Thunderbird v144.01 — Full User Guide (Rules, Folders, Archive, Backup & More)

Easy-to-understand steps for normal users & office staff. No technical words, only simple explanation.

This guide assumes your email account is already added in Thunderbird. We will learn how to organize inbox, create rules, archive, backup, use tags, signatures, contacts, templates and more.

🖥 1. Thunderbird Layout — What You See on Screen

Left side → Your email accounts and folders (Inbox, Sent, Trash, etc.)
Middle → List of emails in the selected folder
Right side → Email content (message preview)
Top bar → Search box, Write, Reply, Forward, Archive icons

This layout is the same for all accounts and is easy to get used to.

📁 2. Create Folders & Subfolders (Organize Inbox)

To create a main folder:

1️⃣ In the left panel, right-click on your email account name.
2️⃣ Click New Folder….
3️⃣ Type a folder name (Example: Clients, Invoices, HR).
4️⃣ Choose where to create → usually under Inbox.
5️⃣ Click OK.

To create a subfolder:

1️⃣ Right-click an existing folder (Example: Clients).
2️⃣ Click New Subfolder….
3️⃣ Give it a name (Example: Clients 2025).
4️⃣ Click OK.

Now you can drag & drop emails into these folders to keep everything neat.

⚙️ 3. Rules / Message Filters — Auto Sort Your Emails

Rules in Thunderbird are called Message Filters. They help to automatically move, tag or mark emails based on conditions.

Open Message Filters:

1️⃣ Click Tools in the top menu.
2️⃣ Select Message Filters….
3️⃣ Choose the email account for which you want to create the rule.
4️⃣ Click New….

Example 1 — Move all invoices to “Invoices” folder:

1️⃣ Filter name: Invoices Rule.
2️⃣ Under Apply filter when, keep Checking Mail (or as required).
3️⃣ Condition: Subject → contains → type Invoice.
4️⃣ Action: Move Message to → select your Invoices folder.
5️⃣ Click OK → ensure checkbox is ticked.

Example 2 — Move all mails from boss to “Important” folder:

1️⃣ Filter name: Boss Mails.
2️⃣ Condition: From → is → enter your boss email.
3️⃣ Action: Move Message to → choose Important folder.
4️⃣ Click OK.

Example 3 — Tag newsletters as “News”:

1️⃣ Filter name: Newsletter.
2️⃣ Condition: From → contains → type “newsletter” or domain.
3️⃣ Action: Tag Message → choose Personal tag like “News”.

You can also run filters manually:

1️⃣ Select a folder (like Inbox).
2️⃣ Tools → Run Filters on Folder.

This clears and organizes the inbox automatically.

📦 4. Archive Emails (Clean Without Deleting)

Archive keeps emails safe but removes them from the main inbox.

1️⃣ Select one or more emails in Inbox.
2️⃣ Press the A key on keyboard, OR click the Archive button.
3️⃣ Email will move to the Archive folder, usually grouped by year.

Where to find archived mails?
On the left side → Expand Archive under your account.

🏷 5. Use Tags & Star for Important Emails

Tags are color labels. Star marks an email as important.

1️⃣ Right-click any email.
2️⃣ Click Tag.
3️⃣ Choose Important, Work, Personal, To Do etc.
4️⃣ To star: just click the ⭐ icon in the email row.

You can also create your own tags in Tags settings.

🔍 6. Search & Quick Filter (Find Emails Faster)

Global search:

1️⃣ Use the search bar at the top right.
2️⃣ Type a name, subject or word.
3️⃣ Thunderbird shows matching mails from all folders (if enabled).

Quick filter:

1️⃣ Open a folder (Inbox/Sent).
2️⃣ Click Quick Filter button (funnel icon).
3️⃣ Filter by Unread, Starred, Contacts, Tags, Has Attachments.

This is very useful when inbox is very large.

✍️ 7. Create a Professional Signature

Signature appears at the bottom of every email automatically.

1️⃣ Click Tools → Account Settings.
2️⃣ Select your email account on the left.
3️⃣ At the bottom, find Signature text box.
4️⃣ Type: Name
Job title
Phone number
Website
5️⃣ Tick Use HTML (optional) if you want bold, color or links.

You can also use a HTML file or image logo for advanced signatures.

👥 8. Save Contacts & Use Address Book

Quick save from email:

1️⃣ Open any email.
2️⃣ Right-click the sender name or email address.
3️⃣ Click Add to Address Book.
4️⃣ Add phone, company, notes if needed.
5️⃣ Click OK.

Why use Address Book?

Thunderbird auto-completes email addresses when typing.
Useful for groups and mailing lists.

📥 9. Import / Export Contacts (CSV/VCF)

To import contacts:

1️⃣ Click Address Book from main toolbar.
2️⃣ Click Tools → Import….
3️⃣ Choose Address Books → Next.
4️⃣ Select CSV or vCard (VCF) file.
5️⃣ Finish → Contacts will appear in your book.

To export contacts:

1️⃣ Open Address Book.
2️⃣ Tools → Export….
3️⃣ Choose location & format (CSV/VCF).
4️⃣ Save.

📝 10. Email Templates (Save Time for Repeated Replies)

1️⃣ Click Write and type your standard email content.
2️⃣ Instead of Send, click File → Save As → Template.
3️⃣ The template is stored under the Templates folder.
4️⃣ To use it: open Templates folder → double-click the template → edit if needed → send.

Great for quotes, support replies, confirmations, etc.

⏰ 11. Send Later (Schedule Emails)

1️⃣ Compose email normally.
2️⃣ Click the small arrow next to Send button.
3️⃣ Select Send Later.
4️⃣ Choose the date and time you want the mail to go.

This helps for office timings, reminders & follow-ups.

🚫 12. Junk / Spam Control

1️⃣ When you see a spam mail, right-click it.
2️⃣ Click Mark → As Junk.
3️⃣ Thunderbird moves it to Junk folder.

Do this regularly and Thunderbird will learn which mails are spam. Check Junk folder sometimes to ensure no good emails went there.

🗄 13. Backup Your Emails & Settings

1️⃣ Click Help → More Troubleshooting Information.
2️⃣ Look for Profile Folder → Click Open Folder.
3️⃣ A file explorer opens showing Thunderbird profile data.
4️⃣ Close Thunderbird completely.
5️⃣ Copy the whole folder to a safe place (external drive/backup location).

This backup contains emails, rules, contacts, signatures and settings.

♻️ 14. Restore / Move Thunderbird to Another Computer

1️⃣ Install Thunderbird on the new PC.
2️⃣ Open it once, then close it.
3️⃣ Open the new profile folder (same method as backup).
4️⃣ Replace new profile folder contents with your backup folder contents.
5️⃣ Start Thunderbird again → everything appears as before.

📅 15. Calendar, Events & Tasks

1️⃣ Open the Calendar tab (usually at top or via menu).
2️⃣ Double-click on a date to add an event (meeting, reminder, call).
3️⃣ Set time, reminder alert, repeat if needed.
4️⃣ Save.

You can also sync Google or other calendars using add-ons.

⚡ 16. Make Thunderbird Faster

✅ Archive old mails regularly.
✅ Right-click folder → Compact to free space.
✅ Remove unused add-ons.
✅ Don’t keep thousands of mails in Inbox; use folders.

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