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

Permanently Turn Threading OFF in Thunderbird 102.13.0

  • 1 reply
  • 6 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by david

more options

How do I PERMANENTLY turn off THREADING in Thunderbird 102.13.0? No matter what I've tried, threading turns back on automatically. I have read ALL previous threading questions and answers but NONE of them stop Thunderbird from instituting threading IMMEDIATELY after I change the view with the top-far right "Select columns to display" to deselect threading.

If I could take a screenshot to show my issue, I would but don't know how.

I have been trying to stop threading for weeks now and now have to give up and ask this question. Threading does NOT work for me and I need help, soon.

Thanks for your patience and help,

Oldheart

How do I PERMANENTLY turn off THREADING in Thunderbird 102.13.0? No matter what I've tried, threading turns back on automatically. I have read ALL previous threading questions and answers but NONE of them stop Thunderbird from instituting threading IMMEDIATELY after I change the view with the top-far right "Select columns to display" to deselect threading. If I could take a screenshot to show my issue, I would but don't know how. I have been trying to stop threading for weeks now and now have to give up and ask this question. Threading does NOT work for me and I need help, soon. Thanks for your patience and help, Oldheart

Chosen solution

This is the official (to my knowledge) documentation. Well worth the read https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/message-threading-thunderbird

Here is my own documentation on threading, duplicating the above, but it may help: You need to highlight each folder and click View>sort by>unthreaded. If this applies to just a few folders, just repeat the process as necessary. If you have many folders or plan to add many new folders, you may wish a different approach, below:

More info: To change default for *new* folders, In config editor, you can change default that applies to NEW folders you set up: mailnews.default_view_flags 0=unthreaded

Config editor is available at Tools>settings>general and scroll to bottom right.

 ------------

To set many *existing* folders, follow these steps: (I creates a crude video that walks through the steps at

   https://davidkirk.org/SettingDefaultFolderView.mp4  that demonstrates the following steps:
  First, highlight a folder that you have set to unthreaded	
  In the Message List view, in the column header, on the far right, open the options button that shows    
   context menu. :
  At the very bottom is the option:
  -> "Apply current view to..."
  -> "Folder and its children..."
  -> Hover over an account
  -> In the next menu don't select a folder. Instead select the account name itself.

ALSO, for future installations of Thunderbird, - install Thunderbird and exit prior to setting up accounts

- create a simple text file with name of user.js with these lines:
     // Set default threading to UNthreaded  ###   <== this line is optional, just for documentation
     user_pref("mailnews.default_view_flags", 0);   

- copy the user.js file into the profile - now, when you start Thunderbird, unthreading will be the default. Problem solved.

Read this answer in context 👍 5

All Replies (1)

more options

Chosen Solution

This is the official (to my knowledge) documentation. Well worth the read https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/message-threading-thunderbird

Here is my own documentation on threading, duplicating the above, but it may help: You need to highlight each folder and click View>sort by>unthreaded. If this applies to just a few folders, just repeat the process as necessary. If you have many folders or plan to add many new folders, you may wish a different approach, below:

More info: To change default for *new* folders, In config editor, you can change default that applies to NEW folders you set up: mailnews.default_view_flags 0=unthreaded

Config editor is available at Tools>settings>general and scroll to bottom right.

 ------------

To set many *existing* folders, follow these steps: (I creates a crude video that walks through the steps at

   https://davidkirk.org/SettingDefaultFolderView.mp4  that demonstrates the following steps:
  First, highlight a folder that you have set to unthreaded	
  In the Message List view, in the column header, on the far right, open the options button that shows    
   context menu. :
  At the very bottom is the option:
  -> "Apply current view to..."
  -> "Folder and its children..."
  -> Hover over an account
  -> In the next menu don't select a folder. Instead select the account name itself.

ALSO, for future installations of Thunderbird, - install Thunderbird and exit prior to setting up accounts

- create a simple text file with name of user.js with these lines:
     // Set default threading to UNthreaded  ###   <== this line is optional, just for documentation
     user_pref("mailnews.default_view_flags", 0);   

- copy the user.js file into the profile - now, when you start Thunderbird, unthreading will be the default. Problem solved.