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text formatting

  • 5 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 11 views
  • Last reply by fringe10

fringe10
fringe10
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Some years ago I updated my Thunderbird program, and since then every email I receive is filled with strange and unwanted extra letters. when i switch the text encoding from unicode to western or vice versa, the email looks fine. but i have to do this with every single email. if i click off that mail, then come back to it, the text encoding is off again. if i change the general formatting to western, it wants me to change each mail to unicode. if i change the general formatting to unicode, it wants me to change each mail to western. i am not using a yahoo server. can someone help me? do i need to go back to an earlier version of thunderbird? i'm running mac os sierra - 10.12.6.

Some years ago I updated my Thunderbird program, and since then every email I receive is filled with strange and unwanted extra letters. when i switch the text encoding from unicode to western or vice versa, the email looks fine. but i have to do this with every single email. if i click off that mail, then come back to it, the text encoding is off again. if i change the general formatting to western, it wants me to change each mail to unicode. if i change the general formatting to unicode, it wants me to change each mail to western. i am not using a yahoo server. can someone help me? do i need to go back to an earlier version of thunderbird? i'm running mac os sierra - 10.12.6.

All Replies (5)

david
david
  • Top 10 Contributor
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I am using 91.5 and those options are no longer there. What version of TB are you using? Is 'Other Writing Systems' an option in the 'Fonts for' drop-down menu? If so, select and click OK. This is just a hunch, as I haven't dealt with character sets in awhile.

fringe10
fringe10 Question owner
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hi david i'm still on 78.14 so i don't see the fonts for drop down menu. perhaps i should update? i am running mac os 10.12.6

fringe10
fringe10 Question owner
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the problem actually began with an update, though now i can't remember which one. it was more than a couple of years ago. after that update, all of these strange characters appeared. when i look through the archive of member messages i see that this has been a fairly common complaint, though i haven't seen any fix suggestions - except ones related to yahoo - which doesn't apply to my situation.

david
david
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Well, I am a volunteer here and know nothing about a Mac, but my general approach to problems is to first upgrade to the latest supported version. That may not fix your problem, but the fact that the character set options are no longer an option indicates that the issue is no longer self-managed. If interested, here is some info on version 91: https://blog.thunderbird.net/2021/08/thunderbird-91-available-now/ and here https://blog.thunderbird.net/2021/08/thunderbird-91-available-now/

If you upgrade, you may want to make a backup of your profile for safety. The Help>About may not offer the upgrade because 91 is a new distribution and you may have to download it. Upgrading to 91 may be overkill, but it is my suggestion.

fringe10
fringe10 Question owner
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thanks, i've crossed my fingers and giving it a try. just upgraded to the latest version. hopefully it will make a difference. thanks for the encouraging push.