Mozilla Thunderbird FAQ

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  1. FOR MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD HELP DOCUMETNTS
  2. Adding email ID to the Thunderbird CLick here.

What is Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free, open-source Mail Client application for managing email. It is a local (rather than a web-based) email application that is powerful yet easy-to-use. Thunderbird is free. Also, it gives you control and ownership over your e-mail.

What is the benefit of using Thunderbird

  1. First, using an email client can be a tremendous time-saver if you have multiple email accounts. If you want to check for new messages across all of your email addresses, then that means that you will have to log in to several different sites.
  2. Once you download and setup an e-mail client like Outlook or Thunderbird, it will download your mails across all of your accounts, so that you can access them all at one easy place.
  3. One of the greatest advantages of using an e-mail client is that they allow you work with your e-mails even when you are off-line.
  4. You can group your messages/mails into folders.
  5. You can set up MESSAGE FILTER to automatically move a mail to a defined folder so that it does not flood your Inbox. For example, all subject teacher forum emails can be automatically sent to a separate folder such as 'MathsSTF' or 'EnglishSTF'. Inbox will be less busy and you can read the STF Mails at your convenience

If you have your own computer - desktop or Laptop, then you MUST configure Thunderbird on your computer. It is easy to configure Thunderbird. Thunderbird is part of Ubuntu custom distribution. You can click on the APPLICATIONS - INTERNET - THUNDERBIRD TO install it and use it.

How can I configure or add my GMail account on Thunderbird?

    To add an account in Thunderbird, you need to have a GMail account. You can add your account in Thunderbird by going to Edit > Account Settings > Account Actions > Add Mail Account. You need to know your email ID and password to configure this account on Thunderbird. By default, it uses the IMAP account, but you can direct it to use the POP account, by selecting the option. After you enable the POP/IMAP account in Thunderbird, enable the server with your account by:
  • Logging into your GMail webmail account using your default browser
  • Click on Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP > POP Download: and choose Enable POP for all mail.
  • Note: POP (Post Office Protocol) is the protocol that is used by local email clients to retrieve email from a remote server.
  • Click the Save Settings button.
  • [Click here to view the screenshot of the Mail Settings option in GMail.
  • You must provide the POP settings in Thunderbird for GMail, so that the email client is able to access all the messages of that account.
  • Go to Edit > Account Settings > Server Settings.
  • [Click here] to refer the document to enter the correct POP details.
  • You must also enter the SMTP details in the Thunderbird settings.
  • Note: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is an Internet standard for email transmission across IP networks.
  • [Click here] to refer the document to enter the correct SMTP details.


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