AN INTRODUCTION TO THUNDERBIRD March 2020 WHAT IS

AN INTRODUCTION TO THUNDERBIRD March 2020

WHAT IS THUNDERBIRD & WHY ARE WE INTERESTED? Ø Thunderbird is a client-based e-mail app/program. Ø Client-based means that the actual program and associated e-mails sent and received are stored on YOUR computer rather than being on “another computer somewhere else” and is accessed through your browser. Ø Windows Live Mail – our long time recommendation for a client based app – is no longer supported by Microsoft & we are seeing more & more operational issues. Ø We therefore felt a couple of years ago that it was time to look at an alternative recommendation.

THIS IS THUNDERBIRD E-mail account Highlighted (opened) folder Folder s Calendar E-mail messages pane UNOPENED highlighted message

WHY THUNDERBIRD? Ø To make a recommendation for use by Club members we looked at the following criteria: Ø Members’ typical needs. Ø The source. Ø Ease of operation. Ø The price. Ø We considered about a dozen possibilities – some free, some at a variety of costs.

WHY THUNDERBIRD? (CONT. ) Ø It has all the features most commonly-used by members, including: Ø Personalized folder structure. Ø Handles multiple e-mail accounts. Ø Has an easy-to-use Calendar function. Ø Handles “group” e-mails. Ø Thunderbird is from Mozilla – the maker of the respected and widely-used ‘Firefox’ Browser. Ø Easy to use – BUT, there is a learning curve! Ø It’s free !

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO BE DISCUSSING TODAY? Ø Installing Thunderbird & setting up your accounts. Ø Basic e-mail functions. Ø Setting up Folders. Ø Contacts & Group addresses. Ø Importing contacts & messages from your “old” e-mail system. Ø Calendaring – Tasks & Events. Ø Thunderbird is very comprehensive – start with the basics & then explore – you will find it rewarding!

WHERE DO I GET THUNDERBIRD? Note that this is the “home-site” for the manufacturer of the program

SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT(S)

SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT(S) (CONT. )

WRITING AN E-MAIL - BASIC The following slide illustrates a simplified view that is quite useful. . .

Click on the ‘Write’ tab

WRITING AN E-MAIL (CONT. ) Ø You will be presented with a blank page on which to write your message. Enter name(s) of intended recipient(s) Enter Subject Enter the body of your message Click on ‘Send’ when you’ve finished

INCOMING MESSAGES Ø New messages will appear in your ‘Inbox’ and will be shown in bold type. ‘Inbox’ folder is highlighted New (unread) message(s) are in bold type Ø Double-click on any message to display and read it.

WHEN IT’S BEEN READ Ø You can right-click on a message in your Inbox which has been read to see a full list of things you can do with it. Ø Or you can choose one of the options listed below the Inbox messages.

CREATING A NEW FOLDER Right-click on the e-mail Account Name and click on ‘New Folder’ from the drop-down menu which appears Enter the name of your new folder. (It will appear in alphabetical sequence in your list of folders)

CONTACTS (ADDRESS BOOK) & GROUP ADDRESSES (LIST) Open Address Book Select what you want to create

CONTACTS (ADDRESS BOOK) & GROUP ADDRESSES (LIST) (CONT. ) NEW CONTACT NEW LIST

IMPORTING CONTACTS & STORED E-MAILS Ø You will want to import your contacts & stored e-mails from your current program. Ø The first thing to do is CLEAN THEM UP! Get rid of any that are no longer needed – BE RUTHLESS! Ø This especially true for your Inbox and Sent folders. Ø The first ACTUAL step is to export them from the current program – will have to find out where that is done. Ø However we need to look first at importing to understand what to look for when exporting.

IMPORTING CONTACTS & STORED E-MAILS (CONT. ) Ø You MAY not need to worry about this – why? Ø A recent installation showed that, when an existing Outlook (server based version) was created in Thunderbird both contacts & stored emails were automatically imported. Ø This would certainly apply to Hotmail accounts & possibly G-mail also. Ø Be aware this is NOT guaranteed. It depends on how you were handling such accounts previously & what settings were in use.

IMPORTING CONTACTS INTO THUNDERBIRD Ø Click on ‘Tools’ at the top of your screen and select ‘Import’ from the drop-down menu. Ø Click on ‘Address Books’, then on ‘Next’.

IMPORTING CONTACTS INTO THUNDERBIRD Ø A little care is needed for this step. Ø Note that “Outlook” refers to the client based app found in Office Professional – NOT the Browser version that used to be Hotmail. Ø In most cases we would use the text file option indicated since this export option exists in most e-mail apps. (We want the ‘. csv’ version. ) Ø The next slide shows how to create the needed file in Windows Live Mail.

EXPORTING CONTACTS FROM WINDOWS LIVE MAIL

EXPORTING CONTACTS FROM WINDOWS LIVE MAIL Ø Check the fields you want to export – this will depend on how you used “Contacts”. Ø Click Finish.

IMPORTING CONTACTS We are now going to pick-up from the earlier slides. . .

IMPORTING CONTACTS INTO THUNDERBIRD

IMPORTING CONTACTS INTO THUNDERBIRD Ø Reminder - “Outlook” refers to the client based app found in Office Professional – NOT the Browser version that used to be Hotmail. Ø As seen previously, in most cases (as in our Windows Live Mail example) we would use the ‘Text file’ option indicated since the ‘. csv’ version is available in most e-mail apps.

IMPORTING CONTACTS CLICK ON THE EXPORTED FILE MATCH THE FIELDS

IMPORTING STORED E-MAILS Ø As installed, Thunderbird has only limited capability to import email messages. Ø Click Tools>Import, check “Mail”, click Next. Ø Reminder – Outlook & Outlook Express do NOT refer to the current Browser-based e-mail apps.

IMPORTING STORED E-MAILS Ø There is an add-on (free download) that provides this capability for other e-mail apps. Ø We have developed an Instruction Sheet for this BUT you need to be aware that (a) the sheet covers only Windows Live Mail – other systems may vary – and (b) what appears onscreen during the procedure may not 100% match what is written. ØYOU MAY WANT TO CALL HOME HELP!

TASKS & EVENTS (CALENDARING) Ø The Calendar pane can be displayed at the right-hand side of your Thunderbird email screen.

TASKS & EVENTS (CALENDARING) Ø Events/Tasks can be shown for Today, Tomorrow or Upcoming (5 days). Ø Thunderbird offers separate “calendars” for Tasks (“To Do List”? ) and Events. (For most of us the differences are not significant. ) Ø To enter an event, click on ‘New Event’.

TASKS & EVENTS (CALENDARING) Ø Replace the highlighted Title with the name of your own event. Ø Fill-in the start and finish times. Ø Click on ‘Save and Close’. Ø Details of the event will now appear in your Calendar pane.

TASKS & EVENTS (CALENDARING) Ø The system allows you to maintain multiple calendars if you wish. Ø Different versions of your calendar can be printed for your convenience. Ø e-mail messages can be automatically generated to inform affected personnel of a newly-announced event. Ø Details of the event will now appear in your Calendar pane.