This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

Open next message after delete

  • 7 cavab
  • 3 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by Matt

more options

I am using Gmail on IMAP on Thurnderbird. IF I click a message it opens in a new window. While I am done reading it, I press "Delete" button on keyboard, and the message is marked as "deleted" until I do "compact" action to purge the mailbox.... so far, so cool!!!!!

But, when I press "Delete" I hope the next message in the list appears in the same email window!!! This does not happen automatically!!! I have to press the shortcut key "F" to get to the next message to appear in the same reading window! This is counter-intuitive -- you have to make the next message appear automatically in the same reading window after the current message is "marked as deleted"... can you help? Thanks.

I am using Gmail on IMAP on Thurnderbird. IF I click a message it opens in a new window. While I am done reading it, I press "Delete" button on keyboard, and the message is marked as "deleted" until I do "compact" action to purge the mailbox.... so far, so cool!!!!! But, when I press "Delete" I hope the next message in the list appears in the same email window!!! This does not happen automatically!!! I have to press the shortcut key "F" to get to the next message to appear in the same reading window! This is counter-intuitive -- you have to make the next message appear automatically in the same reading window after the current message is "marked as deleted"... can you help? Thanks.

All Replies (7)

more options

I think we need more info, I checked on my gmail IMAP account and it worked as you would like it to

more options

Gnospen said

I think we need more info, I checked on my gmail IMAP account and it worked as you would like it to


I am reading the email on the open window, and I press "delete" on my keyboard. Nothing happens to the open window displaying the email. I am not talking about deleting an email from the emails list.

more options

I did just that, open message in new window, deleted with del-key on my keyboard, message deleted and next message shows up in the open window.

Could you try to run it without add-ons? See under help

more options

Gnospen said

I did just that, open message in new window, deleted with del-key on my keyboard, message deleted and next message shows up in the open window. Could you try to run it without add-ons? See under help


No it does not help. I turned off all add-ons. I restarted Thunderbird in Safe Mode with all add-ons disabled. Still, after deleting a message in the open window, nothing happens. I believe my Google-app account Gmail is on IMAP protocol. I do not use POP. If I used POP3, the behaviour might be different.

more options

I missed that you were using gmail Repeated the test in gmail and got the same result as you. I had "when I delete a message" set to just mark it as deleted. I subscribed to Gmail/trash and set "when...." to move deleted to that folder. And now it worked.

Edit "When....." is under Account settings / server settings Subscribe you find by right clicking on your account

Modified by Gnospen

more options

Gnospen said

I missed that you were using gmail Repeated the test in gmail and got the same result as you. I had "when I delete a message" set to just mark it as deleted. I subscribed to Gmail/trash and set "when...." to move deleted to that folder. And now it worked. Edit "When....." is under Account settings / server settings Subscribe you find by right clicking on your account


Thanks a lot !!! this does help... one last minor glitch, "when I delete a message" set to move to

[Gmail]/trash

or any other folder/label.


But when you go to the label [Gmail]/trash you can't find the deleted/archived messages there. It looks like the messages were archived correctly though .

more options

Right click the account in the folder pane, select settings. In server settings for the account select advanced \insert [Gmail] in the imap server directory.

allow the folder pane to re alight itself following that change the {gmail] and sub folder will be gone.

Then in account settings copies and folder set your destination folders as required.