worthwhile

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Add-ons assist you to complement Thunderbird with further capabilities and customise this system to your wants.

You can set up them by clicking on the three-bar menu and “Add-ons and Themes.” Pay consideration to the required compatibility with Thunderbird 115 and newer. If you might be switching from an earlier Thunderbird model to the Supernova version, the TB 102/TB 115 Addon Compatibility Tester is useful: The instrument reveals which of the beforehand put in add-on modules don’t work with the brand new Thunderbird. You will obtain strategies for options.

With XNote you may shortly connect notes to emails. They present area for reminders and duties that you just need to full in reference to the respective electronic mail. ImportExportTools NG offers Thunderbird extra choices for exporting or importing emails.

If you might have arrange a number of mail accounts in Thunderbird, QuickFolders lets you maintain observe of all of the folders. You can arrange folders which might be notably essential to you as separate tabs and entry them simply.

The AutoarchiveReloaded add-on ensures that emails which might be not wanted are archived. You specify which accounts you need to clear out and set a schedule for the add-on to hold out computerized archiving.

Sooner or later, virtually each Thunderbird consumer finds that unintentional mouse actions within the folder checklist mess up the present emails. DisableDragAndDrop protects you from by accident shifting folders by stopping disastrous mouse actions within the folder space.

This article was translated from German to English and initially appeared on pcwelt.de.