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Format painter to copy/paste just the highlight colour

  • 12 replies
  • 7 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by sfhowes

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Using TB 52.2.1 on Win 10 (x64) I can't find a way to either highlight a text by making the background around just those letters appear in a different colour; or a format painter to enable the copying of the format of a text them painting it onto a different text. Using the HTML editor of course. As a work around I can do this in Word or OpenOffice then copy/paste the text into a message, but is there an inbuilt way of achieving this please ?

Using TB 52.2.1 on Win 10 (x64) I can't find a way to either highlight a text by making the background around just those letters appear in a different colour; or a format painter to enable the copying of the format of a text them painting it onto a different text. Using the HTML editor of course. As a work around I can do this in Word or OpenOffice then copy/paste the text into a message, but is there an inbuilt way of achieving this please ?

All Replies (12)

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Similar, possibly related problem:

  • On editing or creating a message, any text immediately following a hyperlink is underlined/coloured exactly like the hyperlink itself. If I select that text (i.e. not the hyperlink) using the underline button or pressing ctrl-U does not return the text to its default state.

(Same TB version, 52.2.1, older Windows 7)

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How is that similar ?

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NoComprendez said

Using TB 52.2.1 on Win 10 (x64) I can't find a way to either highlight a text by making the background around just those letters appear in a different colour; or a format painter to enable the copying of the format of a text them painting it onto a different text. Using the HTML editor of course. As a work around I can do this in Word or OpenOffice then copy/paste the text into a message, but is there an inbuilt way of achieving this please ?

This add-on works in TB 52 & 55: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/highlighter-222207/

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Hershmab said

Similar, possibly related problem:
  • On editing or creating a message, any text immediately following a hyperlink is underlined/coloured exactly like the hyperlink itself. If I select that text (i.e. not the hyperlink) using the underline button or pressing ctrl-U does not return the text to its default state.
(Same TB version, 52.2.1, older Windows 7)

Use Format/Discontinue Text Styles (Ctrl+Shift+Y) or Format/Discontinue Link (Ctrl+Shift+K).

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NoComprendez said

How is that similar ?

Your problem and mine together indicate a wider problem with the text formatter.

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The Highlighter add-on was very helpful, thank you.

I think I'm missing something regarding the "Use Format/Discontinue Text Styles (Ctrl+Shift+Y) or Format/Discontinue Link (Ctrl+Shift+K)."

I can not get these keystrokes to do anything that I can notice. Cannot see any such commands in the Format menu either. I'll keep searching.

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NoComprendez said

The Highlighter add-on was very helpful, thank you. I think I'm missing something regarding the "Use Format/Discontinue Text Styles (Ctrl+Shift+Y) or Format/Discontinue Link (Ctrl+Shift+K)." I can not get these keystrokes to do anything that I can notice. Cannot see any such commands in the Format menu either. I'll keep searching.

If you don't see a Format menu like the one in the picture, there's something wrong with your layout. Test to see if this is the case by starting in safe mode (hold Shift when you launch TB).

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Ahh, sorry I must be blind - I looked there but didn't see them before. The image made it plain even for me. Not a format painter but probably as good as I can get in TB. I've just moved over from using Outlook and am still finding my feet. Thanks for the responses sfhowes.

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sfhowes said

NoComprendez said
Using TB 52.2.1 on Win 10 (x64) I can't find a way to either highlight a text by making the background around just those letters appear in a different colour; or a format painter to enable the copying of the format of a text them painting it onto a different text. Using the HTML editor of course. As a work around I can do this in Word or OpenOffice then copy/paste the text into a message, but is there an inbuilt way of achieving this please ?

This add-on works in TB 52 & 55: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/highlighter-222207/

I'm using TB 52.3 on Windows 10 (x86) and when I try to add the highlighter, I get a message that this add-on is not compatible with my version of TB. The majority of add-ons are showing up as not compatible as well. Any idea what's causing this, and how to fix?

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Many add-ons that are claimed to be incompatible do in fact work in newer versions of TB; they just haven't been 'officially' certified. Are you not able to install Highlighter? If so, it may help to first install this add-on. Highlighter is still working here in TB 56beta.

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mconnor77 said

sfhowes said
NoComprendez said
Using TB 52.2.1 on Win 10 (x64) I can't find a way to either highlight a text by making the background around just those letters appear in a different colour; or a format painter to enable the copying of the format of a text them painting it onto a different text. Using the HTML editor of course. As a work around I can do this in Word or OpenOffice then copy/paste the text into a message, but is there an inbuilt way of achieving this please ?

This add-on works in TB 52 & 55: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/highlighter-222207/

I'm using TB 52.3 on Windows 10 (x86) and when I try to add the highlighter, I get a message that this add-on is not compatible with my version of TB. The majority of add-ons are showing up as not compatible as well. Any idea what's causing this, and how to fix?

It doesn't allow me to add it. Am I missing something?

Modified by mconnor77

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Go to the Highlighter webpage with your browser (not the TB 'browser'), drag the green 'Download Now' button and drop it on Tools/Add-ons/Extensions in TB. Installation will proceed and start working after TB restarts. Tested and working on a fresh TB 52 profile with no other add-ons.