Make sure, the pdf is downloaded to the system. If its not downloaded, it takes some time to download and open the file.

Change your setting to download all the attachment.

iamjayakumars said

Make sure, the pdf is downloaded to the system. If its not downloaded, it takes some time to download and open the file. Change your setting to download all the attachment.

When i was using 60.9, i was not having this issue. It opened faster, but the moment i downloaded the new 68. It started taking longer to open the same file.

This is for a mail i had opened before in the previous 60.9.

So, unless i am missing something... can you show me how to check that the PDF has downloaded to the system

To diagnose problems with Thunderbird, try one of the following:

• Restart Thunderbird with add-ons disabled (Thunderbird Safe Mode). On the Help menu, click on "Restart with Add-ons Disabled". If Thunderbird works like normal, there is an Add-on or Theme interfering with normal operations. You will need to re-enable add-ons one at a time until you locate the offender.
• Restart the operating system in safe mode with Networking. This loads only the very basics needed to start your computer while enabling an Internet connection. Click on your operating system for instructions on how to start in safe mode: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX

If safe mode for the operating system fixes the issue, there's other software in your computer that's causing problems. Possibilities include but not limited to: AV scanning, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates.

iamjayakumars said

To diagnose problems with Thunderbird, try one of the following:

• Restart Thunderbird with add-ons disabled (Thunderbird Safe Mode). On the Help menu, click on "Restart with Add-ons Disabled". If Thunderbird works like normal, there is an Add-on or Theme interfering with normal operations. You will need to re-enable add-ons one at a time until you locate the offender.
• Restart the operating system in safe mode with Networking. This loads only the very basics needed to start your computer while enabling an Internet connection. Click on your operating system for instructions on how to start in safe mode: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX

If safe mode for the operating system fixes the issue, there's other software in your computer that's causing problems. Possibilities include but not limited to: AV scanning, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates.

Let me try this.

iamjayakumars said

To diagnose problems with Thunderbird, try one of the following:

• Restart Thunderbird with add-ons disabled (Thunderbird Safe Mode). On the Help menu, click on "Restart with Add-ons Disabled". If Thunderbird works like normal, there is an Add-on or Theme interfering with normal operations. You will need to re-enable add-ons one at a time until you locate the offender.
• Restart the operating system in safe mode with Networking. This loads only the very basics needed to start your computer while enabling an Internet connection. Click on your operating system for instructions on how to start in safe mode: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, OSX

If safe mode for the operating system fixes the issue, there's other software in your computer that's causing problems. Possibilities include but not limited to: AV scanning, virus/malware, background downloads such as program updates.

Bro, did not make any difference. It is still as slow as when i loaded the system normally and when the system loaded in safemode. Or when i loaded Thunderbird in safe mode.

This issue is across over fifty systems, please help.

Could you check with some other pdf file and let us know

iamjayakumars said

Could you check with some other pdf file and let us know

I have done that across numerous systems. Opening different files and having the same issue. Like i said above this is happening over fifty systems across our branches.

Do you have a security/AV program scanning email? One possibility is that it was compatible with TB 60, hence no delay, but became incompatible with TB 68, leading to delays. There are other possibilities, but this is one that needs to be ruled out. Running Windows in safe mode will also test the effect of startup apps, such as AV.

sfhowes said

Do you have a security/AV program scanning email? One possibility is that it was compatible with TB 60, hence no delay, but became incompatible with TB 68, leading to delays. There are other possibilities, but this is one that needs to be ruled out. Running Windows in safe mode will also test the effect of startup apps, such as AV.

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes i have an AV Kaspersky. But i have already tested by running a system in safemode and still the PDF was slow in opening. So i guess that rules out the AV

There are a couple of preferences that can be changed to sometimes improve attachment downloading: open Tools/Options/Advanced/General/Config. editor and double click a pref. to toggle its value.

mail.server.default.fetch_by_chunks to false

mail.imap.mime_parts_on_demand to false

Change those prefs. one at a time and see if it makes any difference.

sfhowes said

There are a couple of preferences that can be changed to sometimes improve attachment downloading: open Tools/Options/Advanced/General/Config. editor and double click a pref. to toggle its value. mail.server.default.fetch_by_chunks to false mail.imap.mime_parts_on_demand to false Change those prefs. one at a time and see if it makes any difference.

Good day, Sorry for the delay in response, but the time I got this reply it was already after work hours. I have tried it now and this did not make any difference either.

Rereading your original post, I gather that the problem isn't in downloading pdf attachments but in opening them. Try this: open Tools/Options/Attachments/Incoming and delete the action for pdf content from the Action drop-down, close Options, restart TB. When you next open a pdf attachment, define the opening app by browsing to the program exe, e.g. Adobe, Foxit, directly - don't select the app from the list that is displayed, and check the box to automatically perform this action. Any difference?

sfhowes said

Rereading your original post, I gather that the problem isn't in downloading pdf attachments but in opening them. Try this: open Tools/Options/Attachments/Incoming and delete the action for pdf content from the Action drop-down, close Options, restart TB. When you next open a pdf attachment, define the opening app by browsing to the program exe, e.g. Adobe, Foxit, directly - don't select the app from the list that is displayed, and check the box to automatically perform this action. Any difference?

My brother, there is no difference.

I think there must be a bug in the new 68 that makes opening attachments (especially .pdf) very slow.

Please I'm open to anymore suggestions

If it's a bug in TB 68, a way to test this would be to create a new profile with Profile Manager, add one account, then open a pdf attachment, using the app selection method above. If it opens normally, that suggests there's something in the original profile that cause the lag. If it still opens slowly, it is more likely a bug.

To start PM, close TB, Winkey+R, type thunderbird.exe -p

This doesn't affect the original profile, which can be accessed again through PM.

sfhowes said

If it's a bug in TB 68, a way to test this would be to create a new profile with Profile Manager, add one account, then open a pdf attachment, using the app selection method above. If it opens normally, that suggests there's something in the original profile that cause the lag. If it still opens slowly, it is more likely a bug. To start PM, close TB, Winkey+R, type thunderbird.exe -p This doesn't affect the original profile, which can be accessed again through PM.

Good day sir, It made no difference using a new profile, so i guess it must be a bug in the thunderbird 68 and i cannot downgrade back to the 60. I have tried.

You can submit a report to Bugzilla, including a reference to this discussion.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi#h=dupes%7CThunderbird

On my setup, opening pdf attachments is no different, in terms of speed, from opening them from File Explorer.

There is a similar bug that involves folder names with certain symbols:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1562422

My thunderbird 68.3.0 opened a pdf attachment Ok (select attachment rt click on 'open'). But since an upgrade of the OS to win10 (from win7) 2 weeks ago trying to open a pdf attachment fails (Acrobat reader opens and then displays an error 'cannot find file' message - see screenshot attached. However, choosing 'save as' enables a save of the attachment to a folder in the system hard drive, and that file can then be opened by Reader. Upgrading T'bird to 68.3.1 does not solve the problem. Why does open fail to open in reader, but save as work?

versions: OS windows 10 version 1909 Sysinfo 10.0.1863 build 18363 T'bird 68.3.1 Acrobat reader XI v11.0.23

Davik03 said

My thunderbird 68.3.0 opened a pdf attachment Ok (select attachment rt click on 'open'). But since an upgrade of the OS to win10 (from win7) 2 weeks ago trying to open a pdf attachment fails (Acrobat reader opens and then displays an error 'cannot find file' message - see screenshot attached. However, choosing 'save as' enables a save of the attachment to a folder in the system hard drive, and that file can then be opened by Reader. Upgrading T'bird to 68.3.1 does not solve the problem. Why does open fail to open in reader, but save as work? versions: OS windows 10 version 1909 Sysinfo 10.0.1863 build 18363 T'bird 68.3.1 Acrobat reader XI v11.0.23

Did you try the method described above, about deleting the entry in Options/Attachments? Sometime helper app associations get reset to defaults during a Windows upgrade (even with the same version).

You may also be seeing the bug with attachments having a space in the file name:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1274716

Yes. Deleted action OK, restarted TB, opened a mail with a pdf attachment, and got exactly the same result. Failure image as posted previously.

I think I have to agree with a previous user who also reported failure in this space - version 68 seems to have a bug in that it won't open pdf files.

Thinking some more about this fail - it's not that TB is not opening Acrobat, which is what the various instructions about opening a pdf attachment with Acrobat reader have been about, but rather once ACreader is open, it cannot find the file. see captured image in previous post.

So I tried a test - just opened ACr and just keyed in the file name of a pdf from an email - and got the same result; different shape of the message box but the same message - cannot find that file.

So, I think what is happening is that TB v68 is simply passing the filename to ACR, NOT the correct file parameters of the attachment (the drive/path/filename of wherever TB has stored the attachment) to ACr, and thus once open ACr cannot find the file.

You should log this as a bug for the dev's to fix in the next version or part release of TB.