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Why aren't message counts on folders updating

  • 5 ردود
  • 2 have this problem
  • 8 views
  • آخر ردّ كتبه bhenshaw

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After a folder name in the folder list there is usually a count of new messages shown in parenthesis. This is not getting updated for all folders. It works for the inbox, but not fore Sent, Junk, or Trash. To get the count to update I have to click on the folder and then the count gets updated. Sometimes no count shows at all until I click on the folder.

I've been using TB for a few years and this just started when I switched from POP3 to IMAP. Is there a way to make IMAP folders automatically update the new message count?

I've compacted the folders, repaired the folders, deleted and re-added the accounts, started with add-ons disabled, and used both View All Folders and View Unified Folders, and it still happens. I sometimes use another mail program (eM Client) and it doesn't have this same problem.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Bill

After a folder name in the folder list there is usually a count of new messages shown in parenthesis. This is not getting updated for all folders. It works for the inbox, but not fore Sent, Junk, or Trash. To get the count to update I have to click on the folder and then the count gets updated. Sometimes no count shows at all until I click on the folder. I've been using TB for a few years and this just started when I switched from POP3 to IMAP. Is there a way to make IMAP folders automatically update the new message count? I've compacted the folders, repaired the folders, deleted and re-added the accounts, started with add-ons disabled, and used both View All Folders and View Unified Folders, and it still happens. I sometimes use another mail program (eM Client) and it doesn't have this same problem. Any ideas? Thanks, Bill

All Replies (5)

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By the way, I've also tried creating a new profile and using that and I still have the problem.

I am using TB 45.4.0 on Windows 10.

Thanks, Bill

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You may find that those folders don't actually update until you look at them. Therefore the count includes only what is currently in Thunderbird's local copy of the folder and not what is still on the server waiting to be downloaded.

This wouldn't happen with POP because all the folders are handled locally and there can be no pending message to account for.

Modified by Zenos

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If I have Thunderbird set to check for mail every 3 minutes, shouldn't this be downloading these emails so that there should be no need to look at the folder to update it?

Thanks, Bill

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My experience after setting-up an existing email account with many subfolders was that these didn't populate until they were explicitly opened.

Your 3 minute interval is rather ambitious and aggressive. Some mail provers would give you error messages and tell you to increase the interval to 15 minutes. But most IMAP is now implemented as a "push" service and largely ignores those refresh settings anyway, and in this case you might be at the mercy of the server configuration as to which folders it pushes.

There may be settings in the folder properties to "include this folder when fetching new mail", though ISTR this setting is specific to POP-connected accounts.

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I guess I'm confused as to why Thunderbird doesn't flag them as new messages when eM Client does on my PC and TypeApp does on my phone and tablet. The messages are sometimes delivered in the middle of the night and when I look first thing in the morning, the counts are not updated in TB but they are everywhere else. My guess is that they are there in Thunderbird, but for some reason TB is not updating the counts. In fact, it isn't even bolding the folder as it usually does when a folder contains new messages.