Applying settings to multiple folders

[Flonk]

An option for applying  settings (like columns, sort by, etc.) of one folder to all other or specific folders and subfolders of an e-mail address.

[Jon]

Thanks for submitting an idea to the Mozilla Connect community! Your idea is now open to votes (aka kudos) and comments.

[TAGarrison]

From the "Inbox", in the list of "Select columns to display", the options at the bottom to select "a" folder is ok...if you only have 4 or 10 folders.
I've been using TBird since Eudora was put out to pasture. That means, my E-mail dates back to 1996. I "literally" have hundreds of folders and thousands of messages stored.

As an example of the amount of folders, it "always" takes TBird about a minute to load, although that depends on whether the computer had to reboot for updates or whatever. If it's after a reboot, it can take upwards of 5 minutes to finish loading. Version 102 took 30+ seconds, unless it was after a reboot. Supernova hasn't been able to complete loading in under 3 minutes - worse after a reboot.

I'm saying this only so you know, some of us use E-mail a "LOT". For me, I refuse to go one-by-one to select a folder and apply the same settings as I have in the Inbox. So I'll just wait until you've updated TBird to include that, as well as the capability to either use userChrome.css or something more simple in "Settings" to allow me to add a border at the bottom of each message in the message pane...or zebra effect.

So @Flonk is correct. TBird needs to have the settings "returned" that allows me to set the look of the message pane for "all" accounts and folders at the same time.
I'm only guessing, but it would seem management and the developers are not "heavy" E-mail users, and that's why the capability to set the look through all folders was removed. 102.x has it.

You all went through a lot of "backlash" when you distributed Supernova. I threw my 2-cents into the ring as well. But I want you to know that I respect and appreciate all of you at Mozilla. I just reserve the right to throw my hands up in the air and jump up and down when a completely "different" TBird is staring me in the face and can't provide the "look" that I've used for the last 25+ years. At least I've figured out how to get it down to just the message pane without lines / bottom border and set the folders from the Inbox for all folders, so that it otherwise looks like I've had.
I did have the folders turn "Red" when they got new messages. But since the userChrome.css is no longer working (although there are posts that swear it still works...not for me even if I disable @namespsace it doesn't work. Perhaps that would be the quickest method for each person to create a look they want, return the use of userChrome.css - or something similar.

Thank you for all you do.

[beitmanh]

I've been using T-bird since the 1990's as well.  I have found what I believe to be the same issue:  The columns in mail folders are ordered in what appears to be a random sequence when a folder is first created.  It seems the most logical sort order would be whatever the user has setup in their inbox(s).  Then, if they want a different order they can rearrange the columns, but I would guess most people use the same sort order for most of their folders.

For example, I have my folders arranged so the DATE is first, SPAM indicator is second, FROM is third, SUBJECT is fourth, RECIPIENT is fifth, etc.  I'd want this applied to all new folders, but instead I get a sequence that seems random to me and includes items I don't want and misses items I want.

The feature to rearrange the columns by copying the setup from another folder is cumbersome and only works on individual folders, not a folder's "children".  If it could be applied to all folders it would solve this issue for me, but having it automatically use the inbox arrangement would be ever better.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

---

TAGarrison wrote:

I did have the folders turn "Red" when they got new messages. But since the userChrome.css is no longer working (although there are posts that swear it still works...

---

Take a look at https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/change-quot-unread-email-quot-color-again/m-p/48168/highl...

It works

[TAGarrison]

@Agentvirtuel - I have no idea what you did to make it work and you didn't provide enough information for me to understand what you did other than write some CSS code.

I can only say that I copied what you posted and it did not work.

Mozilla stated (in another thread months ago) that the CSS won't work anymore. So the fact that few people have made it work, but nobody has posted precisely how, makes me think they have made other changes they forgot to mention.

Changes like what else is in the CSS file? Anything that's been added or removed from the original? The code that you added doesn't tell me if it should be in a particular position, since CSS can be disabled if there are multiple CSS files with similar calls.

Until and unless there is a lot more specificity, I see no reason to spin my wheels on something that's only working for a few, and they aren't telling why. Simply providing the changes to the file that they made doesn't mean it's in the same place as the original CSS file was, or if something in the file must be changed in order to address...something else.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

unread > .container > .name,
.new-messages > .container > .name {
  color: red !important;
  font-weight: bold !important;
}
#folderTree:focus-within li.selected.unread > .container > .name,
#folderTree:focus-within li.selected.new-messages > .container > .name {
  color: lime !important;
}

You can paste CSS into this lightweight editor
https://www.userchrome.org/download-userchrome-css.html

Generate CSS file userChrome.css

Config Editor https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/config-editor
Search toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets
Double-click the toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets preference to switch the value from false to true

Restart Thunderbird

[Agentvirtuel]

[TAGarrison]

Thank you for the details.

I can confirm I already have the settings "True" because I had been using the CSS before Supernova and it worked perfectly. But I checked this morning to verify and it's set to True.

I'm "guessing" that you have removed all of the references that were required in the previous T-bird for CSS to work. I see that you only have the "new" code and nothing else.

Using Notepad (the simplest editor anywhere), I created a new userChrome.css file that contains "only" the code you showed, then restarted T-bird.

Everything is exactly the same as it was before I went through the process.

"Something" is different, but I have no idea what. CSS just is not being read by T-bird in my environment.
The path to my CSS is: C:/Users/(main user)/AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/Profiles/(my profile)/chrome/userChrome.css

I know I'm in the correct profile because everything functions and all of my folders are displayed in T-bird. There is only 1 profile with the chrome folder, and all the other profiles have older dates - nearly a year old or older, except the folder that is my current profile which has today's date as the last date modified.

Yet, my CSS is not being read by T-bird. Ever since I updated to Supernova, my CSS has not worked.

I'm convinced that the problem is not what is inside the CSS file, but "where" the CSS file is located. I have nothing to indicate the file should be anywhere other than where it is currently, but I still don't think it's in the correct place for T-bird to access. Either that or there is something else that we are overlooking that is not allowing me to use the CSS file.

[TAGarrison]

Through some searching I found this in GitHub - https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforTb/blob/master/current/userChrome.css

Clearly that thread states the the mandates for CSS are for v.115 and higher, which is Supernova.

In your /<PROFILE>/chrome folder, do you have files and folders in addition to userChrome.css? It would seem there is part of my problem. I have no idea why, but I have not been able to find the folders and files to which GitHub eludes. I don't have any of the following other than userChrome.css:

\chrome\config\
\chrome\css\
\chrome\images\
\chrome\userChrome.css
\chrome\userContent.css

It would seem to me those are necessary before I start trying to resolve why userChrome.css is not being used.

I'm thinking the resolve will be installing v.116 on another computer and then review all of the file structure.

[TAGarrison]

Here is what was missing.

In the original userChrome.css, the following was "necessary" for anything in the file to work:

/*
* Do not remove the @namespace line -- it's required for correct functioning
*/

@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul");
@namespace html url("http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml");

In Supernova, unless you move the "new" CSS calls above the @namespace... code, the new calls will not function.

If you make sure to add new functions to the userChrome.css, you must write them "before" the @namespace and the new functions will appear.

I also noticed that if you simply remove the @namespace information, the CSS will not function.

THIS information is what was completely ignored in any of the responses here. All of the class tags were added in place of the ID tags, and even though the @namespace is still required, there was no reference to keeping that in the CSS file, but is must be below any of the new CSS.

If someone feels that this is incorrect, I can only tell you that as much time as I have "lost" screwing around with asking how, investigating from Mozilla and testing variations, that 1 thread I found - https://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?p=14959758#p14959758 - was the only place I got answers. And even that thread mandated that you read through most of it to understand how to add the "snippet" of what was recommended here.

I usually find that too much assuming gets in the way when it comes to Web development and working with software like Thunderbird.

Some day, I might even find time to re-enable my zebra striping for folders and messages. The "old" code I have uses the ID tags instead of the new class tags. So that will be another rabbit hole I won't want to go down...

[Agentvirtuel]

https://github.com/Aris-t2/CustomCSSforTb/tree/master

Download ZIP and unzip and see current folder

It works, by way of result, but it's not related (there is no side-effect) with folders turn "Red" when they got new messages

[Agentvirtuel]

Other and for information purposes
Take a look at https://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=3121546
Just create a custom installation folder and install Thunderbird in the custom installation folder (e.g.) Mozilla Thunderbird Release 115 of course you can choose the name of the folder.