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Whenever I detach a file from an email, it deletes the email from gmail server (moves to bin)

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  • Last reply by christ1

Dorset
Dorset
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On Thunderbird 52.0 (and earlier) under Win 10 whenever I "detach" the attached files from a received email, that email ends up being automatically "deleted" (moved to "Bin" folder) on the gmail server, even though it is not deleted in my Thunderbird folder. i.e. it is still in the Thunderbird inbox (with its attachments now detached) but it is in the gmail "Bin". After the detaching, Thunderbird automatically deletes it from my gmail account as soon as the next "Get Messages" refresh takes place. This is a serious problem because I can no longer get the message onto any of my other devices once the undesired/unrequested deletion has happened.

On Thunderbird 52.0 (and earlier) under Win 10 whenever I "detach" the attached files from a received email, that email ends up being automatically "deleted" (moved to "Bin" folder) on the gmail server, even though it is not deleted in my Thunderbird folder. i.e. it is still in the Thunderbird inbox (with its attachments now detached) but it is in the gmail "Bin". After the detaching, Thunderbird automatically deletes it from my gmail account as soon as the next "Get Messages" refresh takes place. This is a serious problem because I can no longer get the message onto any of my other devices once the undesired/unrequested deletion has happened.

All Replies (5)

christ1
christ1
  • Top 25 Contributor
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What's your account type - POP or IMAP?

Dorset
Dorset Question owner
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I am connected to pop.gmail.com , and I have selected the options "Leave messages on server - until I delete them". FYI: I detatch the files with the right-click option "Detatch All" and put them in an appropriate folder on my drive.

christ1
christ1
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I'm speculating a bit here, but this may be what happens. When detaching an attachment, the original message is saved again without the attachment, and the original is then deleted. The Gmail server seems to interpret that as 'until I delete them'. What's left is the local copy on your computer.

When multiple devices are used to access an account, IMAP is the more elegant way. You wouldn't have that behavior with IMAP. Verify if IMAP is an option for you. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/imap-synchronization

Dorset
Dorset Question owner
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Thanks for the idea about IMAP. I have now tried it (set up a new account in Thunderbird as IMAP with all the settings and disabled the old POP account) and it does exactly the same thing. As soon as I "Detach All" it then deletes it from the gmail server.

christ1
christ1
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This isn't the way IMAP works. If the message would have been deleted on the server, you wouldn't see it in Thunderbird anymore either. What's left is the message with the attachment stripped off. The whole idea of IMAP is to manage your messages on the server.

Modified by christ1