Thunderbird v115.0 “All Address Books”

[Wiganken]

The ‘Address Book’ tab shows a) ‘All Address Books’, which merges together b) ‘Personal Address Book’ and c) ‘Collected Addresses’.

This seems wrong to me. I like the idea of keeping b) and c) separate. I can’t see why a) is there at all. Why would anyone want to see a list combining b) and c)? This list could be much longer and harder to search by eye. Surely it is easier to filter what we see by looking at b) or c) separately?

Can future updates to Thunderbird 115 provide a clickable option to turn off "All Address Books" so that it is not visible leaving only b) and c) visible?

[andy83]

Hi @moza,
I totally get where you're coming from. Having "All Address Books" merge Personal and Collected can definitely make it harder to locate specific contacts—especially if you're used to handling them separately. A setting to toggle or hide the merged view would be a welcome addition in future updates.

(P.S. During breaks, if you're ever up for a fun and chill game, try Monkey Mart  — it's a lighthearted supermarket simulator that’s surprisingly addictive!)

[tanjiro]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree—keeping the "Personal Address Book" and "Collected Addresses" separate makes it easier to manage contacts. Hopefully, future Thunderbird updates will include an option to toggle the "All Address Books" view on or off, so users can choose what works best for them.

(P.S. I like to unwind with this game during breaks: https://retrobowl.best/ )

[captainlevi]

I completely agree with your point. Combining Personal Address Book and Collected Addresses into a single “All Address Books” view can make things more cluttered, especially for users who prefer to keep those categories separate for better organization.

Having an option to hide or disable "All Address Books" would be a great addition. It would give users more control over how they view and manage their contacts, and reduce visual overload when scanning through entries.

On a side note, while testing layouts and usability concepts in other projects (like retrobowlcollege.pro), I’ve found that simplicity and modular visibility really do improve user experience — so I can definitely relate to your suggestion here.