Archive folder and content suddenly disappeared - still somewhere in Thunderbird but how do i find and restore it?
1. Following Microsoft 'turning off' Windows Live Mail 2012 I downloaded Thunderbird less than 2 weeks ago onto my desktop PC running Windows 8.1 to manage my multiple e-mail accounts.
2. I have completely lost access, for now, to e-mails in my 'Archive' folder up to 16 August. I can view historical e-mails up to 2 August on WLM but am 'missing' some really important ones I archived in the last 10 days or so.
3. In this e-mail account a new folder named "Archives" has appeared (in place of the original "Archive" folder) and a new sub folder "2016" has appeared. This contains e-mails from 17 August. I am guessing 'things went pear shaped' the previous day.
3. I know the e-mails are somewhere, because I used the search facility to find a specific one and the heading of it was shown, BUT when I clicked on it expecting the e-mail to open it didn't. Instead I was presented with a "Welcome to Thundebird"(?) page - which did not show an option to open the e-mail. Gutted it's there but I can't read it!
4. Since downloading Thunderbird and the app to move e-mail accounts up and down - following the sudden mysterious loss of e-mails from a different e-mail account, which I successfully retrieved - when I left click my mouse on type in ANY web browser, e-mail, Word document - in fact anything anywhere on my computer - NOTHING happens. I have to use keyboard shortcuts to cut, paste and delete things.
Some Thunderbird help articles instruct users to left click on an e-mail account to display a menu but, of course, when I do that nothing happens.
- Please help me 'find' and retrieve the contents of missing folder "Archive" if possible
- Please help me open e-mails I can find using the search facility
- Please offer suggestions that will solve my 'mouse problem'
I'm happy to provide further info - please tell me what you need to know.
Thanks
All Replies (5)
Update to post: I found my Archive Folder as a subfolder of Drafts. It is now titled Archive but as a sub folder of the newly created "Archives". I want to get back just to "Archive" as a main folder if possible but haven't been able to find out if / how this can be done.
I have established the mouse click issue arose from the Thunderbird / App download and is a WinX file problem. I am seeking assistance to resolve this.
In Thunderbird, the correct name for the archive folder is Archives.
Choices in Archive options would depend upon what would be in that folder.
for example: If you chose to archive by year only then in the 'Archives' folder you would see sub-folders 2015, 2016 etc
If you chose archive by year and month, then each '2015', '2016' folder would have sub-folders eg: 2015-01, 2015-02 etc and these would contain emails, but if you also selected to retain folder structure then you would see eg: 'Sent', which would contain emails.
Archive options:
Suggest you open the 'Archive' folder and move emails into an appropriate 'Archives' year folder.
Thank you very much 'Toad-Hall'. I am used to having just one Archive folder and each e-mail account I 'imported' has its original folders.
When something went awry with the Archive in one e-mail account I guess Thunderbird automatically created the folder "Archives" and sub folder "2016" to store newly archived e-mails.
I moved the few e-mails from "2016" to my old Archive folder, now a sub folder of "Archives" and deleted "2016".
I guess there is no easy or safe way to reverse the process, that is to go back to just having my old "Archive" folder (as the sole main folder)?
You can choose which folder you want to designate as the 'Archive' folder. This could be one 'Archive' folder you use to collect for all mail accounts, in which case the ideal location for the 'Archive' folder would be in 'Local Folders' mail account. If you only have one mail account then 'Archive' could stay in that mail account or in Local Folders mail account.
If you have only one mail account and wish to use the 'Archive' folder in that mail account and not the default 'Archives' folder then you need to make alteration in Account Settings. If you put the 'Archive' folder in 'Local Folders' then you need to change the designated location in 'Account Settings'. right click on mail account in folder pane and select 'Settings' select 'Copies & folders' for each mail account Under 'Message Archives' select 'Other' and depending upon where that 'Archive folder is located choose either 'Archive' on mail account name OR 'Archive' on Local Folders mail account.
click on OK
Now when you click on 'Archive' button, the emails will go to that archive folder.
Thank you Toad-Hall. I have multiple accounts, I keep each completely separate so e-mail replies are received by the account I send them from, and pre-Thunderbird I had just the one Archive folder for each of the 'important' accounts.
After reading your reply I changed Archive options to 'single folder' for one account - and have since done the same for a second account when Thunderbird created its own 'Archives' folder and a 2016 sub folder, which I have since deleted after moving the one e-mail moved there.
Changing option from "Archive folders on ..." to "Other ..." does not alter the destination when I click the Archive button - it goes to Thunderbird "Archives" folder in both cases. I'm not sure if that's what is meant to happen.
I am going to use a workaround - right clicking on the e-mail I want to move when it's closed, manually move to ... my original Archive folder. That works fine.
As Thunderbird 'thinks' it needs to create an Archives folder, because clicking on the Archive button won't move e-mails to my original Archive folder, I don't think there is an alternative to my moving e-mails manually. It's not a problem, just something new I shall have to get used to.
Thanks again